The Binghamton University women’s soccer team already has a better conference standing than it did in the 2008 season. But with three games to go, anything can happen to either propel Binghamton to the top of the conference or drop it out of playoff contention.

The America East Conference playoff picture is about to come into focus in the upcoming weeks. The Bearcats have a 3-2 record in AE play and a 6-6-1 record overall. Last season, the Bearcats were 3-5 in the conference.

Binghamton has claimed victory over the University at Albany and the University of Hartford, both on the road, as well as the University of Maine at home. Boston University and Stony Brook University, who are currently the top two squads in the conference, have dealt the team its two losses.

The Bearcats are coming off of a 3-0 non-conference loss to the University of Pennsylvania, but they have won six of their past nine games overall. Despite the recent loss, Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan feels that it properly prepared the team for the remaining America East matches.

“I’m happy that we competed well against Penn and that we had that game in between our conference games to just see that level [of play],” she said.

The next test for the Bearcats will come on Sunday afternoon at home against conference foe University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

“They’re a very hard-working team,” McClellan said of the Retrievers. “They’re in a situation in the standings that they absolutely need a win. They got a win off of Hartford, which is a good win for them, and we’re gonna have to play our game and we’re gonna have to play well. That will be the only thing that matters when we leave that game on Sunday.”

After the UMBC match, the Bearcats will play their final home regular season match against the University of Vermont on Thursday, Oct. 22, followed by the season finale at the University of New Hampshire on the following Sunday.

In the America East, Stony Brook leads the conference with a 5-0-1 AE record after upsetting Boston University (5-1-0) in their Wednesday night match. The Bearcats’ 3-2-0 record is good for third place, just ahead of Albany at 2-2-1. New Hampshire improved to 2-3-0 after dropping Vermont’s record to 1-3-2 in their Wednesday game, while Maine moved to 2-2-1 by defeating Hartford, which fell to 0-4-1. UMBC stands at 1-4-0.

The top six teams in the conference will advance to the conference playoffs, set to begin Thursday, Oct. 29.

With the season wrapping up, McClellan emphasized the importance of the Bearcats sticking to their game plan and continuing to execute what they’ve been doing well so far this year.

“We’re coming up on some important America East games that we need to play at a higher level,” she said. “All that matters will be [how we play], and we need to play at the highest level that we can. If we do that, we’re gonna be perfect. It’s gonna be a very exciting finish in the America East.”