On Saturday, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team faced off against Marist for its sixth game of the season. The Bearcats, having only beaten the Red Foxes on one other occasion, were able to take control of the match early, defeating the visitors 15-6.

“We didn’t focus on past performances or outcomes,” said Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “It was what we were going to do today with this group of individuals.”

After winning the first draw control, Marist (1-3) took control of possession and quickly found opportunities to score on its first two attacks. BU (3-3) was able to deny Marist’s attempts, however, and struck first off of a free position. This sparked a 6-0 run by the Bearcats with sophomore midfielder Madison Murphy and freshman midfielder Abby Carroll contributing two goals apiece in the first frame. BU closed out the quarter keeping the Red Foxes off the scoreboard to take a commanding 6-0 lead.

“I was just really proud of the way they stepped foot on the field and brought it from the first whistle,” Allen said. “I thought across the board, both sides of the ball really performed really well today and brought the energy for 60 minutes.”

To begin the second quarter, BU immediately gave up its first goal within 10 seconds. The Bearcats were able to respond with a goal of their own four minutes later to keep Marist at bay. The Red Foxes struck one more time before the conclusion of the half, but Binghamton added two more goals of its own to hold a 9-2 advantage.

Binghamton kept the Red Foxes’ offense at bay thanks to its lockdown defensive efforts and eight first-half saves from junior goalie Emily Manning.

“[Manning] is just continuing to impress me week after week,” Allen said. “Today she played outstanding — she’s a brick wall between the pipes … Hopefully with that, her confidence continues to rise.”

The Bearcats got the scoring started immediately to start the penultimate quarter. Sophomore midfielder Hayley Weltner cut to the net and received a pass from junior attack Kenna Newman as she connected her shot from point-blank range. Newman tallied four assists on the day.

“We talked about getting assisted looks out there,” Allen said. “[Newman] did a great job of seeing her teammates, timing and her decision making with the ball was impeccable today … I thought across the board they were looking for each other and trying to connect with each other today.”

BU added two more goals in the period before the Red Foxes responded with a goal of their own. Despite Binghamton’s early success in the frame, Marist went on a 3-0 run in the quarter, narrowing its deficit to seven. However, a late free position goal with just 13 ticks remaining allowed the Bearcats to keep a 13-5 lead going into the final quarter.

With a comfortable advantage heading into the fourth quarter, BU looked to close out the game. Freshman attack Olivia Muscolino opened up the scoring for the Bearcats in the final frame with Carroll following up two minutes after. Both Muscolino and Carroll finished the contest with four goals apiece. The Red Foxes found the back of the net in the final seconds of the game, but it was not close to being enough to scare Binghamton.

“Just really proud of the way [Carroll and Muscolino] brought energy to the field,” Allen said. “Those two have bright futures ahead, we’re really excited.”

The Bearcats got their first victory against the Red Foxes in a decade. Allen said the team needs to build off of this and continue to improve as the season progresses.

“Staying focused, staying hungry, enjoying the win, wanting to have this feeling more often, but also continuing to improve from game to game,” Allen said. “That’s our focus right now … Game by game getting better.”

BU will take the field next on Wednesday, March 9 against Canisius. First draw control is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.