Despite significant improvements over the past few games, the Binghamton University women’s soccer team is still without a goal, and therefore without a win, over its first four games.
On the road Friday, the Bearcats kept Cornell at bay despite a blitz of second-half shots, but could not find the back of the net themselves, as the game ended in a 0-0 tie after two overtime periods. The Big Red reeled off 14 shots in the second half and overtime periods, but junior goalkeeper Erin Iman made five saves to help keep the home team scoreless.
Despite the lack of scoring, the offense still had its opportunities.
“We had a lot of chances against Cornell to win the game in both regulation and in overtime,” said BU head coach Sarah McClellan. “The finishing part and getting-on-the-same-page-in-the-attack part are still coming.”
The Bearcats were outshot 15-10 in the contest. Freshman forward Jamie Holliday tallied three shots while sophomore forward AnnMarie Rizzi and sophomore midfielder Brittany Walsh had two apiece.
On Sunday, Binghamton played its first home match against Syracuse University, and despite another stellar defensive effort, lost by a score of 1-0. The Bearcats were outshot for the fourth straight match, this time by a margin of 10-5. The lone goal was scored after the Orange sent a ball into the box and it deflected off of a Binghamton defender and rolled across the goal line. The scoreless effort kept the Bearcats out of the net for the fourth consecutive game.
“We’re still well on our way,” McClellan said about the team’s improvements. “Most of our forwards are freshmen, so they’re still learning. [In] these games before conference, [it’s] really important that we start connecting.”
Despite not scoring a goal, the Bearcats allowed only one goal over the two-game stretch after allowing three goals in the season opener against Delaware.
“The more games that we’re getting in, the better our back line looks because they’re getting that experience under pressure,” McClellan said of the defensive growth. “I am happy with the improvements that our back line has been making. I thought we shut down Syracuse quite nicely, and they’re a formidable opponent. We’re doing a good job keeping opponents at bay.”
Binghamton will play its next two games away from home, first at Niagara on Friday at 7 p.m. and then at Buffalo on Sunday at noon. Despite five of the first six games being on the road, McClellan is confident that the road games are making the team stronger, not weaker.
“I don’t think it’s affecting us negatively,” she said. “I think maybe the first road trip was a little bit of a shock to the system, but I was pleased with our performance at Cornell, and now we’ve got a lot more experience and we’re much more mature than we were to start the season. So we’re looking to go into Niagara and Buffalo and continue to play well and improve, and put all the pieces together.”
The Bearcats’ most recent matchup was against Niagara was last year, in which they lost 2-1. It was a “very close, tight, fun game,” according to McClellan. The previous matchup against University at Buffalo was a 3-1 loss in 2007.
“We feel good going into this weekend,” McClellan said. “Niagara is a very tough opponent … and then Buffalo we haven’t played for a couple years. We’re looking for that next step, connecting on our attacking first, and finishing on goals, and I hope we come back with positive results before we host Temple next Friday. Everything that we’re doing right now is in preparation to peak during conference play, and we’re getting there.”