As the excitement of the Homecoming 2009 weekend came to a close, so did the excitement for the Binghamton University fans after the women’s soccer team lost at the hands of Stony Brook on Sunday.
In their third conference game of the season, the Bearcats lost to the Seawolves 2-1, bringing their overall record to 4-5-1, while their conference record fell to 1-2.
The game started off well for Binghamton; within the first 10 minutes of play, the squad made three shot attempts, with two of them on goal, almost as many as they made in the entire game last Sunday against Boston University.
Their offense continued to play strongly late in the first half, and at the 36:31 mark, midfielder Emily Pape scored Binghamton’s first and only goal off a corner kick.
The Bearcats held off the Seawolves for the rest of the half, leaving the score 1-0 at halftime.
As soon as the second half started, the tables were turned and Stony Brook began scoring. As per the usual arrangement, junior Erin Iman played the goalkeeper position in the second half, taking over for senior Jen McEachron.
Just six minutes into the second half, Stony Brook’s Sa’sha Kershaw scored a goal from eight yards off a cross by Morgan Sims, tying the match 1-1. Then at 65:12, Dana Adamkiewicz extended Stony Brook’s lead to 2-1, scoring the winning goal off a corner kick.
The Seawolves came out strong in the latter part of the match, head coach Sarah McClellan attributed Stony Brook’s scoring to making the most of the chances it got, something Binghamton did not do in the game.
“They were able to capitalize on one of their chances,” she said of Stony Brook’s offense. “We had kept them under control during the first half. And really they did not have dangerous opportunities. The one that they got, they put away.”
Though Binghamton did not score in the second half, they did have many opportunities, outshooting the Seawolves 6-4 in the period. In the final minutes of the game, the Bearcats tried to tie the game up, but none of their crosses gave BU opportunities to score.
“Our final pass was a little bit too late so we were getting caught offsides,” McClellan said. “We just have to recognize that final pass earlier. We’re still learning how to play urgently for 90 minutes, and it’s a very difficult thing that I’m asking them to do. It doesn’t come overnight.”
The match featured 17 fouls and three yellow cards, in a scrappy affair that left several players with injuries.
McClellan and her team understand that every game is a learning experience that can be built upon.
“Whether we win or lose the game we have to have learned something and gotten better in the next game,” McClellan said. “So if we make the same mistakes [in later games] then we’re going to have some problems.”
Despite the loss, the Bearcats are not throwing in the towel just yet.
“I’m confident that our team is gonna bounce back and play well,” McClellan said. “We’re gonna play well and we’re gonna play sharp. We were just lacking a little bit of it this game. Stony Brook did a good job taking us out of our game.”
The next big challenge this team faces comes on Thursday night, when the Bearcats are set to play Hartford at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
The team is not taking this upcoming conference match lightly.
“Thursday night is really important for us,” McClellan stressed. “We can’t take advantage of or squander a home game. We really have got to put everything together for a full game and play with the urgency that we need.”