Last season, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team was unable to reach the America East (AE) postseason as the team went 3-5 and finished fifth in the conference. This season, the team was projected to finish last in the AE preseason poll, but looks to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Returning to the Bearcat lineup is sophomore midfielder Madison Murphy, the second-highest point-scorer from the 2021 season who was featured on the AE All-Rookie team after scoring 17 goals in eight games. Murphy’s 2021 goal total was only behind former Bearcat and all-conference attack Paige Volkmann who bagged 24 goals in her last season with the Bearcats.

In BU’s penultimate game of 2021, the Bearcats dropped their matchup against UMBC with a record-breaking 27-16 score line, marking the most points ever conceded by an AE team in the conference’s history. Despite the crushing defeat of the Bearcats, Murphy netted a career-high six goals to account for over one-third of the team’s 16-point tally.

Apart from Murphy and Volkmann, junior attack Rebecca Korn was the only other BU athlete to score double-digit goals last season with a total of 10. BU will rely on Korn and Murphy for the bulk of its offensive production with Volkmann graduating last year.

The Bearcats added two freshmen to the roster with attack Olivia Muscolino and midfielder Abigail Carroll joining the lineup. Muscolino was a 2021 U.S. Lacrosse All-American and Carroll was an All-America honorable mention in their senior years of high school. Muscolino and Carroll will join junior Jamie Golderman in the Bearcat midfield. Golderman posted six goals and four assists last season along with 11 draw controls.

With the departure of former goalkeeper Taylor Passuello, the Bearcats turn to junior goalkeeper Emily Manning to defend their net. Manning played in five games last season, allowing 26 goals and recording 10 saves in her short time in front of the net. Manning positioned herself as this year’s starting goalkeeper after playing five games behind Passuello between the sticks.

Binghamton is set to open play with 10 nonconference matches before taking on UAlbany away from home to kick off AE play. Immediately following the matchup against the Great Danes, the Bearcats are scheduled to take on Stony Brook, which is ranked No. 6 in the nation, per insidelacrosse.com. The Seawolves, however, are banned from competing in the AE playoffs.

The team starts its season on Sunday where it will travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange. Syracuse is currently ranked third in the country, per insidelacrosse.com, with three All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team players on its roster. The Orange have beaten Binghamton all eight times that the two have met including a 20-2 blowout the last time both teams faced off in 2020.

The game against Syracuse will take place on Sunday, Feb. 13. First draw control is set for 1 p.m. at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.