It was expected coming into this season that the Binghamton University women’s soccer team would need to get a proverbial shot in the arm from many of the incoming recruits. In a non-conference game, that proved to be exactly the case.
The Bearcats (1-0-0) took the field this past Sunday against the University of Massachusetts Amherst with several unanswered question still lingering.
How would Binghamton fare without two of their biggest scoring threats, Danielle White and Kim Povill, both of whom graduated last spring? Would new head coach Sarah McClellan, known for her excellent recruiting practices, be able to prove that they were in fact just that?
After falling behind to the Minutewomen (0-1-0) in the first half on a goal by redshirt senior Tina Rodriguez, Binghamton looked to rebound and to take a step in the right direction with the help of some familiar faces, and some new ones.
Through hard work and determination, the Bearcats tied the score at one with a little over seven minutes left in the game when highly-touted junior transfer Emily Dixon bent an 18-yard shot into the lower left corner of the net. Freshman Taylor Kucharski and junior Amanda Casares tallied assists on the goal.
It was Dixon’s first game in a Bearcats uniform after spending the last two years at Broome Community College where she tallied 85 points, including 50 goals. She was named NJCAA Player of the Year in 2007 while leading the Hornets to a Division III championship.
With the score now locked at 1-1, the two teams headed into overtime.
It was in this period that Binghamton took the lead, and ultimately the game, when freshman AnnMarie Rizzi took a feed from senior Kelly Haslinger and buried it in the lower right corner past sprawling UMass goaltender Lauren Luckey with 2:12 left in the overtime period.
The Bearcats finished with nine shots on goal, while the Minutewomen recorded six. Luckey had one save for UMass, while Binghamton netminder Jen McEachron notched four to record the win for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats’ next test will be an away game against Long Island University Brooklyn today.
The Blackbirds (1-0-0) are led by sophomore Caitlin Meadows and senior Amy Johnson, who earned NEC women’s soccer honors earlier this week.
Meadows, a midfielder, was named the Player of the Week, while Johnson, the Blackbirds goaltender, was named Defensive Player of the Week, for their roles in LIU’s 1-0 season-opening win against Stony Brook on Aug. 22. Meadows scored the early goal against SBU, while Johnson and sophomore Christine DeLashmutt combined to complete the shutout for LIU.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.