In 2002 Syracuse cruised to a 15-2 record and the eighth national championship in school history. Meanwhile, 70 miles south on Interstate 81, Binghamton played its first season of collegiate lacrosse – a team of walk-ons that could muster more than three goals in just three games that year.

‘We kinda knew going in without any recruited kids it was gonna be a struggle,’ said Binghamton head coach Ed Stephenson. ‘I actually didn’t think we were gonna win a single game. The probability was highly unlikely. These were just kids on campus. It was like some of these movies you see. Open tryouts for Division I sports.’

In fact, Stephenson said one-third of that 2002 team was made up of guys who’d never even played lacrosse. They found themselves on a D-I team, and it showed. Binghamton’s development will be tested on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse.

The Bearcats finished their first season 1-8 and winless in the America East. And those losses weren’t exactly pretty. Scores included a 19-1 defeat to Drexel and a 24-2 drubbing at the hands of Quinnipiac, a 4-7 team that season.

But considering this was a group that never expected to play Division I athletics, it wasn’t that bad. And even though Stephenson didn’t believe it would happen, the Binghamton did manage a win that year, 8-7 over Boston College.

‘It was unbelievable,’ Stephenson said. ‘I was so happy for those guys. Those guys were playing, knowing that the next year the probability of them making the team and playing with the recruited kids was unlikely, so it was kinda like that movie ‘The Replacements.’ They knew they were there and this was their time to shine.’

There was no Keanu Reeves on that field, but Stephenson said three players did re-make the team in 2003 – a squad that nailed down a 4-8 record, with mostly freshmen filling the roster.

One of those rookies was keeper Kevin McKeown. The goalie blocked 17 shots in one game – a 7-6 win against Quinnipiac, a sharp turnaround from the previous year.

The program’s growth continued to mount, and the next year, in 2004, McKeown became Binghamton’s first D-I male All-American. The ‘Cats made things better with a 10-6 finish; undefeated in conference play and six goals short of an America East tournament title and an NCAA tournament berth.

‘You see all these Cinderella stories in sports, (and) that was definitely a Cinderella year,’ Stephenson said. ‘It’s highly unlikely for a group of freshmen and sophomores to knock off teams with seniors.’

Binghamton also finished 2004 with the nation’s No. 1 defense – a goals-against-average of just 6.93. Still, even though the Bearcats did have wins over UMBC and Albany, many of its wins came over less-than impressive teams. Schools such as 0-10 Wagner, 0-12 Hartford, and 6-7 Stony Brook all fell victim to Binghamton that season. So when Stephenson’s club dropped to 4-9, the schedule was to blame. They faced six ranked opponents and three in their first five games. All five were losses, as Binghamton fell to the likes of No. 20 Hobart, No. 12 Cornell and No. 13 Hofstra.

‘It’s kind of a double-edged sword,’ Stephenson said. ‘If you want to get the players that want to play that schedule, you’ve got to play that schedule. There can be some growing pains.’

And recently that sword’s been sharpened greatly. Last season Binghamton scheduled eight ranked opponents and tallied their first two victories against teams of that tier – a 7-6 overtime win at No. 11 Towson and a 7-5 edging of Hobart. The feats earned the Bearcats a ranking of their own – the first in program history. For one week, Stephenson’s club carried No. 18 before its name. With two more top-20 wins, Stephenson believed his club could have been NCAA tournament bound.

This year the ante’s been upped once again. Two final four teams find themselves on Binghamton’s schedule – Syracuse and reigning champion Virginia.

‘I think there’s two reasons you play the schedule,’ Stephenson said. ‘One, for recruiting so that you get the players that can play that schedule, that aspire to play that schedule. Secondly … you’ve got to play them to evaluate your team. It’s one of those things where if you don’t play them you’ll never beat them.’

Published on March 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm