A matchup of the only two winless teams in the America East turned out to be an offensive showcase.
In the battle of two last place teams through pouring rain on Long Island, the Binghamton University women’s lacrosse team dropped their fourth conference game, 16-10, to Stony Brook this past Saturday.
The Seawolves held a 9-4 lead at the half before Binghamton rallied to score six goals, cutting the deficit to 12-10. Freshman Emily Thon and junior Lizzie Wright each scored twice while sophomore Beth Moore tallied one goal.
But Stony Brook closed out the game, scoring four unanswered goals and holding Binghamton without a goal for the final nine minutes.
The Bearcats outshot Stony Brook, 32-30, on the day, but couldn’t convert enough. Binghamton only scored on three of 10 free position attempts.
According to an athletics department press release, “Kelsey Pieper had an outstanding game in transition, and also Siobhan Menz stepped up and played very well defensively, but unfortunately we did not play sixty minutes,” said head coach Tony Zostant.
Stony Brook broke a 2-2 tie with seven goals in a 10-minute span that put Stony Brook up 9-2. Binghamton quickly answered, tallying twice to end the half including a goal scored by freshman Lis Zuern as time expired at the half on a free position shot.
The team relies heavily on freshmen and sophomores for its scoring, making it a very young and inexperienced team. Underclassmen scored eight of Binghamton’s 10 goals.
“We dug ourselves a hole in the first half, and as a young team that is something we have to overcome,” Zostant said, according to the press release.
Close games and last-second finishes have defined this season for the Bearcats. They have been in games going down to the wire, but have been on the losing end of most of them. Their April 8 non-conference thriller against Le Moyne proved to be different.
On the road in Syracuse, the Bearcats overcame a five-goal deficit in the second half and went on to beat Le Moyne, 12-11, in overtime.
Zuern tallied five goals in this game, including the last in regulation and the game winner scored in overtime.
According to an athletics department press release, “We played really well to come back. Lis Zuern had the greatest game ever of her career,” Zostant said.
After sophomore Ali Castiglie gave Binghamton a 5-3 lead on an unassisted goal, Le Moyne ran off six unanswered goals to finish the half going up 9-5.
Le Moyne scored to open the half and build their lead to five, but the Bearcats responded with five goals in seven minutes of play to tie the game at 10. The Dolphins scored again with 10:58 left in regulation going up 11-10, a goal that would turn out to be their last of the game.
Zuern scored the game-tying goal with 6:05 left in regulation and scored the game winner on a free position shot in overtime at the 4:27 mark.
According to an athletics department press release, “We played as a team and we played a very intense second half. Emily Miller came up big in overtime with some key saves,” Zostant said.
The Bearcats face first placed Boston University on the road tomorrow. Game time is set for noon.