On Saturday, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team traveled to Maryland to take on Mount St. Mary’s. The Bearcats got off to a slow start in the first period, which gave the Mountaineers too big of a cushion, resulting in a 13-7 loss.

“Our focus is on the offensive end and converting on our shots,” said Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “We finish a few more free positions or convert on our offensive looks, then it’s a closer game than what you saw today.”

The Mountaineers (3-2) started the scoring off with a goal three and a half minutes into the first period. BU (1-3) responded less than a minute later, when sophomore midfielder Madison Murphy drove the ball past the Mount St. Mary’s goalie. Murphy’s goal, however, was the only point Binghamton scored in the first period, allowing the Mountaineers to put four more goals past the Bearcats to take a 5-1 lead.

“We had a couple shots that were saved in the first few minutes of the game,” Allen said. “If converted on, I think the energy level is a little bit higher and dictates the course of play a little bit more.”

In the second period, BU was more defensively consistent, allowing only two goals in the frame. The Bearcats also put two goals of their own into the net, but the goals had no impact in lessening their deficit. Binghamton went into halftime trailing the Mountaineers 7-3.

The second half was more evenly matched than the first, with BU only recording two less shots on goal than Mount St. Mary’s. The Bearcats started the scoring in the third period with a quick goal to decrease their deficit to three. Following four scoreless minutes, the Mountaineers found the net with just under nine minutes to play in the third. Mount St. Mary’s registered an additional two goals before Murphy responded with eight seconds remaining into the period, taking the game to 10-5 heading into the final frame.

“We’re trying to stop the runs and in the first half the ball was on the defensive end a lot,” Allen said. “I thought our defense really rallied and did a nice job of keeping it close and getting the stops where they could. Now it comes down to us finishing on the other side of the ball.”

Despite the slow start from the Bearcats, Allen said the adjustments they made going forward helped. In the second half, the Bearcats had seven draw controls compared to the Mountaineers’ five. Ultimately, Mount St. Mary’s still outscored BU in the second half 6-4, including a 3-2 score line in the final frame to seal its victory.

“Winning a draw control was a big thing, we made some adjustments in what we were doing on the draw circle and put ourselves in a more evenly matched position,” Allen said. “We changed things up defensively, switching out our systems and felt like that gave us a boost of confidence as well.”

In front of the Binghamton net was junior goalie Emily Manning, who played the whole game and accumulated six saves out of the Mountaineers’ 19 shots on goal. Junior attack Kenna Newman contributed to the Bearcats’ offense by dishing out two assists. Murphy sat at the apex of Binghamton’s offensive efforts, finishing the game with a hat trick and converting on three of her four shots.

“Today [Murphy] had the poise and the composure when she found herself open inside the eight and was able to finish on some looks,” Allen said.

Binghamton is set to return home to play its next three games. Allen said the team still has areas to improve on while it looks to better its record.

“The focus is always on consistency and competitiveness,” Allen said. “We’ll focus on our shooting and shooting under pressure and free position shots.”

The Bearcats are scheduled to face Lafayette on Wednesday, March 2. First draw control is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.