The Binghamton University women’s lacrosse team fell just short of completing a tremendous comeback.

The Bearcats scored five of the first six goals in the second half to tie the game at 7-7, but ended up falling to the Canisius Golden Griffins by a score of 9-7 on Sunday.

The loss moves Binghamton to 3-5 overall and 0-4 on the road.

The problem with the Bearcats’ road play has largely been a lack of intensity.

“It sucks, it really sucks when we come out flat,” said Binghamton tri-captain Kelsey Pieper.

First-year head coach Tony Zostant can’t figure out why his team hasn’t played well early in games on the road, but puts the responsibility on his players.

“[The coaches] have the knowledge, but it’s what they do. [The coaches] can’t play the game,” said Zostant.

If there was intensity to be found on the field, it would be from Binghamton sophomore defender, Christina Smith, a transfer from Albany. Smith picked up a game-high five ground balls. Binghamton tri-captain Kara Slowik said Smith “hustles a lot and is totally into the game.”

“She out-hustles people. As she gets more comfortable with our defense, she’ll get even better,” Zostant said. In addition to her hustle to the ground balls, Smith forced two turnovers and also secured a draw control.

All seven of the Bearcats’ goals against Canisius were netted by freshmen, led by Erica Hill, who scored three goals. Hill beat Canisius goalie Allison Daley for the third hat trick by a BU freshman this season. The other two were delivered by Lisa Illig, once against William and Mary on Feb. 17, and once against Siena on March 12.

Ali Castiglie had one goal and one assist, increasing her lead in points for the Bearcats to 23 in just eight games.

Although there is no question as to who is leading the scoring for Binghamton, there is a lack of clarity as to who is supposed to keep the opposition’s scoring to a minimum. There has been a back-and-forth starting situation in goal between senior Sandra Alvarez and freshman Lauren Scott.

Zostant said that he decides who should start each game based on the play in practice, but that decision has not been easy.

“Neither were stopping anything at practice, but they both warmed up really well,” Zostant said.

Based on the even play, Zostant decided to start with experience and put Alvarez between the posts. Zostant said that although the stat sheet may show poor playing from Alvarez, she played well. The second half saw Scott in goal; she secured nine saves and allowed three goals.

“As a defender, I’m comfortable with having either of them in goal,” Slowik said.

“We’ve been playing with each of them for about a year now and we have a pretty good feel for their tendencies,” Pieper added.

Binghamton hosts LeMoyne at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Bearcats hope to limit their mistakes in transition.

“I’m really proud of our defense. We’ve come a long way, even since the beginning of the year. We just need to get better at our transition game,” Pieper said. LeMoyne recently beat Monmouth 14-8, a team that beat the Bearcats 16-7.