After taking a 6-5 lead in the second half of its game against Marist, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team allowed six unanswered goals. The Bearcats (0-5) faltered in the second half again to lose their fifth straight game to start the season. Although BU suffered another defeat to its losing streak, the team has appeared to recognize each other’s strengths and make fewer repeated errors during the match.
“We’re really working on understanding tendencies of teammates and trying to create those opportunities where teammates are strongest and these strengths can be utilized,” said BU head coach Stephanie Allen. “With the young group, it’s something that takes time and it doesn’t happen overnight, so for us, it comes to focusing on each day at a time.”
Marist got on the board first and saw consistent success throughout the match. However, Binghamton sophomore attack Paige Volkmann went on to equalize the game at one. Junior midfielder Amelia Biancardi and senior midfielder Ciara Gordon were able to get the ball rolling through free position shots, propelling the Bearcats to a 3-2 lead. Battling on, Marist was able to score three of the next four goals to take a 5-4 advantage with only a few minutes remaining in the period. BU’s squad continued to search for cohesiveness.
As the second half kicked off, the Bearcats came out strong, scoring the first two goals to go ahead 6-5. The game reached a turning point, however, when Marist responded with six consecutive goals, breaking down BU’s defense and capturing draw controls. Junior attack Samantha Mehalick of Marist scored three of these six straight goals, leaving BU in a big hole. Mehalick finished the game with six goals.
Junior midfielder Rebecca Golderman completed a hat trick by scoring two free position goals late in the half, but it was too little, too late as Marist secured a 12-8 victory. Marist outshot the Bearcats 28-22 and won 14 draw controls to Binghamton’s seven. This disparity was most extreme in the first period, when Marist won nine of the 10 draw controls.
“I think they have a very strong player with Samantha Mehalick, and I think that’s something that we weren’t able to contain today,” Allen said. “If you take that out of the equation, it’s a little bit closer of a game. Right now, we’re still young and trying to develop our experience on the field. The errors right now need to be minimized, but it’s the things that we’re working to progress and improve on a daily basis.”
Despite the loss, BU saw a few positive aspects in its match. Junior goalie Taylor Passuello put forth another solid performance, recording 10 saves in the net and continuing to keep the Bearcats in the match. Although draw controls were dominated by the Red Foxes, BU improved upon its turnover performance, committing only 16 to Marist’s 20.
“Something that we focused on was creating extra possessions for us,” Allen said. “The caused turnovers or forced errors that we created from Marist were something we were really proud of. Now, it’s just capitalizing on those possessions when we get extra ones on the offensive end. I think we’ve had a much stronger showing defensively than today, but I think we are doing some things well out there. Goals stay the same to taking each day as a development and growth opportunity.”
The Bearcats look to capture their first win of the season when they take on Lafayette at home on Wednesday, March 6. The opening draw control is set for 3 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.