After over six years without a conference win, the Binghamton University women’s lacrosse team finally broke through for a big victory.
Binghamton earned its first America East Conference win of the season as it defeated the Stony Brook University Seawolves 12-10. This was the Bearcats’ second conference win since the program moved to Division I play and its first since an April 11, 2004 win over Vermont.
“We were focused, and we came out hard and dominated the first 20 minutes,” Binghamton head coach Tony Zostant said.
This was the second win of the season for the Bearcats (2-11, 1-4 America East) and ties them for fifth place in the America East with Vermont. The Bearcats could avoid finishing last in the conference for the first time in program history if they are able to win their last conference game against UMBC. Zostant believes Binghamton still has a shot, but he says it depends on the players and if they are able to execute.
The Bearcats got off to a strong start with freshman Kimberly McGeever powering the ball into the back of the net in the first 30 seconds of the game. Teammates Kristen Stone and Lis Zuern followed up with goals of their own, extending the Bearcats’ lead to three. The Seawolves stopped the bleeding by scoring two goals of their own, cutting the lead to just one, but that’s the closest they would get in the first half. Binghamton would go on to outscore Stony Brook, 6-2, with six different Bearcats scoring in that time.
The Bearcats were all over the map regarding stats in the first half, narrowly outshooting the Seawolves, 14-13, but committing nine fouls and turning the ball over eight times, which caused problems in the beginning of the game.
“We were trying to push the ball up the field,” Zostant said. “This is a young team, but overall this was the best first half we have played in a while.”
Junior Ali Castiglie opened the second half with her second goal of the game to extend the Bearcats’ lead to six. But Stony Brook dug deep and became more aggressive with the ball, scoring three unanswered goals before Binghamton stepped up and answered back with two goals of its own. Stony Brook didn’t let up, though, scoring three more goals, cutting the Bearcats’ lead from six to just two, but that’s the closest it would get. The Bearcats locked down defensively for the last three minutes of the second half and took care of the ball to secure the win, storming the field as time expired.
“We wanted to come out in the second half and be stronger with the ball,” Zostant said. “Everyone wanted the win.”
The Seawolves outscored the Bearcats 6-3 and outshot the Bearcats 16-9 in the second half. Goaltender Emily Miller had impressive numbers, stopping 10 shots for the game.
Zuern had a team-high three goals for the game, and teammates McGeever, Lindsey Angelillo and Lizzie Wright had two goals apiece.
The Bearcats traveled to Marist yesterday for a non-conference showdown that ended in heartbreaking fashion. Marist freshman Amanda Tuck netted the game-winning goal with 27 seconds remaining in the first overtime to hand the Bearcats a tough 12-11 loss.
The Red Foxes used a strong run to the end the first half to grab a 6-5 halftime lead. Marist extended it to an 8-5 lead with two goals in the first four minutes of the second half. Moore scored two goals in a span of 2:02 to get the Bearcats within one goal. Each team scored another goal, setting the stage for Moore, who netted her fifth and final goal of the game to tie the game at 11-11 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
Marist ran the time out in the first overtime period after scoring the game-winning goal. Marist outshot Binghamton 31-27 for the game.
Binghamton is set to play its final game of the regular season Saturday. The Bearcats are scheduled to host UMBC at noon at the Bearcats Sports Complex.