The Binghamton women’s lacrosse team needed to make a statement in its home opener. Twenty goals later, it’s safe to say that statement was made.

Binghamton defeated St. Francis 20-7 Wednesday afternoon at the East Gym Track Complex, as senior captain Lauren Wetherell led the charge, registering a school-record nine points.

“It was a terrific home opener,” said head coach Emily Edmonston in a press release after the game. “I thought that both Lauren and Shannon [Frawley] really came up huge for us. This was a much-needed victory as we head into conference play.”

Wetherell opened up the scoring 34 seconds into the first half en route to breaking the school’s record for points by two.

Binghamton trailed 2-1 early, but answered back with an explosive 9-1 run, which put the game out of reach. Junior attack Heather Grose scored three goals during the run and Wetherell added three assists, as the Bearcats headed into halftime leading 11-3.

“It was a great feeling to not only have our first win in a couple games, but for it to be at home in front of our fans,” said junior midfielder Anna Riordan, who continued her impressive season by scoring two goals and registering three assists. Grose and sophomore midfielder Kristen Marsjanik finished with three goals apiece.

“We’ve just been practicing hard and it’s paying off,” Riordan said. “As a team we really click and get a lot of connections on the field.”

The Bearcats were paced by stellar goaltending from sophomore Sandra Alvarez, who made four saves in the win. Alvarez was relieved late in the game by freshman Carolyn Cuneo, who made three saves in her first collegiate appearance.

Freshmen Brady Halbert and Julia Demuth each scored two goals, while freshmen Shannon Frawley and Kara Slowik set the pace with six ground balls apiece.

The Bearcats are now one win shy of equaling the program’s Division I record for victories in a season, but even more importantly, conference play begins Saturday with a 1 p.m. showdown against Stony Brook at home.

“Coach has set goals for us to focus on,” Riordan said. “As long as we achieve those goals and play our game, we’ll be prepared for this weekend.”