Coming off a 1-1 tie against Bryant, the Binghamton women’s soccer team extended their undefeated streak in America East (AE) conference play in Lowell, Massachusetts with a 2-0 win against UMass Lowell on Sunday afternoon. After back-and-forth play for much of the first half, BU recorded a penalty kick goal to take a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Then, late in the second half, the Bearcats added an insurance goal to go up 2-0 and seal the deal against the River Hawks.

As the match got underway, Binghamton (4-4-5, 3-0-2 AE) was forced to play defense early on as UMass Lowell (1-6-5, 1-2-1 AE), maneuvered its way into the Bearcats’ box to get the first shots on goal. However, through the combined efforts of the Binghamton defense and junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams, every River Hawks shot was kept out of the goal. After 22 minutes of constant River Hawks attack, the Bearcats began to turn the tables on offense.

Although Binghamton was able to get off several shots, none of them found the back of the net. The game remained knotted at zero until the 31st minute of play. After a Bearcat was fouled in the box, senior defender Lexi Vegoda was chosen for the penalty kick opportunity and capitalized, finding the back of the net to put the Bearcats up 1-0 before the end of the first half. This was Vegoda’s team-leading fourth goal of the year.

“The first goal, that we got a penalty kick from, was because of great run speed by [junior midfielder Hannah Knych] and [junior forward Hannah Mimas],” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “[Knych] gets taken down in the box and that leads to a [penalty kick].”

Coming out of the half, the Bearcats came back on the field looking to increase their lead with an insurance goal but the River Hawks immediately went on the attack. Things went back and forth throughout the second period, as the River Hawks were able to get off 12 shots and six corner kicks in the second half, while Binghamton was only able to record three shots, with no corner kick opportunities. Although the River Hawks managed to pepper the BU box with shot attempts, Williams and the Binghamton press held strong to keep UMass Lowell off the board.

“UMass Lowell did have a shot advantage, but at the same time I didn’t feel too troubled,” Bhattacharjee said. “It wasn’t like they were peppering our goal from eight yards, or 12 yards away. I think they had to settle for some distance shots, and for the most part [they] were comfortable saves for [Williams]. Most shots really didn’t find their way on target.”

BU did not fare much better on offense for the majority of the half though, managing only one shot in the half entering the 80th minute. This would change in the 82nd minute, when sophomore forward Samiya Reid outran a River Hawk defender to gain possession of the ball, finding herself within the 12-yard box with just the UMass Lowell goalkeeper in her way. Reid capitalized on her opportunity to give Binghamton a two-goal lead. From there, BU remained in control for the remaining minutes of the match to secure a 2-0 win.

“Our substitutes did a really, really good job,” Bhattacharjee said. “[Reid made] a great run in the second half, she actually didn’t play at all during the first half, and still [made] a great run to get a quality finish. So from our side of things we took advantage of the quality finishes that we did get.”

BU will remain at home looking to extend its undefeated streak in AE conference play against Vermont on Sunday, Oct. 15. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, NY.