A goal late in the first half saw the Bearcats take a 1-0 lead, but a score from the reigning AE champions, Maine, tied the match with nine minutes left in play. Binghamton, however, found the game-winning score just two minutes later, building its undefeated streak to nine.

“Ecstatic with the win, ecstatic to be sitting at 3-0 and one,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “At this point, halfway through the conference season in first place. So it’s a great spot for us to be, but we’ve got to make sure that we keep up that quality over the course of the full 90 minutes.”

Binghamton (8-1-3, 3-0-1 AE) wasted no time working its way down the field, as junior midfielder/forward Paige Luke ripped a shot from the edge of the box in the third minute of the match. Eager to create its own pressure, Maine (2-5-2, 1-1-1 AE) strung together a pair of attacks, each resulting in an unsuccessful shot.

The Bearcats continued to drive balls into the opposing third, as sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis rattled off her first shot of the night in the 10th minute. Another shot courtesy of sophomore forward Alexus Worrell bounced off Maine’s post in the 16th.

“We had the first opening, I’d say 25 minutes,” Bhattacharjee said. “I thought we were on top of our opponent today, hit the post, had some good chances.”

A series of early substitutions revitalized the Black Bears, as they took five shots over 12 minutes and prevented the Bearcats from any attempts. Looking to regain control, BU created a corner kick opportunity in the 40th minute, which was taken by freshman midfielder Sydney Krempasky, who worked her way into the box after her cross. She found the ball once more, burying it in the top left corner for the Bearcat lead.

Neither squad registered a shot for the remainder of the period as the Bearcats went into halftime up a score.

“As a six, I don’t have that many chances up by the goal, so I crossed the ball and I ran in and it fell at my foot, so I was like, ‘Let me just take the shot in,’” Krempasky said. “And luckily it went in, so it was great.”

Looking to find their first score of the game, the Black Bears utilized a higher press and aggressive play down the pitch, but several key moves from Binghamton’s back line prevented Maine from registering any shots in the opening minutes of the half. Seeking an insurance goal, Binghamton continued pressuring the Black Bears’ net, with Luke and Krempasky each rattling off a shot, but both attempts missed wide.

“I thought, for the most part, we were able to limit the danger,” Bhattacharjee said. “There are a couple of transition moments that Maine had that perhaps they got it in midfield, but we were able to take care of it once we got into protecting our defensive third.”

After a fast break that saw Maine progress into Binghamton’s box, the Black Bears forced a corner kick, and on the ensuing delivery, they found a score to tie the game at 1-1. Binghamton, however, refused to surrender any momentum following the score, as Luke found Davis on a deep through ball, and Davis worked her way into the box and blasted a shot past the Black Bears’ goalkeeper.

The Bearcats immediately shifted into a more defensive formation, repeatedly clearing the ball out of play, as they prevented Maine from attempting another shot in the match, holding on for the victory. The Bearcats’ win saw them improve their unbeaten streak to a program-record nine games.

“It definitely says we’re a very gritty team, and we’re always looking to be first place, get the three points,” Davis said.

The Bearcats look to cement a program-first 10-game unbeaten streak when they take on UMass Lowell on Sunday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“I thought a draw was a pretty fair result,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We knew Cornell was going to be a good side, they were pretty good at transition, pretty good in the air and we knew they were good enough to create a couple of chances, which they did.”

The Bearcats (5-1-2) registered the first shot of the game in the third minute, with sophomore forward Alexus Worrell narrowly missing out the top. Binghamton’s next chance to score came in the 23rd minute, when junior midfielder/forward Paige Luke rattled off a shot that struck the goalpost and bounced back into play. Despite not taking the first shot, Cornell (2-2-4) had six total shots to Binghamton’s five in the first half and two shots on goal, both of which were saved by Kessler.

“[Kessler‘s] positioning has been very good in terms of how she plays angles, cuts angles down,” Bhattacharjee said. “So we can rely on her to make the routine saves, and then today we needed her to make a couple of bigger saves.”

In the second half, Cornell came out of the gate with an aggressive offensive barrage, taking two shots that Kessler once again saved in the 46th and 48th minutes of play. The Big Red attempted four more unanswered shots, three of which were on target and saved by Kessler. Sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis took Binghamton’s first shot of the half at the 75th minute, which was immediately followed by another shot attempt from Cornell during the 76th minute.

The Bearcats took just one more shot in the 88th minute, failing to register a single shot on goal as they forced a 0-0 draw. The match marked Binghamton’s second shutout this season, both of which resulted in draws.

“We were right there in terms of creating a couple very good chances,” Bhattacharjee said regarding the team’s offense. “Unfortunately, just on the day, we weren’t able to convert them to a goal.”

The Bearcats are set to begin conference play next Sunday when they take on UMBC. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Thursday’s match against Syracuse was played in heavy rain and ended an eight-game losing streak against the Orange, while Sunday’s bout against Colgate saw Binghamton score thrice in the second half en route to a 3-2 victory.

“Generally overall, we were pretty pleased in terms of our performance,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We’ve played Syracuse the last four years, and it’s been a one-goal loss, and the last two years we felt like we’ve pretty much been with them. But this year, going into it, we felt like we were the better team.”

Thursday’s match against Syracuse (4-1-3) saw Binghamton (5-1-1) open aggressively, searching for the back of the net by taking four shots in the first 16 minutes of the game. Syracuse responded with a couple shots of their own before Binghamton outshot Syracuse 4-2 in the last 10 minutes of the period. Despite the deadlock heading into the half, Binghamton registered four more shots on goal than Syracuse, outshooting the Orange 8-4.

“We were the aggressor right from the start of the game, put them under pressure, made it really difficult for them to play,” Bhattacharjee said. “And I’m happy with the performance and how everyone stuck to the game plan.”

The second period saw Syracuse attack Binghamton more aggressively, attempting eight shots on goal, all of which were saved by junior goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler. Kessler recorded a career-high eight saves, helping lead the Bearcats to their first defensive shutout of the season.

Despite attempting 14 shots on the night, Binghamton’s offense was unable to find the net, ending the game 0-0 for their first draw of the season.

Sunday’s game saw the Bearcats take on Colgate (1-3-3), only to quickly trail 1-0 as the Raiders found twine in the 16th minute. The Bearcats struggled offensively in the first half, registering just one shot on goal in the 40th minute. Despite the performance, they held Colgate to just one more shot through the rest of the half.

“Not really the first half we wanted,” Bhattacharjee said. “We didn’t quite play with the defensive pressure we wanted or [do] some of the things that we wanted to do as far as we were expecting to take care of in our game plan.”

After only registering one shot attempt in the first half, the second half saw Binghamton apply significant offensive pressure, with their first goal of the game coming at the 55th minute courtesy of junior midfield/forward Paige Luke. Binghamton continued to rally with another goal in the 69th minute when Luke assisted freshman defender Ale Victoriano. Colgate, however, quickly responded with a goal of their own at the 74th minute, tying the game at 2-2.

The game remained tied until the Bearcats scored at the 84th minute when Luke found sophomore forward Alexus Worrell. Colgate failed to find twine for the remainder of the match, bringing another victory for the Bearcats.

“[Luke] is doing great, I just give her so much credit for all the energy she brings,” Bhattacharjee said. “For her having had surgery last November, and then for her to come back in the type of shape she is and the work rate that she does, it’s just a big kudos to her.”

The Bearcats will look to continue their strong start to the season on Sunday, Sept. 14, when they take on Cornell. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Charles F. Berman Field in Ithaca, New York.

“Overall, [I’m] pretty pleased with the performance,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee about Thursday’s game. “I thought the pressure on the ball, different areas of the field, was pretty good. Scored a couple of good goals.”

Binghamton (2-1-0) began its week with a home opener against St. Bonaventure (0-1-1) on Thursday afternoon. BU quickly got on the board after gaining possession in the opposing box before sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis buried the ball in the top left corner.

The Bearcats continued to dictate the pace of play and control possession, while hounding the Bonnies’ net as six different Bearcats registered shot attempts by the 26th minute. Binghamton continued its domination through the remainder of the first half play as the Bearcats held a 10-0 shot advantage entering the second half.

“[Shot selection] is something that we talked about at halftime, and so I think we can take our chances a little bit better,” Bhattacharjee said. “And the other thing too, especially in the first half, we were just settling for low percentage shots, things from 30, 35 yards out where we really weren’t under pressure. We could just keep the ball, knock it and then just continue to play good soccer.”

Picking up where they left off in the first half, the Bearcats attacked St. Bonaventure’s net with three unanswered shots. In the 57th minute, Davis found herself controlling the ball as she approached the final third of the field, and she embarked on a 50-yard run, dribbling past several Bonnies before slotting it in the back of the net for her second career brace.

St. Bonaventure opened its scoring book in the 73rd minute. While the Bonnies continued to search for their equalizer, the Bearcats held them to just one shot through the remainder of play for a second consecutive victory.

“When I play, I try not to think, so I just go with the flow,” Davis said regarding her second goal on Thursday. “I heard one of my coaches say, ‘Really go at her,’ so that’s what I did, and it ended up in the net.”

Sunday’s contest saw the Bearcats take on Monmouth (2-2-0), and they once again opened the match with significant offensive pressure, rattling off three consecutive shot attempts between the fifth and sixth minute of play. BU continued to attack the Hawks’ net when junior midfield/forward Paige Luke nearly found twine in the 15th minute.

The teams continued to search for the opening score throughout the first half, but neither squad was successful as the Bearcats entered the second half losing the shot battle 8-6.

“In many facets we can be pleased with the effort today,” Bhattacharjee told bubearcats.com. “But of course ultimately we are disappointed with the result. We have a lot of respect for Monmouth as they’re perennially one of the top teams in the region. They had stretches of the game and we had stretches as well.”

The Bearcats opened the second half with a barrage of attempts, registering five shots on goal while blanking the Hawks through the 65th minute. Monmouth soon responded with a flurry of its own, rattling off three unanswered shot attempts before the fourth attempt found twine, breaking the deadlock in the 70th minute. The Hawks scored once more in the 78th minute as the Bearcats stared down the barrel of a 2-0 deficit.

The Bearcats attempted to build back some momentum, and they nearly scored in the 82nd minute when a shot from Davis bounced off the woodwork. Ultimately, they were held scoreless for the rest of the game, suffering their first defeat of the season.

Binghamton will continue its road trip with a matchup against Marist on Thursday, Aug. 28, as it looks to bounce back from the first loss of the season. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field in Poughkeepsie, New York.

“I thought that when we got moments where we could be able to pressure Lehigh and do it with effective and organized stuff first, it really made them uncomfortable and led us in our attack in transition,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “But there were times during the course of the game when we let off a little bit, especially in the second half of the first half.”

Binghamton (1-0-0) quickly established its lead when junior midfield/forward Paige Luke, playing in her first match back since a season-ending injury in 2024, blasted a shot into the top corner in the first attempt of the game. Lehigh (0-2-0) attempted to apply pressure to Binghamton’s back line, but the Mountain Hawks were unable to mount a significant offensive attack.

A scramble in the 25th minute of play saw Binghamton almost double its scoring tally, rattling off four shot attempts that did not find twine. BU’s favor appeared to persist in the 32nd minute when Lehigh failed to convert a penalty kick opportunity, but the Mountain Hawks pounced on the rebound to even the score. The Bearcats’ offense continued to push the field, creating several threatening chances, but both squads were unable to register a shot on goal for the remainder of the first half of play.

“I’m sure you saw today, [Luke] just covers so much ground and does so much work,” Bhattacharjee said. “How she presses, how she takes people one v. one like she did on the goal in the early part of the game today. She does so much to progress the team.”

On a day when 19 BU players saw the field, the Bearcats substituted seven starters back onto the field to start the second half of play. The offense quickly got to work when a foul against sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis awarded them a penalty kick opportunity. After a missed attempt from junior defense/forward Megan Baker, sophomore forward Alexus Worrell jumped on the rebound and buried the ball in the back of the net as BU snatched back the lead.

“I thought [Worrell] had a pretty good game overall,” Bhattacharjee said. “Consistent good amount of work rate, she’s a strong physical presence up top, was able to follow the penalty kick to score the game-winning goal for us. She’s someone that had a little bit of health concerns her freshman year that was able to limit her impact on the field, but she’s coming off a really good spring and had a good preseason.”

Binghamton almost grew its lead to two in the 53rd minute when a shot by Baker rattled off the top post. Despite only holding a one-goal lead, the Bearcats’ back line dictated play throughout the remainder of the match, holding Lehigh to just two shots on goal throughout the entire second half as they picked up their first victory of the 2025 campaign.

“Probably on the day we were good enough to score a third, potentially a fourth goal,” Bhattacharjee said. “At the end of the day, we’re happy with the result and we’ll move on from here and get ready for St. Bonaventure on Thursday.”

Binghamton will continue its season with its home opener this Thursday, Aug. 21, against St. Bonaventure. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Coming off a nail-biting victory over Vermont in the America East quarterfinals last weekend that went down to penalty kicks, the Binghamton women’s soccer team’s season came to an end on Thursday night at the hands of the UNH Wildcats in a 3-1 semifinals loss. While Binghamton struck first with an early goal, UNH’s pressure across the pitch proved too much for the Bearcats to overcome.

“Individually, we just didn’t match that intensity or deal with the pressure in terms of what we did at the ball,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “To UNH’s credit, they got a goal to get back into the game, and then we were really hoping that we could get to halftime at 1-1. But when they scored that second goal right with a minute-and-a-half left before halftime, that really was a crushing blow.”

While the hosting Wildcats (12-4-1, 6-1-0 AE) got the first look at the goal in minute one, BU (7-6-5, 4-2-2 AE) got a stop and swung the attacking momentum in its direction. Senior forward Hannah Mimas and junior forward Lauren Clark both got openings in the UNH third during the opening stretch, but both failed to get shots off against the tough Wildcat backline. In minute 10, senior midfielder Isabella Martillo connected with senior forward Mackenzie Ryder on a cross, who punched in the game’s first score to make it 1-0.

“One thing we talk about is we want to be able to take advantage of our set-piece opportunities,” Bhattacharjee said. “If it’s direct or even on the second phase of the set piece where we have numbers in the box. That was certainly the case with the goal.”

Not long after the Bearcats’ goal, UNH upped its aggressiveness on the attack. Minutes 19 and 20 saw consecutive shots from the Wildcats, but BU cleared both. The Wildcats’ pressure ended up being too much for BU. A lapse in the Binghamton backline in minute 32 would create an open cross for UNH that senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams could not get a glove on and the game was knotted at 1-1. While BU would briefly regain momentum in UNH’s third in minute 37, the game script remained firmly in the Wildcats’ control with a second goal in the 44th minute, giving the hosts a 2-1 advantage going into the break.

“UNH did well in terms of just mixing things,” Bhattacharjee said. “Sometimes they played through the midfield when they had opportunities. Sometimes they would be able to get it back on the flank as well which is what led to the first goal. I thought they responded well in terms of being a goal down and it caught us on the back on our heels.”

After sophomore defender Sophia Garofalo blocked a dangerous UNH look in minute 50 to keep it 2-1, Binghamton built its attacking momentum in the second half. Minute 55 saw Binghamton secure its first corner kick of the game, but it would be cleared by the Wildcats. Then, Ryder got BU’s best look since the first in the 59th minute with a boot on an errant UNH header, but the ball went wide right. Ultimately, UNH neutralized the Bearcats the rest of the way, with a final goal off a cross in minute 66 proving to be the dagger that cemented a season-ending 3-1 loss for the Bearcats.

“Whenever we did win the ball back, unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep it,” Bhattacharjee said. “We hoped our forwards could have held the ball a little bit more for us, but UNH was able to up their pressure and we weren’t necessarily able to keep it in terms of our possession.”

BU closes the 2024 campaign with its sixth straight season at or above .500. Several players brought home AE honors for the Bearcats, headlined by first-team all-conference honors for Mimas and Garofalo. The most trophies earned by a Bearcat came from freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter — netting AE Rookie of the Year, second-team all-conference and joining freshman forward Jahkaya Davis on the AE all-rookie team. In a year that was expected to be a rebuild for the program, Bhattacharjee expressed pride in the breakouts throughout his roster.

“I think the outside voices might have been, ‘Hey, look at how many people graduated and stars lost,’ all of that,” Bhattacharjee said. “But what I’m really proud of is how people stepped up into their roles. [Ryder] didn’t really play much last year and she had seven goals. [Mimas] wasn’t able to have a finished goal for us last year, and she was at about seven goals and eight assists. It’s terrific to see how new faces, new personnel, stepped into their roles and made us a competitive force. So I’m really pleased with that.”

After heartbreaking America East playoff losses to end its season the last two years, the No. 3-seeded Binghamton women’s soccer team at last closed out a playoff win in Vestal by beating No. 6 Vermont in the AE quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon. After 110 minutes of play, both sides found themselves knotted 0-0. Ultimately, victory for the Bearcats came down to the last penalty kick possible off the boot of senior forward Hannah Mimas, sending the squad to the AE semifinals.

“It’s great that we continue to keep our season rolling,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “It’s fun when you can play at this point, playing these high-impact type of matches where it’s do or die and keep advancing. It’s wonderful that we got the result today for us to move on, and we’re certainly looking forward to trying to do more of the same come Thursday.”

To start the contest, Vermont received the kickoff and established ball control early on, but Binghamton’s backline kept them away from its third, setting the tone on defense early. While the game lingered at 0-0, both sides continued to generate opportunities. For the Catamounts, one such moment came in minute 15 with a breakaway look at the goal, but senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams slid on the ball to keep it knotted. Binghamton got a strong look in the 34th minute, with Mimas coming within inches of a score, but Vermont’s keeper batted the ball out wide. The game remained scoreless heading into the half.

“[Vermont] had one other number in the back, so they had an extra defender versus what we saw a couple of weeks ago,” Bhattacharjee said. “It’s a departure from what Vermont normally does, and I think it was a move that certainly helped them. We were able to get a good amount of attack against them when we played them a couple weeks ago, whereas this time around it took a little bit more for us to break them down.”

The second period became defined by swings in attacking momentum between the Bearcats and the Catamounts. One of the most dangerous looks of the game came from the Catamounts in minute 56 from the left side of the box, but junior defender Brooke Herber got in front of it, and Williams scooped it up to prevent the score. Then, in the 61st minute, Mimas got a wide-open look from the left corner, but the ensuing shot rolled just to the right of the goal. Vermont got one more dangerous second-chance look after an attempted Williams save bounced back into play in minute 81, but Williams made her second grab stick. After 90 minutes had elapsed, the score read 0-0, and for the third year in a row, the AE playoffs were going to overtime in Vestal.

“It was a little bit dangerous when Vermont caught us in transition,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had to catch up, especially defensively. I thought we took care of those moments for the most part … Now they did have, no question, a couple very dangerous chances.”

The offensive deadlock carried into both overtime periods, and the burden of keeping Binghamton’s season alive rested on Williams’ shoulders. During the 95th minute of play, the Catamounts pressured the Bearcats’ third, but Williams scooped the ball up and cleared the sequence out. Then, in the final minute of the second overtime, a BU miscue gave Vermont a final look at the goal that Williams grabbed to save the game and send it to a shootout. Swapped out with sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler for the shootout, Williams left the game with seven saves in 110 minutes.

“One thing that we count on [Williams] to do is, in these types of games, [is] to make one or two big saves and she did that,” Bhattacharjee said.

Vermont started the shootout by getting its first look past Kessler to the left side, and a whiffed look from Herber cemented a 1-0 lead for the Catamounts going into the second round. From there, however, two straight saves from Kessler and goals by junior defender Allison Falvo and freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter put BU up 2-1 in the shootout. After a Binghamton miss, however, the Catamounts knotted the shootout back up. With both sides one shot away from advancing, Kessler made back-to-back saves to keep things tied and give Mimas a chance to close out the game. With the season on the line, Mimas sank her shot to clinch the victory and send Binghamton to the AE semifinals for a date with UNH.

“It’ll be an interesting dynamic because our program scored the most goals of any team in conference play, and we’re playing UNH, who has given up the least amount of goals of any team in the conference,” Bhattacharjee said. “So you’re going to see those two things come to a head.”

No. 3 Binghamton will now visit No. 2 UNH on Thursday, Nov. 7 to take on the Wildcats in the AE semifinals. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire.

The Binghamton women’s soccer team defeated in-state rival Albany 4-0 in its regular-season finale on Thursday evening. With the win, The Bearcats have extended their unbeaten streak to six matches, heading into the America East playoff, where BU has clinched the No. 3 seed.

“We just had a difficult start, but I also feel like this team really responded well,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “After those first two matches, then we were able to get ourselves back on track.”

Binghamton (7-5-4, 4-2-2 AE) scored one goal on eight first-half shots, with the lone score coming from senior forward Mackenzie Ryder in the 23rd minute of the match. The Bearcats got this opportunity when senior midfielder Isabella Martillo led her teammate, sophomore defender/forward Megan Baker, out wide on the right side of the field, who crossed the ball into the crowded middle. The ball bounced then past an Albany (3-12-1, 2-5-1) defender and was picked up by Ryder, who blasted a 14-yard shot past the leaping Great Danes’ goalkeeper to put the Bearcats 1-0, a score they held going into the half.

“It’s always easier to play when you have the lead instead of chasing from behind,” Bhattacharjee said. “That helped, and then we talked about some things that we could do in the second half.”

Coming out of halftime, the Bearcats continued to be aggressive. This ultimately paid off in the 64th minute when Baker was tripped from behind by a Great Danes defender and given a penalty kick, which she buried into the back of the net. This would be Baker’s second goal in two games as she extended the Bearcats lead to 2-0.

“[Baker] is having a really good season,” Bhattacharjee said. “She’s been a big part of why we’ve been able to generate some attack.”

For the next 24 minutes, BU held a 2-0 advantage until Martillo scored her first collegiate goal from 16 yards away, off the crossbar and straight across the goal line to give the Bearcats an insurance goal. Binghamton was not done yet as freshman forward Jahkaya Davis scored her fifth goal of the year just 24 seconds later. Davis took possession off the ensuing kickoff and gathered herself before crossing midfield and advancing an additional 40 yards upfield into the UAlbany 18-yard box, striking the ball past the Great Danes’ goalkeeper to seal a 4-0 Bearcats win.

“I think we’ve been pleased,” Bhattacharjee said. “It was a rough start, but since then we’ve seen some different things. Even then, we’ve had a couple of frustrations, like the tie that we had against NJIT, the tie that we had against UMass Lowell, where we found ourselves up 3-0, only to give up two early second-half goals, and then a tying goal with a couple minutes left. Those were games that we felt like we could have put away.”

After finishing up conference play strong, the Bearcats will set their sights on the AE tournament as they look to gear up for a deep postseason run.

“We’re geared up and we’ll be ready to go,” Bhattacharjee said, “We got some recovery after yesterday, and then we’ll be ready to get going for Sunday.”

No. 3 Binghamton will begin its postseason run against No. 6 Vermont on Sunday, Nov. 3 in an AE semifinals matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

With the regular season nearing its end and a ticket to the America East playoffs on the line, the women’s soccer team clinched a spot to compete for the conference title Sunday afternoon as they drew UMass Lowell 3-3 on Senior Day. BU showcased their talents with three scores in the first half in the first 25 minutes, but struggled defensively, allowing three goals in the second half, leading to the squad’s second tie in AE play.

“Credit for UMass Lowell in terms of them never giving up,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “In those moments we got to do a better job in terms of recognizing when a team is sending numbers forward. We can’t necessarily play through those numbers, we’ve got to play around it or over top of it. I think if we managed that better we could have gotten the full three points instead of settling for a tie.”

The hosts wasted no time getting the offense going to open the contest, with Binghamton (6-5-4, 3-2-2 AE) quickly getting into system in the River Hawks’ (4-9-3, 3-3-1 AE) third. A failed clear from UMass Lowell led to the game’s first shot coming off the foot of freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter and into the goal to put BU up 1-0 in the ninth minute. BU would make the most of this momentum for the rest of the half, outshooting the River Hawks nine to one in the period. In minutes 14 and 25 — sophomore defender/forward Megan Baker and senior forward Mackenzie Ryder respectively tipped in missed BU looks to put Binghamton up 3-0. With the Bearcat backline ensuring ball control remained with BU, the hosts carried the lead into the break.

“I thought a lot of it was just that we were going forward,” Bhattacharjee said. “We were taking people on one versus one. We were there to have some defensive work and not allow clearances to happen and follow up shots. We got three very different goals from three different goal scorers. From that aspect, I was very pleased in terms of what we got.”

Once play restarted in the second half, however, momentum quickly swung toward the River Hawks. After senior forward Hannah Mimas got off the period’s first shot in minute 46, missing just a bit too high, UMass Lowell started to take control of the ball. This quickly paid off for the defending AE champions, rocketing a shot to the top left corner of the post that found the back of the net and cut BU’s lead down to two goals. The scoreboard would then read 3-2 just minutes later, with the River Hawks again attacking the left side of the box to cut the Bearcats’ lead to one in the 53rd minute.

“We were prepared for [UMass Lowell] to come out in a 4-3-3, which is what they did in the first half, and in the second half they came out in a 4-1-3-2,” Bhattacharjee said. “So they had an extra number in their attack … What we didn’t recognize right away is that we at times played into where the midfield was, specifically their attacking midfielders, and we were playing in front of their lines. We needed to play more behind the lines.”

With what seemed like a secure advantage now turned into a one-goal game, BU would be on the back foot in the game script the rest of the way. While the Bearcats managed to slow down the River Hawks’ attack and turned the game into a midfield battle, Mimas’ shot in minute 46 was the last strike of offense BU would record. Instead, the River Hawks found the equalizer in minute 88 to tie it at three. Despite the game ending in a 3-3 tie, Sunday’s results guaranteed Binghamton’s sixth consecutive AE playoff appearance.

“We want to make sure that we’re in a good spot, a good mental frame [this week],” Bhattacharjee said. “I think it’s important that we get three points on Thursday. If we do that, that’ll set us up well for for hosting the quarterfinal on Sunday.”

Binghamton is set to compete in their final regular-season match against UAlbany to settle its AE playoff seeding. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 at the Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, New York.

“We feel like we’re very good at winning balls out of the air,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We feel like every time we get a corner kick, it’s an opportunity for us to finish on goal and it worked out great for us here.”

Starting the week in Vestal, the Bearcats (6-5-3, 3-2-1 AE) would strike down on NJIT (3-10-2, 0-5-1 AE) first. After failing to strike on several quality chances in the first 20 minutes, Binghamton broke the deadlock on a corner kick. In the 25th minute, freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter sent the ball high into the box, where senior forward Mackenzie Ryder was able to get her head on the ball and send it past the keeper, putting the Bearcats ahead 1-0. The rest of the first half was touch and go for the Bearcats, with NJIT creating several dangerous chances. The defense held firm though, carrying the team into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t get the three points here,” Bhattacharjee said. “It’s something where over the course of 90 minutes while we did enough to perhaps get the full three points, it just didn’t work out that way, which is frustrating, but that’s the game sometimes.”

BU’s defense was not as lucky in the second half. The Highlanders would pick up right where they left off, getting quality chance after quality chance, eventually breaking through in the 57th minute, when an NJIT forward was able to work past Binghamton’s defense and receive a long pass, burying it in the back of the net to equalize the game at one-all. After NJIT’s goal, both sides struggled to generate good chances, and when the final whistle sounded, the score was level at 1-1, earning Binghamton only one point in the standings to help in its fight toward the playoffs.

Sunday’s match against Vermont (8-5-3, 3-4 AE) saw a more favorable result for Binghamton. As soon as play began, the Catamounts struggled to run their offense and defend against Binghamton’s attacks. In the ninth minute, senior forward Hannah Mimas launched a long pass up the field that was received by Buckwalter, who put the ball past the Catamounts’ goalkeeper to put the Bearcats up 1-0. Just four minutes later, Binghamton struck again. Mimas found herself in one of Vermont’s corners with the ball after a Binghamton free kick. She passed two Catamount defenders and took the ball toward goal, firing it past the keeper to put the Bearcats up 2-0. The Catamounts would continue to try and establish a presence in their offensive end for the rest of that half, but they would be unsuccessful and Binghamton took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

“We had a specific defensive game plan for Vermont,” Bhattacharjee said. “They are a very good attacking team, so we had to find ways to contain their goal scorers. Once we did that and stayed a step ahead of Vermont’s attacking patterns, it allowed us to win possession back and then start our own attacking transition and goal-scoring moments.”

After the break, the Bearcats picked up right where they left off. In the 50th minute, Binghamton was able to break through Vermont’s defense and Mimas was able to put a shot on goal. The Catamounts’ keeper made the save but gave up a rebound that was promptly put in the back of the net by junior forward Lauren Clark to put the Bearcats up 3-0. Despite pressing its attack for the rest of the half, Vermont could not break through. When the final whistle sounded, Binghamton was left with a 3-0 win and a crucial three-point bump in the AE standings.

“We were pleased overall in the game plan and then how everyone executed their role individually,” Bhattacharjee said. “The tactics were there but ultimately the players have to play with heart, energy and focus and you saw that all over the pitch today.”

The Bearcats will meet UMass Lowell at home for their penultimate AE match on Sunday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Off the heels of a 4-3 comeback victory over UMBC, the Binghamton women’s soccer team had their second come-from-behind victory in as many weeks on Sunday, defeating Bryant 2-1. Despite dominating the ball for the entire first half, a Bulldogs score gave them the lead going into the break. Undeterred, the Bearcats rallied for two scores in the second to secure their second America East (AE) win.

“It’s a big three points for us,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “[It] gets us back to .500 in conference play with the second half of the conference now coming up. So we’re in a decent spot. Good to get two straight conference wins, and we’ll keep going from here.”

Binghamton (5-5-2, 2-2 AE) wasted no time entrenching its attack into Bryant’s (4-6-3, 2-2 AE) third to open the contest. The hosts took control of the game through their defense, generating a key sequence in the fifth minute where a crucial tackle by sophomore defender Sophia Garofalo opened up a play that resulted in a shot from senior forward Hannah Mimas, which ended up in the Bulldog keeper’s gloves. Exploiting Bryant’s heavy interior scheme, Binghamton constantly broke away with the ball along the lines en route to 14 shots on the half.

“We talked a lot about how we wanted to defend,” Bhattacharjee said. “By defending hard in the midfield, that’s where we were able to get balls that were won in 50/50 opportunities and create pressure that didn’t allow Bryant to get into the necessary rhythm. When we did that, then it just led into our play.”

Despite all of the offense generated by BU in the first, the squad was unable to find the quality finish it needed to get on the board. Instead, striking first was the visitors. After being held away from Binghamton’s third for most of the period, Bryant sustained ball control with five minutes left in the period. This brief breakaway was all the Bulldogs needed when a clean shot in the 44th minute found the gap between senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams’ glove and the net to make it a 1-0 game going into the break.

Looking to get an insurance goal and stop Binghamton from getting on the scoreboard, Bryant would go on the offensive to open period two. The Bulldogs got a look into the Bearcat’s box in minute 50, but a block from Garofalo killed any chance of an insurance score. Not too long after, the Bearcats finally converted a chance. Off a corner kick in the 57th minute, junior forward Lauren Clark put the ball dead center into the net to knot the contest.

“The message at the second half was ‘we’re going to get after it,’” Bhattacharjee said. “We’re going to keep doing the same things. We really didn’t change a whole lot. We came back from being three goals down the game before, so we knew, one [goal] down with 45 minutes to go, if we played with that quality, that we were to get chances.”

With the score now at 1-1, the battle for ball control from both sides became far more physical. Junior defense Brooke Herber broke up a Bryant breakaway with a tackle in minute 62 while three Bulldogs swarmed freshman forward Jahkaya Davis to get a stop in minute 67. An opportunity arose in the 73rd minute as the ball was cleared, finding a wide-open sophomore defender/forward Megan Baker who began to push into Bryant’s box. Baker then kicked it out to Mimas who had her first shot at the goal deflected — but when the ball ended up back at her boot, Mimas made good on her second chance to give BU a 2-1 lead. Binghamton held out the rest of the way for the 2-1 victory.

“I’ve told the kids, ‘when we get that first goal, I got a feeling that it’s going to lead to more,’ which is exactly what happened,” Bhattacharjee said. “We’re pleased with getting the result and hanging on at the end. We knew Bryant was going to throw the kitchen sink at us in the last few minutes, which definitely was the case, and we were able to weather that storm.”

The Bearcats will remain at home as they look to continue their AE-winning ways against NJIT on Thursday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“We knew we had to respond,” said Binghamton coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “It would have been difficult for us, in terms of postseason and all of that, if we start out the season 0-3.”

Although the scoreboard remained knotted at zero for the first 10 minutes of play despite two shots on goal from BU, the battle between Binghamton (4-5-2, 1-2 AE) and UMBC (5-6-1, 1-1-1 AE) quickly began to look like a blowout in favor of the hosts. In the 14th minute, regaining possession off a Bearcat miss, the Retrievers pierced through BU’s backline to punch in the game’s first goal. This marked the start of a 10-minute stretch where UMBC’s attack got off six more shots, including insurance goals in the 18th and 21st minutes. While BU silenced the Retrievers for the remainder of the period, a well-hit ball to the back of the net from freshman forward Jahkaya Davis during the 32nd minute was all the scoring BU got, entering the break down 3-1, despite outshooting UMBC 10-8.

“Obviously not the start that we wanted, nor that we anticipated to be down 3-0 21 minutes into the game,” Bhattacharjee said. “We did some things that were uncharacteristic from us in terms of the defensive standpoint … there are some things that we didn’t do in terms of our midfield pressure, and some things that we can do as far as just giving up shots and not stepping into them in the defensive third.”

With the threat of a third straight AE loss in front of them, the Bearcats regrouped coming out of the break, and locked in on closing the gap. The comeback began on the defensive end, as Binghamton held UMBC scoreless for the remainder of the game. The effort was headlined by two clutch saves in minutes 52 and 79 from sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler who recovered from a shaky first half to keep BU in the contest.

“What I really liked at halftime is you could see that we weren’t out of it,” Bhattacharjee said. “Our players had belief. They knew that we didn’t play to the ability that we could have, so there was definitely still belief that we could get back into the game.”

Yet, despite this defensive effort, Binghamton still struggled to find offensive answers as the period came down to its final 10 minutes. But the hopes of a comeback would turn into reality in the 85th minute when a pass from senior forward Hannah Mimas was collected by Davis, who punched in her second goal of the game to get BU within one. From there, the floodgates opened for the Bearcats. Senior forward Mackenzie Ryder was the next to send a ball past UMBC’s keeper in the 87th minute, tying the game.

As the clock wound down, it became clear that the next goal would win the game. With less than a minute to play, a BU corner kick was seemingly cleared by UMBC. The play wasn’t dead yet though — the cleared ball ended up at the feet of junior defender Allison Falvo who quickly sent it in the direction of junior forward Lauren Clark. With the game on the line, Clark sailed the ball to the bottom right corner of the box, where it ended up just out of reach for UMBC. The final score was 4-3, and for the first time since AE play started, it was in favor of Binghamton.

“From my standpoint, you got to make a decision,” Bhattacharjee said. “It’s like, ‘okay, well, we got all the way back from 3-0 — do we sit back and just hold on to this tie?’ But we decided to go for it … We knew that this is a game that we wanted to get a full three points from a win, not one point from a tie. So we went forward.”

BU will look to carry its momentum from the breakout victory back to campus on Sunday, Oct. 13 as it is set to take on Bryant. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

After a 2-1 loss against Maine to open America East play last weekend, the Binghamton women’s soccer team’s losing streak extended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of UNH for Sunday’s Homecoming match. The game was defined by a physical defensive struggle on both sides, with UNH capitalizing on a BU deflection for the game’s lone score before foul trouble in the second halted Binghamton’s offense.

“It was just an unfortunate day,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “I thought the effort was excellent. Certain things that we wanted to execute within our game plan came off very well. We just needed to be a little bit sharper in the final third to create that last finish and chance.”

The game went back and forth from the kickoff with UNH (7-2-1, 2-0 AE) attacking BU’s (3-5-2, 0-2 AE) goal during the third minute, but senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams blocked it out of the net. BU would respond with a push of their own, but the Wildcats’ back line worked to prevent Binghamton from getting off quality shots. While senior forward Hannah Mimas got off consecutive shots in minutes 16 and 18, neither found the back of the net. Instead, a Binghamton deflection in the 27th minute ended up at the feet of a Wildcat, who punched it in to give UNH a 1-0 lead, which it held going into the break.

“The goal threw us off a little bit and that just rattled us a little bit in terms of our play,” Bhattacharjee said. “Got out of that rhythm a little bit, but we just talked about continuing to do the same things in terms of what we wanted from our game plan in the second half.”

To kick off the second half, Binghamton pushed into the Wildcats’ end quickly, but a promising corner kick during the 46th minute ended up on the top of the net. From there, it was a story of Binghamton doing everything within its power to keep the Wildcats away from the back of the net. UNH’s first quality look of the period came in minute 50, but it ended up in Williams’ gloves. During this stretch of play, BU was called for fouls 11 times during the second half compared to the Wildcats’ two calls. Yet every time UNH generated a high-percentage opportunity off of a call, Williams and the back line kept the score at 1-0.

“We knew a little bit later on that we had to push numbers forward, so we’re going to have to give up some things in the back,” Bhattacharjee said. “Just something you got to do when you’re a goal down … We want to be the aggressor to get back into the game.”

Going into the final 15 minutes, the Bearcats would continue to hunt for big plays to equalize the contest. Minute 75 saw a UNH miscue generate a free kick for the hosts, but the resulting shot went too deep and BU failed to score. Binghamton continued to make runs at the UNH box, but almost every sequence would get broken up as the score stayed at 1-0. Unable to find the right opportunity, the Bearcats would end the day with a 0-2 record in conference play as they took the 1-0 loss to the Wildcats.

“Credit to UNH,” Bhattacharjee said. “We knew they were going to be a strong opponent, and it just happened to work out today that they had one more ball bounce their way versus us. We’ll rebound and go after the next one.”

BU is back on the road this week as they look to get back into the win column against UMBC on Thursday, Oct. 3. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Retriever Soccer Park in Baltimore, Maryland.

Having wrapped up nonconference play with back-to-back wins against Wagner and Le Moyne, the Binghamton women’s soccer team was unable to maintain its momentum against Maine, falling 2-1 to begin America East conference play. Despite outshooting the Black Bears 6-3 in the first period, the Bearcats conceded the lead early and were unable to find an equalizer the rest of the way.

“I thought it played out pretty much how I thought it was going to be,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Two good teams that were hungry for a result that were gonna battle it out for 90 minutes. In our conference, especially with teams in the upper half, you expect it’s going to be a one-goal game or a tie, where the game is going to come down to a couple of key, critical moments. I thought that was pretty much what happened in the game today.”

With the Black Bears (5-1-2, 1-0 AE) and the Bearcats (3-4-2, 0-1 AE) having been projected as the top-two teams in the AE preseason coaches poll, Sunday’s contest was expected to be intense. Maine would set the tone early, exploiting Binghamton’s physicality to draw a penalty kick, which found its way past senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams to put the hosts up 1-0 in the seventh minute of play.

“It was unfortunate, but we actually did have a couple of opportunities to win some tackles before the ball got around our 18-yard box,” Bhattacharjee said. “So that’s on us. We can get better in terms of just going harder, leaning into tackles and more stuff out of the air. If we do that, it does play a big part in terms of us having success.”

After this initial score, Binghamton went on the attack. Within those next 11 minutes of play, Binghamton would dominate the ball and get off four shots, yet they failed to find the back of the net with each attempt. The best look for BU during this stretch came from freshman forward Jahkaya Davis, who launched a shot to the left side of the goal that ended up in the gloves of Maine’s keeper. Following BU’s hot stretch, the pace of play for the remainder of the period slowed with neither team scoring for the remainder of the period.

“I don’t think it was a team where there were a ton of opportunities for either team,” Bhattacharjee said. “There just ended up being a couple of high-percentage opportunities for Maine, a couple high-percentage opportunities for us. Maine was able to get one better. The thing that we do have to do better at is how we defend in terms of our frontline, because [with] Maine under pressure, that led to giveaways and led to turnovers.”

Entering the second half of play, the contest evolved into a defensive struggle for much of the period. Maine commanded the field with its defensive efforts during this stretch by holding BU shotless for the first 27 minutes of the period, although this didn’t culminate in a second score for the hosts. The Bearcats finally broke past the Maine press in the 72nd minute, but the resulting shot from junior defense Brooke Herber was kept out of the goal.

The scoring would finally start to pick up again in the 82nd minute, with Maine tallying its second goal of the game to go up 2-0. Now on the backfoot, Binghamton would once more ramp up its attack which quickly paid off in a score, when Davis found the back of the net on her second shot of the day in minute 84. However, that would be the last score either side would tally on the day, as Binghamton left Orono with a 2-1 defeat to open AE play.

“We start off with two really difficult opponents right out of the gate,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had to travel [to] Maine and next week we have to host [New Hampshire], who also won today. So we have to be mindful of taking care of some key moments in the game, especially with the tight matches such as this, how physical games are, and then just the intensity and urgency that everyone feels when we play conference matches.”

Binghamton will look to get back on track and record its first conference victory of the year as they return home to take on UNH during Homecoming weekend next Sunday, Sept. 29. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“Overall I was pleased with the effort,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Certainly pleased with what we did defensively, not allowing a shot on goal over the course of 90 minutes. I can’t really think of a time where I thought Le Moyne was threatening us, so I was pleased in that regard.”

BU (3-3-2) were quick to get out of the gate, with a strike on the Le Moyne (1-7-0) goal courtesy of senior forward Hannah Mimas in the sixth minute. BU’s stout back four prevented several attempted counterattacks as they continued to attack the Dolphins’ net. The stalemate was nearly broken when senior forward Mackenzie Ryder got a good look on goal, but her shot narrowly went out right, as the match remained tied at 0-0.

“I think we’ve had some time to focus on things with the defensive side,” Bhattacharjee said. “When you look at the first couple of weeks, we play on Thursdays and Sundays, and it’s very difficult to get a training rhythm … So it’s nice that we actually had some time to focus on some things we wanted to work on.”

Binghamton continued its strong offensive performance throughout the remainder of the first half, and they finally lit up the scoreboard in the 28th minute when Ryder scored off an assist from freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter. Despite taking the lead, the Bearcats would not let up on offense, netting another shot on goal just two minutes later. In the 30th minute, following a corner kick, Ryder got her third strong look on goal, missing out to the right. The Bearcats’ offense began to slow down in the closing end of the half, as Le Moyne registered its first shot in the 44th minute to close out the first half.

“I also think we paid a good amount of attention in terms of what we wanted to do within our midfield,” Bhattacharjee said. “Just in terms of our midfield shape and our midfield pressure and that’s really helped us in terms of how we defend together as a team, it doesn’t just come down to our backline and our goalkeeper, it’s a total team effort.”

Coming out of halftime, BU yet again was quick to apply pressure on the Dolphins’ goal, with freshman forward Jahkaya Davis striking a shot on goal just nine seconds after kickoff. Le Moyne, however, was quick to respond, going on their strongest run of the game, outshooting BU 3-1. By the 61st minute, BU had regained control of the match, and Buckwalter managed her second shot on goal of the match. BU continued to build attacks when the opportunity arose, but an offside call in the 67th stopped a potential run.

“What we talked about is putting in complete 90-minute performances, because we’ve done well here and there, [and] we’ve done well for halves,” Bhattacharjee said. “So for us, we wanted to put in completed performances, and certainly, I thought that was an example for what you saw today.”

Looking to put the nail in the Dolphins’ coffin, sophomore midfielder Bella Brown, Buckwalter and Mimas rattled off one, one and two shots respectively, but they were unable to find the back of the net. The Bearcats’ victory securing goal came in the 86th minute when Mimas finally found the back of the net off an assist from Ryder, as they came out on top of Le Moyne 2-0. Binghamton outshot Le Moyne 18-4, and their back four allowed zero shots on goal throughout the match.

“We start [conference play] with the big one against Maine,” Bhattacharjee said. “The team that finished right behind us in the regular season, but ended up winning the post-season tournament … So we’re looking forward to the challenge, and getting these wins under our belt certainly helps us to have some momentum going into that.”

Binghamton will begin its America East slate on Sunday, Sept. 22 against Maine. Kickoff is set for noon at Ted Grant Field in Orono, Maine.

“There are certainly some things that we want to work on,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “How we want to press, how we want to deal with the team that presses us … You can cover so much in preseason, but when you [have Thursday and Sunday games] it’s tough to get to those topics.”

The Bearcats (2-3-2) began the week by hosting the Orange (6-1-1), and they quickly had to battle against pressure from the Syracuse attack. After stuffing their visitors, it was senior forward Mackenzie Ryder getting off the first shot of the game in the fifth minute, going out wide left. From there, the opponents would continue to trade shots and looks. Leading the Binghamton attack was senior forward Hannah Mimas, who created multiple breakaways and looks but was unable to find the back of the net. Instead, Syracuse found the back of the net in minute 31, taking a 1-0 lead that the Orange carried into the break.

“In the first half, Syracuse kept their forwards up high,” Bhattacharjee said. “They would pinch in, and there were times that we tried to play through it, which wasn’t necessarily the right decision, or we would try to play a longer pass that was under hit and then it basically just kept us in that zone. When those moments were there, that’s where basically we fed into where Syracuse’s numbers were.”

Trying to equalize the contest, BU would take control of the ball to open the second period, but the resulting shot by freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter in minute 48 would get blocked. Buckwalter would get another look in the 60th minute, but it would hit the crossbar. In the end, BU was not able to secure the equalizer, and Binghamton would go on to lose 1-0 to the Orange.

Staying in Vestal for Sunday’s contest to host Wagner (1-3-3), the opening stretch of play was defined by a strong back-and-forth between the sides. It was the Bearcats who found the back of the net first, with Mimas punching in a score off a Seahawk block right by the goal. Although lapses in Binghamton’s defense caused by low passes out of the box would give the Seahawks a few chances, BU would hold on tight to it’s 1-0 advantage for the remainder of the first half.

“We just had more belief,” Bhattacharjee said. “We were more committed. More committed in terms of our runs, more committed in terms of taking people on one [versus] one, more committed that when someone else had the ball that we were committed in terms of getting into the box for finishing opportunities.”

With its second victory of the campaign in sight, the Bearcats would up their offensive pace to begin period two. Binghamton would get the period’s first shot up courtesy of Mimas in minute 48, but it wouldn’t be until minute 66 that Binghamton’s goalscoring run would begin. First, Mimas would connect with Ryder who nailed her first goal of the year to make it 2-0. Then just two minutes later, freshman forward Jahkaya Davis would get around a logjam of Bearcats and Seahawks to find the back of the net for her first collegiate goal. Cementing the victory in minute 83 was Buckwalter, who punched in BU’s fourth score from the center of the goal. When all was said and done, the Bearcats had secured a 4-0 victory.

“We scored four good goals and four very different goals from four different goal-scorers,” Bhattacharjee said. “That shows how we could do things in different ways, and then that does become tough for teams to have to defend. It’s not just one or two things that we’re going back to the well over and over, because teams can suss that out, pick that out as they scout us. So the fact that we were able to do that a few different ways, that’s certainly really helpful.”

Binghamton will head back on the road to face Le Moyne this coming Sunday, Sept. 15 as it looks to secure its second straight win. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Ted Grant Field in Syracuse, New York.

“What I was most impressed with is this team’s resiliency,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “That we have an attitude and mentality of learning from things that we can improve upon, and then we look forward and ahead to the next thing.”

BU (1-1-1) began its week of play with a road trip to Buffalo to face off against Canisius (1-0) Thursday evening, and the Bearcats quickly found themselves at a disadvantage to the Golden Griffins. The hosts put Binghamton’s back line to work with three shots in the first four minutes, culminating with the third shot finding the back of the net to make it a 1-0 contest. Although freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter would get an opportunity to equalize in the fifth minute, the opposing keeper was able to get her gloves on the shot. This set the tone for the rest of the half, as Binghamton failed to capitalize on its opportunities while Canisius added two more points to the tally to make it 3-0 at the break.

“Honestly, the first half didn’t feel like it was a [3-0] game,” Bhattacharjee said. “They had three goal scoring opportunities, and they converted … I felt like the scoreline perhaps exaggerated the difference at that time, because statistically everything else was pretty even. Possession, shots, all of that. The only thing that I honestly felt like we could done a little bit better is I thought we were a little bit too easy to give up fouls.”

Entering the second period, foul trouble for Binghamton would give the Golden Griffins a chance to carry over their momentum as the hosts scored on a penalty kick in minute 47 to go up 4-0. The rest of the match would see Binghamton fail to wrestle ball control from Canisius, getting off only one shot for the entire period, courtesy of senior forward Mackenzie Ryder in minute 51, which was again saved by Canisius’ keeper. The Bearcats wouldn’t get another opportunity to get on the board, surrendering one more score as Binghamton fell 5-0 for its first loss of the 2024 campaign.

Looking to bounce back from Thursday’s shutout, the Bearcats went on another upstate road trip Sunday to face off against St. Bonaventure (0-3-1). As the first period began, however, it appeared that Binghamton would again experience difficulties on offense. While the Bearcats would pepper the Bonnies with shots throughout the first 20 minutes, BU failed to convert those opportunities into scores. Instead, St. Bonaventure struck first in minute 28 to take a 1-0 lead. Both squads would then be engaged in a defensive stalemate for the remainder of the frame, with the score remaining 1-0 as the period came to a close.

“We just keep going,” Bhattacharjee said. “There wasn’t a sense of frustration, it was just ‘keep going, keep going’ … It was just one of those days where I feel like there isn’t much else that could be said, because at the end we played very well. The only thing we were left wanting for was another opportunity to convert a goal.”

Coming out of the gate to begin period two, the Bearcats would start to gain more ball control over the Bonnies. This newfound aggression paid off in minute 65, as junior defender Brooke Herber connected with senior forward Hannah Mimas, who secured the goal to knot up the contest at one. However, despite outshooting its hosts 3-1 the rest of the way, Binghamton was unable to secure a second score to take the lead. Mimas would get the game’s final look in the 88th minute, but the shot went out to the right. When all was said and done, Binghamton left St. Bonaventure tied at one.

“[Mimas] scored a very good goal, and honestly she was probably unlucky not to get a second, third or even a fourth goal because of the chances that we created on set pieces to run a play,” Bhattacharjee said. “Today’s game was just one of those days where we were very pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result.”

Binghamton will look to get back on track as it hosts its home opener against Monmouth on Thursday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

“We kind of see this as a combination of everything that we worked at during preseason giving us a kickstart to what we want to do going into the season,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We are a different team. We have six starters that have moved on. And this past spring … people really stepped in. They were hungry for their opportunity.”

BU (1-0) made its presence known to the Colonials (0-1-1) early on in the first period, taking control of the field and aggressively attacking GWU’s back line. Leading this early charge was senior forward Hannah Mimas, who was responsible for two of Binghamton’s first four shots within the opening minutes. Mimas’ control of the midfield paid off in the eighth minute when she connected with freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter, who found the back of the net to secure her first collegiate goal, putting the Bearcats up 1-0.

“We’ve got some firepower right now,” Bhattacharjee said. “The only thing I’d say is we got a little bit of limited depth … but when they come back, which will definitely be more than ample time before conference play, I think our fans will see we’re gonna have some pretty legit, dangerous attacking options for us to work with.”

After Binghamton’s initial offensive onslaught, the pace of play would slow down for the next stretch, with neither team mounting a goal-netting attack for the next 22 minutes. While the Colonials would make a flurry of substitutions within this timeframe in an attempt to gain momentum, it would be Binghamton striking once again for the game’s next score. Off an assist from sophomore midfielder Paige Luke, Mimas netted a score of her own in the 31st minute to make it a 2-0 game. As the period came to an end, Binghamton would keep its advantage, having outshot George Washington 9-2 during the frame.

Coming out of halftime, Buckwalter showed no signs of cooling off. In the 47th minute of play, the freshman continued to demonstrate her effectiveness in finishing around the box with her second score of the outing to expand Binghamton’s lead to three. When play in the America East had wrapped for the week, Buckwalter’s two-goal performance ended up netting her Rookie of The Week honors.

“I knew that [Buckwalter] was going to be impactful here as a Bearcat,” Bhattacharjee said. “Now, did I think that it was going to mean that she was going to score two goals in her debut game? Now that even exceeded some of my highest expectations. But I give her a lot of credit because she came in extremely prepared.”

Despite the relative ease that Binghamton displayed in building its lead, the Colonials got on the board in minute 54, before a corner kick converted to a goal in the 76th minute cut Binghamton’s lead to one. However, the Bearcats would get a stop when they needed it the most, with the game-tying goal going out over the top of the net in minute 77. The Bearcats held their opponents scoreless the rest of the way, securing the 3-2 victory.

“It just meant that we had to go defensive recovery, and we had to do that a few times over late in the game, where you’re probably feeling it with the legs on a warm day,” Bhattacharjee said. “So I think some of those things just kind of added up, and I know we’re going to be better for it because we experienced it. We did see some gaps, but the thing I like about this team is they learn very quickly.”

Binghamton will continue its season-opening road trip this Thursday, Aug. 22 against Canisius. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, New York.

In a match that was nearly two hours long and came down to the final minutes of play, the Binghamton women’s soccer team America East (AE) championship hopes came to an end on Thursday night with a 2-1 semifinal loss to UMass Lowell at home. After taking an early lead, BU remained in control during the first half before surrendering a goal to the River Hawks in the second period that brought the game to overtime. From there, BU was unable to put the game away despite multiple scoring opportunities, falling to the River Hawks in double overtime.

“I can’t fault the effort,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “There were certain things that let us down at times, but overall, over the course of 110 minutes, I certainly thought we played some good soccer. It’s just unfortunately, this can be a cruel game, and it was really cruel to us tonight.”

It took just 72 seconds from the opening whistle for BU (6-5-6, 5-0-3 AE) to take control of the game, immediately launching an aggressive attack against the River Hawks (5-6-7, 3-2-3 AE). This attack was produced by a corner kick that resulted in freshman defender Sophia Garofalo sending it dead center into the back of the net to give BU a 1-0 lead.

“There was a little bit of improvisation on that set piece,” Bhattacharjee said. “We expected that perhaps [UMass Lowell] could try something new … So it was good that we got a quick two-man corner, led to a service and eventual finish.”

With BU earning a 1-0 advantage, the game turned into a physical battle for control over the ball from both sides of the action. It would soon be UMass Lowell’s turn to attack during the eighth minute, but the ball was headed out and quickly cleared away from BU’s zone by graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight. BU would keep UMass Lowell off the board through strong play over contested balls, such as a 50/50 situation converted by sophomore defender Brooke Herber into a Bearcat attack in the 13th minute, although no shot was converted into a goal.

The increasingly physical play from both sides would lead to some corner and free-kick situations. This included a corner kick in the 23rd minute by the River Hawks that made its way to the center of Binghamton’s box — but right into the gloves of junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams. The rest of the half would see Binghamton frequently attack UMass Lowell’s box but the Bearcats were unable to convert, entering halftime up 1-0.

“We wanted to break UMass Lowell’s initial pressure and then we knew if he did that, there would have to be some play in the midfield,” Bhattacharjee said. ”I thought we did a good job with that and that led to us having possession.”

The second half began with the same Bearcat offensive tempo it brought to the beginning of the first, but a shot from senior midfielder Molly McClelland was blocked by UMass Lowell in the 46th minute. The midfield duo of McClelland and O. McKnight, with shooting support from senior midfielder Victoria McKnight, continued to put pressure on the River Hawks with their speed and footwork, but they couldn’t find another goal for Binghamton.

Instead, it was UMass Lowell who got on the board first in the half off of an 18-yard shot to the left in the 68th minute to tie the game at one. Now a tied game, the last 20 minutes of play would be a trade of attacks and shots between both teams. Despite close looks from both sides, neither could put the ball away as the game went into overtime.

After a frantic first overtime period that saw neither team put up a score, the River Hawks broke past BU’s defense in the 101st minute to find the back of the net off a corner kick to start double overtime with a 2-1 lead. The Bearcats went on the attack for the remainder of the match, including a shot on goal in the final five seconds by sophomore forward Lauren Clark that ended up in the hands of UMass Lowell’s keeper. Ultimately, when the final whistle sounded, the score remained at 2-1 in favor of River Hawks as Binghamton’s season came to an abrupt end.

“We were hungry to tie it, at a minimum send it to [penalty kicks],” Bhattacharjee said. “We had some great looks … just one of those nights where we had good looks and [the] ball couldn’t fall on the back of the net.”

The Bearcats’ season ends with their second-consecutive AE regular season title and an array of conference honors. Senior defense Lexi Vegoda alongside O. McKnight earned first-team all-conference honors, with O. McKnight also winning AE Midfielder of the Year. Williams and Herber slotted themselves onto the All-Conference Second Team, while freshman forward Paige Luke won AE Rookie of the Year and joined Garofalo on the All-Rookie Team.

“I’m just really happy with everything that the team has been able to provide,” Bhattacharjee said. “Really happy for all the contributions that the upperclassmen have been able to provide … This is just way too fresh, but we’ll rebound from this, and we’ll be back.”

After tying 2-2 against Maine last Sunday, the Binghamton women’s soccer team defeated NJIT 2-0 on Thursday night in Newark, New Jersey. In its final America East (AE) regular season matchup, Binghamton consistently attacked the Highlanders with strategic movement of the ball. After taking an early one-goal lead in the first half, the Bearcats added an insurance goal, tacking on another goal in the second half en route to a 2-0 victory over NJIT. Not only did BU earn a victory, but it also secured its second consecutive regular season title and the No.1 seed in the AE tournament.

“Overall we were very pleased with the performance Thursday evening at NJIT,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We knew going into it no matter what — that a win and three points were going to secure the regular season title and postseason home-field advantage.”

NJIT (7-6-5, 3-4-1 AE) was able to get two shots in at the start of the game, but it was only a matter of time before Binghamton (6-4-6, 5-0-3 AE) gained control of the ball and essentially maintained possession for the rest of the half. In the 18th minute, graduate student defender Grace Vittoria got the ball out of the corner and made a cross to senior midfielder Molly McClelland who was able to get her foot on the ball. Eventually, McClelland attempted a shot for the Bearcats and found the back of the net, putting the Bearcats up 1-0 over the Highlanders.

After this point, things went back and forth as both teams were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Going into halftime, Binghamton found itself up 1-0. The Highlanders tried to make a comeback in the second half, tallying seven total shots, however, most of the attempts were results of aimless kicks. In the few times when NJIT was able to get on the offense, junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams was ready to stop them in their tracks, totaling six saves throughout the match.

“Overall it was a strong defensive performance to keep the clean sheet,” Bhattacharjee said. “Our best part of the game was our possession and how we kept the ball.“

The Bearcats had a comfortable rhythm and were playing in unison, earning 10 shots in the second half and never allowing the Highlanders to get the upper hand. Between the efforts of freshman forward Paige Luke and senior defender Lexi Vegoda, along with the senior midfielder Victoria McKnight and graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight, Binghamton’s offense was able to capture a lead while also keeping NJIT off the board. Toward the end of the second half, in the 80th minute, Luke was able to serve the ball right to O. McKnight who scored the Bearcats’ second and final goal of the match.

“We scored two nice goals, the first from [Vittoria] for a quality finish by [McClelland],” Bhattacharjee said. “Then later in the second half got the insurance goal with another service from [Vittoria] flicked on by [Luke], and then a composed finish by [McKnight].

Binghamton continued to keep the Highlanders off the board and when the final whistle sounded, BU secured a 2-0 victory over NJIT. With the win, Binghamton captured the AE regular season title for the second consecutive year and will be the No.1 seed, earning home-field advantage throughout the AE tournament.

“We are feeling confident going into the semifinal as we await Monday’s winner between [NJIT] and [UMass Lowell],” Bhattacharjee said. “Either one will be a good opponent and it’s typically tough to beat an opponent a second time. But if we keep our quality of play and the team continues to feel and show good vibes we know we can have another strong showing in front of our home fans on Thursday night.”

The Bearcats will begin preparing for the AE Semifinals on Nov. 2. Kickoff is set for 6:07 pm at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York where they will face either No. 4 UMass Lowell or No. 5 NJIT.

As the final whistle sounded on Sunday, the America East (AE) women’s soccer playoff picture became clearer as Binghamton and Maine, the two top teams in AE standings, settled for a 2-2 tie after the Bearcats were able to overcome a 2-1 deficit in the first half. In the process, BU increased its unbeaten streak to eight and remained in first place in the conference.

“It’s nice that we at this point have succeeded in terms of getting the quarterfinal bye and having a home semifinal,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “So I’m disappointed about the goals, but to have the team come back and set ourselves up in a good spot — if you told me at the beginning of the season we’ve got to get a result, we’d be happy with that. So we’re still in good shape.”

After trading chances through the first four minutes, the Black Bears (9-1-5, 4-1-2 AE) found an opening. A foul by Binghamton (5-4-6, 4-0-3 AE) in the third minute gave Maine a free kick in the offensive zone. Instead of sending it toward the Binghamton net, Maine sent the ball to the corner. Eventually, the ball was sent into the Bearcats’ box and to the back of the net as Maine went up 1-0.

After Maine’s goal, Binghamton had several close chances of their own. In the 14th minute, freshman forward Paige Luke was able to break in and receive a pass to get a breakaway opportunity. However, Maine’s goalkeeper was able to keep her shot out of the net. Minutes later, a Bearcat foul would lead to a Maine goal. In the 18th minute, the Bearcats committed a foul and gave Maine a penalty shot. The Black Bears made the most of their opportunity, putting the ball away to go up 2-0.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to deal with a couple of key moments on fouls that led to a couple of set-piece goals,” Bhattacharjee said. “We really have not been giving up set-piece goals throughout the course of the season. So it’s one of those things that ended up being an equalizer tonight. But again, you know, we’ll learn from it. We might have an opportunity to see Maine again, so hopefully if that happens we’ll be able to control a little bit better.”

The teams would continue to trade chances after the second goal. The Bearcats eventually broke through in the 35th minute. After being awarded a corner kick, senior defender Lexi Vegoda skied the ball into the box. The ball then went to graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight, who shot it over the Black Bears keeper and into the net to make it a 2-1 game going into halftime.

“I think it was critical to get on the board before the half,” McKnight said. “The corner came in. [Vegoda] has great balls every time. A couple of girls fought for the ball. I just took a touch and found the open goal. I knew we needed that goal, everyone was pressing forward and putting their bodies on the line. Getting that goal before the half definitely lifted our spirits and then we knew we could come back and either tie or win.”

The second half started similarly to the first, with both teams trading time on the attack. In the 59th minute, the Bearcats were able to create space deep in the offensive zone. Graduate student defender Grace Vittoria then crossed the ball to Luke close into the Maine box. After receiving the pass, Luke then put the ball past the keeper to tie the game at 2-2.

“[Luke’s] finish was just class,” Bhattacharjee said. “So really, really well done. For us, we’ll take it, you know — like I said, they’re a good defensive team. They’re hard to break down. The fact that we got two goals, especially being down from that 2-0 deficit. You know, we’ll get on a roll from here and get ready for Thursday.”

The game would become increasingly physical as the half went on. Neither team looked to settle for the tie, as both teams had their chances during the match’s final minutes. Ultimately, the score would remain as it was, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

Binghamton will hit to road to take on NJIT, in its final regular season matchup, on Thursday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Lubetkin Field in Newark, New Jersey.

Coming off of a 2-0 win against UMass Lowell last week, the Binghamton women’s soccer team extended its America East (AE) unbeaten streak to seven games with a 2-0 victory against Vermont on Sunday afternoon. After scoring two goals in the first half, the Bearcat defense held strong in the second half to keep Vermont at bay, with junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams making a season-high 10 saves in the match.

“Over the course of 90 minutes, I thought Vermont gave us some difficult moments in the opening 15-20 minutes of the first half,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “But we made a couple of changes and the game came back to us, and we talked about making big moments and we centrally did that. I thought our back line was excellent.”

Following kickoff, the Catamounts (8-5-1, 2-3-1 AE) quickly went on the attack, and within the first four minutes, attempted a shot on Binghamton’s (5-4-5, 4-0-2 AE) goal which resulted in a corner kick. However, the Bearcats’ defense headed the ball out of their box and kept Vermont off the board, resulting in a chase for possession over the ball. Shortly after, the Catamounts attempted another shot on goal, but Williams made the save.

“I thought [Williams’] positioning was pretty good,” Bhattacharjee said. “She knew what she needed to do as far as shot-stopping. We knew they had some pace up top so there were a couple of times she had to come up for some through balls, so she did pretty well.”

At the 25-minute mark of the first half, graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight, with the assistance of senior midfielder Victoria McKnight and freshman forward Paige Luke, fired the ball into the back of Vermont’s net to give BU a 1-0 advantage. In response, Vermont increased its aggressiveness as its offense drove the ball into the Bearcats’ territory and attempted a shot on goal just seven seconds after BU’s goal, but was unable to find the back of the net.

“Very happy with it, the back line did a good job stepping in front of a shot [that] was given up,” Bhattacharjee said.

The ball primarily remained on BU’s defensive side for a five-minute period, with the Bearcats determined to bring the action over to Vermont’s side. Taking advantage of a small break in Vermont’s offense, the Bearcats maneuvered between several Catamounts and drove the ball swiftly up the field. Finally, at the 31-minute mark, BU’s efforts paid off when sophomore forward Samiya Reid received a pass from V. McKnight and got off a shot nearly immediately, which connected with the back of the net to put the Bearcats up 2-0.

“I thought it was a very good collective team defense effort which we needed if we were gonna get a shutout today,” Bhattacharjee said.

As the first half came to a close, Vermont attempted two more shots, but its efforts were derailed as Williams promptly saved all of them. Now with two goals on the board and the whole second half remaining, the Bearcats worked to maintain their lead.

Heading into the second half, the ball went back and forth between the two teams until the Bearcats attempted the first shot on goal of the half, which went out left. Binghamton stayed consistent with their shot attempts in the second half, seeing three attempts in 17 minutes. However, the score remained 2-0 as neither BU nor Vermont were able to capitalize on their opportunities.

“I thought it was a very good collective team defense effort which we needed if we were gonna get a shutout today,” Bhattacharjee said.

The second half saw five shot attempts on the Bearcat’s goal, but Williams stayed unwavering in her position and saved every one of Vermont’s attempts to keep the Catamounts off the board. Despite BU being outshot 17-6 in the match, in the end, the Bearcats walked away as the victors, earning a 2-0 shutout victory.

“We knew that we were gonna be tested defensively,” Bhattacharjee said. “[Vermont] is a good attacking team. I believe they are coming in on 25-26 goals, so for us to get a shutout, I thought it was going to be somewhat of a tall order, but we did it.”

Binghamton will continue AE play when they face off against Maine on Sunday, Oct. 22. Kickoff is set for noon at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Coming off a 3-1 win over UMBC, the Binghamton women’s soccer team hosted Albany on Thursday night, ultimately playing to a 2-2 draw. The Bearcats controlled possession for the majority of the game and built a comfortable two-goal cushion with a goal in both the first and second halves. However, in the 85th minute, Albany found the back of the net to cut the BU lead to one. Then, with less than 30 seconds left in the match, Albany found the equalizer off of a corner kick, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

“We had a pretty good amount of control for the game,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “If there’s anything that I’d say instead of two goals, we had an opportunity for a third and a fourth. [We] hit a couple of crossbars, forced the keeper to make a couple of good saves, a couple of shots that we missed on our own. So, we could’ve put it away instead of just holding a two-goal lead with four minutes left.”

The match began with the ball in Albany’s (3-5-2, 0-1-2 AE) possession but Binghamton (3-4-4, 2-0-1 AE) quickly brought it back to the Great Danes’ box. The Bearcats’ offense came on strong, with senior midfielders Molly McClelland and Victoria McKnight and junior midfielder Hannah Knych working together to create several opportunities for a goal, but never getting a clear shot at the net. The first two shots of the game were taken by the Great Danes with one going out, and the other being saved by junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams.

The Bearcats’ defense worked to move the ball out of its box and back down the field. Knych got off the first shot for the Bearcats, which went out top left. Albany was able to find two more attempts on the net, but Williams was able to save them both. Later in the half, senior defender Lexi Vegoda was able to get the ball into the Great Danes’ box to sophomore forward Lauren Clark, who capitalized in the 33rd minute by putting the ball away for BU’s first and only goal of the half. The first half ended with nine shots from Binghamton and five shots from the Great Danes. Going into halftime, the Bearcats found themselves with a 1-0 advantage over Albany.

“[There were] certain things that we expected to see from Albany,” Bhattacharjee said. “They gave us a little bit of a different look in terms of what we expected from our scouting report. But once we figured it out after the first 15 to 20 minutes, we were able to get more of the control in the game. [Vegoda] helped to play a big part in that.”

For most of the second half, the Bearcats’ attack did not let up, getting off a shot to the bottom right that was saved, along with a shot that went off the crossbar. Eventually, graduate student defender Grace Vittoria was able to break down Albany’s defense, attempting a shot through a defender’s leg. Off of the goal-kick from Vittoria’s shot, sophomore forward Samiya Reid was able to get her foot on the ball and turn it around for an unassisted goal that put BU up 2-0.

The Bearcats kept the intensity high throughout the half, doubling the Great Danes’ shot output in the second half. However, late in the half, things began to take a turn for the worse for BU. Albany got a kick right outside the box, and in the last four minutes, was able to make it past the Binghamton defense for their first goal of the game. Then with less than 30 seconds to go, Albany capitalized off a corner kick opportunity and found the back of the net, as the match ended in a 2-2 tie.

“Should have been three points and now we’re walking away with just one,” Bhattacharjee said. “So obviously pretty disappointed and gutted about it, but we got to live with it and accept it, move on for another day and get ready for Bryant on Sunday. We gotta make sure we play with the effort we know we’re capable of, putting out chances away that we know we’re capable of putting away, get a solid three points, get our footing back and that will take us into the second half of [AE conference] play. Right now, I know it sounds cliché, but we got to move on from this unfortunate result and get back to where we know we can be.”

With its undefeated streak in America East (AE) conference play on the line, the Binghamton women’s soccer team traveled to Smithfield, Rhode Island, and earned its second consecutive tie, drawing the Bulldogs 1-1. After an early goal from both the Bearcats and the Bulldogs in the contest, neither squad could find the back of the net again to take the lead, as they were forced to settle for a draw.

“Overall impression of the game is we had good control of possession,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Defensively [we] only allowed one shot on goal and created numerous opportunities.”

Binghamton (3-4-5, 2-0-2 AE) had the game’s first attempt only four minutes in when freshman defender Sophia Garofalo shot the ball, but it went out left. Shortly after in the sixth minute of the first half, the Bulldogs (5-3-3, 1-1-2 AE) looked to create an attempt of their own and in this pursuit, found the back of the net to take an early 1-0 lead.

The ball continued to go back and forth between BU and the Bulldogs as both teams looked for opportunities to score. After multiple attempts, senior defender Lexi Vegoda took a corner kick that found graduate student defender Grace Vittoria, who headed the ball into the back of the net, making it a 1-1 game in the 15th minute.

“At the end of the day we just need to finish better,” Bhattacharjee said. “That performance was worthy of three [or] four goals, but we just didn’t tuck it away like we can.”

Binghamton got off a shot three minutes after its first goal in an effort to take the lead, but the Bulldogs goalkeeper managed to make a save. Not long after, Bryant also looked to capitalize on an opportunity to take the lead, but junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams made a save to keep the game tied. Ultimately, this would be the last opportunity for the Bulldogs in the first half. Although the Bearcats outshot Bryant 14-4 in the first half, going into halftime, the score was tied at one goal a piece.

“Very pleased with the effort and overall performance but walking away disappointed we didn’t get the full three points,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had strong statistical advantages on Thursday as well. We just wanted more from this week with wins instead of settling for ties.”

Heading into the second half, both teams strived to get back on the board and take the lead. Bryant was the first to make an attempt a minute into the half but could not find the back of the net. The first opportunity for Binghamton came in the 63rd minute of the game from sophomore forward Samiya Reid, but the shot went out right.

The Bearcats controlled the half once again as their defense held the Bulldogs to just four shots with none making it on the net. Meanwhile, BU had 11 shots with two shots making it to the goal. Possession of the ball went back and forth but neither team was able to produce another goal. The game ended in a 1-1 tie as Binghamton and Bryant each collected one point to add to its total.

“We look forward to getting some rest and then prepping again for next weekend, on the road once again at UMass Lowell,” Bhattacharjee said. “We will work on some finishing reps, if we get chances like we did this last week … we need to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.”

BU will stay on the road to continue AE conference play against UMass Lowell on Sunday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for noon at Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.

After winning its first America East (AE) conference match last week against UNH, the Binghamton women’s soccer team defeated UMBC 3-1 at home on Sunday afternoon. After BU built a two-goal lead in the first half, an own goal from the Bearcats made it a one-score game. However, late in the second half, Binghamton secured the victory with another goal to earn a 3-1 win over UMBC to stay undefeated in AE play.

“You want to make sure that you play a complete 90-minute performance,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Otherwise the game can flip. So that’s something we’ll need to address and talk about. But you know, other than that, I was pleased overall in terms of performance … anytime you get three points, especially at home, it’s critical.”

Binghamton (3-4-3, 2-0-0 AE) went on the attack first, quickly entering the Retrievers’ (3-8-1, 0-1-1 AE) defensive zone. This momentum carried freshman forward Paige Luke to the first shot of the game from the left corner of the box, but it ended up in the UMBC goalkeeper’s gloves. From there, the contest would go back and forth with frequent periods of attacking on both ends of the field. While UMBC managed to create several scoring opportunities, the Binghamton defense was able to break up every Retriever opportunity to score. BU held UMBC to just 3 shots in the first half.

“UMBC was able to create some situations where we had to defend, and we were able to recover in transition for the most part,” Bhattacharjee said. “Where we did a better job was once we broke that initial line of pressure, we were able to play behind them a little bit more and that’s where the game opened up for us more and then we were able to get some attack going.”

On the offensive side of the action, the Bearcats got 11 shots off but were unable to capitalize for much of the half. However, their luck would change late in the first half, in the 42nd minute of play, when sophomore defender Brooke Herber found the back of the net off a rebound shot, courtesy of graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight. Just under two minutes later, McKnight collected another assist when sophomore forward Lauren Clark tapped in another deflected shot. The Bearcats found themselves with a 2-0 advantage going into halftime.

Possession continued to swing both ways as the second half began. BU continued to attack the Retriever’s box, with a shot from sophomore forward Samiya Reid just bouncing off the crossbar in the 64th minute. However, UMBC would end up on the board first in the half when a mistimed touch from the Bearcats ended up in their own goal, making the score 2-1.

“I thought we could have handled it a little bit better if we just had dropped a little bit more and if we just denied the early service in the first place we don’t get caught in those situations,” Bhattacharjee said. “So credit to them, they had a couple [of] moments where they were able to be somewhat effective on … the goal, but those are things defensively I think we can do a better job on.”

A few minutes later, UMBC looked for the equalizer, getting off two shots that were saved by junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams. With the game now a one-score contest, BU began to launch a more aggressive attack. In the 81st minute, this paid off when senior midfielder Victoria McKnight broke off a defender to get the ball to Luke, who found the back of the net to make it a 3-1 game. BU maintained its lead for the rest of the match, securing a 3-1 win over UMBC.

“Our movement was sharp,” Bhattacharjee said. “I thought our way that we connected to our feet was sharp and then the ability to play some of those final passes in behind UMBC, that’s where we got pretty dangerous. And, you know, great ball for [Luke] to run on to and ultimately to have that finish.”

BU will continue AE play when they host Albany on Thursday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

After being defeated in a penalty shootout by UNH in the 2022 AE championship game, the Binghamton women’s soccer team flipped the script and began America East (AE) conference play with a 1-0 win against UNH on Sunday afternoon in Durham, New Hampshire. After getting on the board in the first half, a strong defensive performance by junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams helped BU secure a 1-0 victory.

“In a conference where there will be a good number of one-goal results and the final [AE] standings will be tightly packed in the end,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “It’s critical to get the full three points [in] any opportunity you can. To get the result on the opening day and do it on the road against one of the better [AE] opponents in UNH makes today an even more significant result.”

Binghamton (2-4-3, 1-0 AE) and UNH (3-4-1, 0-1 AE) both fought to be the first ones on the board early on in the match. BU had the first attempt of the game in the seventh minute after senior midfielder Victoria McKnight got a look that went just left of the goal. Shortly after, Binghamton attempted another shot on goal that was saved by the Wildcats’ keeper. Once the Wildcats got the ball, they fired three shots in the span of two minutes, all of which were saved by Williams. Possession continued to rotate between the two teams, but both sides were unable to capitalize on their opportunities to score.

However, in the 31st minute, sophomore forward Lauren Clark scored to give Binghamton a 1-0 lead over UNH. The Bearcats followed this up with two more shots in the remaining 13 minutes in the half but were unable to find the back of the net. Going into halftime, BU found themselves leading the Wildcats with a 1-0 advantage, totaling nine shots in comparison to UNH’s seven.

“Our depth really showed well today,” Bhattacharjee said. “It was terrific for the entire backline and [Williams] to get the shutout, strong midfield play from [graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight], and a quality finish from [Clark] to get the 1-0 result.”

Going into the second half, Binghamton looked to increase its lead. Once again, the Bearcats were the first to get a shot off this half only three minutes in, but it went wide left. After this attempt from BU, the Wildcats took one of their own eight minutes into the half, but this shot was saved by Williams. Later in the half, UNH got off three shots in the span of just one minute in an effort to try and tie the game but was unable to find the equalizer.

The Bearcats also made an attempt of their own in the 67th minute in hopes of making it a 2-0 game but were unable to connect with the back of the Wildcat’s net. This would be BU’s second and final shot of the half. The Wildcats looked to even the score several times, tallying a total of 14 shots in the second half with four of them making it onto the net, but they were saved by Williams. Neither team scored in the second half and when all was said and done, Binghamton found itself on top, defeating the reigning AE champions in UNH 1-0.

“We will enjoy this win and recover from today as well as getting some rest from a hard week that included matches with Maryland and Cornell,” Bhattacharjee said. “But we will get back to work later this week and prep for UMBC and be up for another demanding [AE] match.”

BU is set to return home as they continue to AE play against UMBC on Sunday, Sept. 24. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York

After a back-and-forth match, the Binghamton women’s soccer team earned a 2-2 draw against Cornell in Ithaca, New York on Wednesday night. After Binghamton got on the board first with a penalty kick, the Bearcats relinquished their lead to Cornell after giving up two straight goals before coming back late in the second half to force a draw against the Big Red.

“We take a lot of pride in our set piece defending, and we talked about how Cornell is a very good team in terms of their service and finishing our set pieces,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “And then the second half, we gave up seven fouls and six corner kicks, giving them 13 set piece opportunities, and both of their goals came off set piece opportunities … I think having done that we could have walked away with a win instead of a tie.”

Binghamton (1-4-3) began the match by putting pressure quickly on the Big Red’s (2-0-3) defense. Controlling the ball early with a strong attack, BU managed to get off three shots that were just short of the Cornell goal. After a slide tackle from freshman defender Sophia Garofalo broke up a Cornell attack, the Big Red drew a penalty for a handball, giving Binghamton an opportunity to take an early lead. With a penalty kick set up, senior defender Lexi Vegoda put the ball in the back of the net for Binghamton’s first score and her third goal of the year.

“We talked about how there would be space to play in behind and you just want to take advantage of it,” Bhattacharjee said. “So we did that. We talked about how our forwards can have good runs and good movement to get in those spaces in behind, and I felt like we were able to do that with a fair amount of regularity in the first half.”

After a shot from senior midfielder Victoria McKnight went just wide left of the Big Red’s goal, the momentum began to shift in Cornell’s favor. While the Big Red began to put more pressure on Binghamton’s box, no ball from the Big Red made it past junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams. As both sides waged a physical battle in midfield, the half drew to a close with Binghamton leading 1-0.

“When that happens, we just have to do a better job of playing quickly,” Bhattacharjee said. “We can break that press and then when we do that, we can open up the game. I just felt like at times we did it too slow or in the moments we did try to play quickly, it just wasn’t clean. It was frantic.”

Going into the second half, the Big Red continued to put pressure on Binghamton’s goal. Cornell’s efforts finally paid off in the 54th minute when a header made it past Williams and into BU’s goal to tie up the game at one. While Binghamton would begin to get shots onto Cornell’s goal after this score, in the 64th minute, BU conceded the lead after a deep volley by Cornell from the left side found the back of the Bearcats’ goal as the Big Red took a 2-1 advantage.

Despite relinquishing the lead, the Bearcats began to play more aggressively in search of an equalizer. After managing to break the Big Red’s press on one sequence, freshman forward Paige Luke evened the game at 2-2 with a high center shot off a pass from Vegoda.

“Even though we had to absorb some of the game at times, we still had some decent opportunities to ice the game,” Bhattacharjee said. “Unfortunately we didn’t get the game-winner but [I’m] happy that [Luke] still put in the tie goal for us.”

With a little over 10 minutes left on the clock, both teams looked for opportunities to take the lead. Cornell would get the most chances, but blocks and aggressive tackles from BU would disrupt the Big Red’s momentum. After Vegoda cleared the ball out to stop a last-minute offensive effort from the Big Red, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

“We were looking to get the game winner ourselves, but it’s difficult to do when you give enough set pieces, and you just have to defend it around your goal,” Bhattacharjee said. “Something that we will be better on is limiting those crosses and doing better on defensive transition, so we don’t necessarily give up those fouls or those pockets.”

Binghamton will move on to America East (AE) Conference play, looking to get revenge in its first matchup against the reigning AE champions in UNH on Sunday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire.

Coming out of an off week, the Binghamton women’s soccer team was defeated by Maryland 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York. After a strong performance in the first half, BU was called for a handball in the box, during the second half, resulting in a Maryland penalty kick that led to the eventual game-winning goal for the Terrapins.

“I’m proud of the performance,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Just gutted for the result. We went toe-to-toe with [a] Big 10 opponent. We did it for 81 minutes. [It was a] really unfortunate situation on [the penalty kick]. Unfortunately, that’s what the game came down to.”

The first half was characterized by offensive momentum from the Bearcats (1-4-2). After Maryland (3-1-4) got off the game’s first shot in the sixth minute, BU began to put on some pressure on the Terrapin defense by getting in the game’s next three shots. Controlling the midfield, Binghamton looked to attack the Terrapins’ box.

“We knew there were a couple of things that we could do centrally [and] a couple of things that we could do out wide,” Bhattacharjee said. “A big thing that we wanted to do was to win the physical battle … I’m familiar with Big 10 Soccer … it is a very physical, physical conference, and we knew that was going to be a part of the game.”

Despite their momentum, the Bearcats were unable to find the back of the net in the first. The closest BU would get was from graduate student defender Grace Vittoria. After a blocked shot and a corner kick, Vittoria had a look from the right side of the box that went just wide left.

BU’s defense played a big role in the first half, boxing in Maryland and clogging up space. Their physical defense would, however, result in five BU fouls. Yet, as Maryland attacked at the end of the half, BU would hold them to just one more shot as key plays from junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams kept the score at 0-0 entering the half.

“Once we had good shape and good transition behind the ball, which is something we actually struggled on earlier this year, that put us in a good place in terms of keeping numbers behind the ball and being in good defensive shape,” Bhattacharjee said.

As the second half rolled around, Maryland would become more aggressive with the ball. The Terrapins got their first shot in at the 47th minute, unleashing a barrage of 10 shots throughout the period. Despite this push, Binghamton’s defense and Williams’ gloves kept the game tied for much of the half.

However, Binghamton’s offense couldn’t match its first-half pace and foul trouble plagued the Bearcats. When a Binghamton handball set up a penalty kick for Maryland, Williams couldn’t keep it away and Maryland took a 1-0 lead entering the final stretch.

“I talked to the official about it,” Bhattacharjee said. “That official is a very good official. He felt like our player could have had time from the distance to move the arm. Unfortunately, from where he saw from his vantage point, it looked like it hit her arm. So I get it … Really unfortunate that a well-played game like that comes down to [a penalty kick], but that’s why this game can be cruel at times.”

The Bearcats would continue to look for opportunities in the closing minutes to even the game. Despite a shot from senior defense Lexi Vegoda in the 86th minute that went wide left, BU wouldn’t get another shot off. When things were all said and done, the game ended in a 1-0 loss for BU.

“I think the thing that just let us down was the quality of the final pass,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had some great runs. The ideas and thoughts were very good. Sometimes the pace on the ball was just a little bit too much. Get to the key but before it was before one of our forward could run out too … It’s just a matter of can we get that final last bit on that final pass, to set up that final shot.”

Binghamton will begin a road trip over the coming week, starting with a stop at Cornell on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Charles F. Berman Field in Ithaca, New York.

The Binghamton women’s soccer team drew Wagner 2-2 on a humid Sunday afternoon in Staten Island, New York. The first half of the game was filled with strong BU energy, while the momentum was tilted in favor of Wagner for most of the second half. However, neither team could pull through and break the tie as the Seahawks and Bearcats ended the match in a tie.

“We know that we could have played a little sharper, and that would have limited what we would have had to tend with when defending Wagner and would have helped us continue to create chances,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “There are things that we are very much in control of, and if we do that to our ability, that’s where good things are going to happen.”

Binghamton (1-3-2) went back and forth in possession with the Seahawks (2-3-1) in the first half. BU totaled six shots on goal in comparison to a total of two shots in the first half for the Seahawks’ offensive. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams started between the pipes for the Bearcats, and faced little opposition, aside from one shot from Wagner. Each team tallied three fouls each in the first half of play, with BU freshman defender Sophia Garofalo taking a yellow card just 15 minutes in. While the Bearcats stayed in control during the first half, they were unable to put one past the Seahawks goalkeeper until the second half.

“One thing we talked about was how we could get in behind their [back line] and force their backs to be facing their own goal, and certainly we were able to do that,” Bhattacharjee said. “If we could get behind their backs and test them, then that could get more chances for us.”

The second half saw more offense for both sides. In the 49th minute, graduate student midfielder Olivia McKnight was set free by sophomore forward Lauren Clark, and McKnight was brought down in the box, giving BU a penalty kick opportunity. Shortly after, senior defender Lexi Vegoda converted the penalty kick for her second goal of the year. However, Wagner tied it with a goal six minutes later. Then, in the 81st minute, a shot from the right side of the box gave the Seahawks a 2-1 advantage.

“We knew that Wagner was going to be pretty high energy in terms of how they were going to defend and compete,” Bhattacharjee said. “It was one of those games where a mistake here or there ended up being costly.”

In the final minute, senior defender Emma Colling scored the equalizer off of a header after being assisted by a long ball from Vegoda from the left side into the box, where Colling headed it toward the goal. A Wagner defender headed it back to Colling, who volleyed the ball into the near side and past the goaltender with 39 seconds remaining in the match. Neither squad managed another score, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

“I know that this team is going to fight until the very last minute,” Bhattacharjee said. “[We] were still looking for chances to get shots off, and obviously with 39 seconds left, it led to us getting a game-tying goal. That’s good for us to know about ourselves. As long as we continue to keep fighting, there are always good things that can go our way.”

Binghamton will return home this weekend to host Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcat Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

The Binghamton women’s soccer team earned a 3-0 win last Thursday evening when they returned home to play Le Moyne. The Bearcats outshot the Dolphins 25-3 in the match to secure their first win of the season.

“It’s a good feeling you know to get that first win,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We’ve really tested ourselves with a very ambitious schedule up to this point, so you know we wanted to see some good things.”

Possession was controlled by Binghamton (1-3-1) for the first few minutes of the contest. When the Dolphins (1-3-0) had their first chance to go on the offense, BU was able to hold them off and quickly regain possession of the ball. The first goal came 10 minutes into the game from graduate midfielder Olivia McKnight which was assisted by senior midfielder Victoria McKnight and junior forward Hannah Mimas. The ball crossed into the middle from Mimas where it was grabbed by V. McKnight who deflected the ball toward the far post and O. McKnight headed it into the net.

“It’s good for us to get that first goal,” Bhattacharjee said. “Especially to get it early in the first half and then follow up with a couple more in the second half. You know, maybe potentially could have one or two more in terms of shots that hit off the crossbar [and] the post.”

The Bearcats shot at the net three more times in 10 minutes, all of which were saved by the Dolphins’ keeper. Le Moyne was able to get the ball away from their net and attempt a shot, but it went out right. For the majority of the first half, the Bearcats held possession of the ball and kept it out of their zone and away from the net. BU created many opportunities, attempting several shots, a few of which made it on the net but were stopped by the keeper. Binghamton entered the half with a 1-0 advantage, outshooting the Dolphins 11-1.

“We challenged the goalkeeper and got some quality chances,” Bhattacharjee said. “And it was nice to get the shutout, so we’ll take it. It’s like I said, a good way to get that first win and hopefully, we carry some of this momentum as we travel on the road to play a tough Wagner side.”

In the second half, the ball continued to go back and forth. Le Moyne only got two shots off on goal in the second half and both shots were stopped by junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams.

BU continued to put pressure on the net. In the 62nd minute, sophomore forward Lauren Clark with an assist by senior defense Lexi Vegoda gave BU a 2-0 lead. Nine minutes later, BU solidified its win when Vegoda took a penalty kick in the goalie box and scored. The Bearcats boasted a three-goal advantage with just 20 minutes left in the game, which they would hold onto to earn their first win of the year.

“It’s important to play well, but you know as we’re getting ready for conference play now, it’s not just about playing well,” Bhattacharjee said. “It’s being able to put goals away and getting that W, so it’s [a] good feeling and hopefully one that continues to happen going forward.”