Sometimes, a week off can make all the difference.
That’s what the Binghamton University women’s soccer team will hope for when they head north Sunday to play the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. With six days in between games to train and rest up, the Bearcats will look to end their current two-game losing skid.
Since a dominating 3-0 win over the University of Maine in late September to start conference play, Binghamton (4-8-1, 1-3-1 AE) hasn’t won a game in four tries. Over that stretch, the team has been outscored 6-1.
In their last game against 21st-ranked Boston University, who sits atop the America East conference with a 5-0 record, the Bearcats were defeated 4-1. After the Terriers scored two goals during the first 12 minutes, the Bearcats showed their resiliency when junior forward Candice Rowland got them back in it with a goal minutes later. Boston would go on to score again late in the first half and midway through the second half to seal the game, but Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan still knows there’s a lot of conference play left for her team to prove what they’re really capable of.
“I think we’re knocking at the door in terms of really putting everything together in a game,” McClellan said. “I think our potential is there and we’re at the point where now, we’ve got three conference games that come up here that are pretty much the most important games of the season because they’re against the teams that are all battling for the playoff spot.”
In seven of its eight losses this season, Binghamton has fallen by a score of 1-0. In four of those seven 1-0 losses, the Bearcats have had at least as many shots on goal as their opponent, if not more. Many of those games could have gone either way, and capitalizing on offensive opportunities could be the difference for Binghamton moving forward.
“Yeah, we’d like our record to be better at this point,” McClellan said of her team’s 1-3-1 start to conference action. “But it’s kind of a new season heading into these conference games because they’re all that really matter in terms of postseason berth. We kind of have a three-game season coming up here and a great opportunity to put our full potential out there on the field and perform the way that we know we can. We just have to put it all together in these last three games and try to string a couple of good games together.”
Binghamton will head into Sunday’s game riding a two-game losing streak, while New Hampshire is currently in the middle of a three-game losing skid of its own.
The Wildcats (3-10-1, 1-3 AE) have compiled 13 goals through 14 games this season. Senior Brooke Duchaney and freshman Meghan Ledwith have notched three goals apiece, while junior Chelsea Kuss has scored two. Meanwhile, Binghamton has had nine goals scored by nine different players through 13 games this season.
New Hampshire, like Binghamton, has had a lot of ups and downs this year. UNH has scored as many as five goals in a game (Sept. 29 vs. University at Albany), but have also been shut out seven times, including their three most recent games.
With Binghamton sitting in sixth place in the conference and New Hampshire in eighth, Sunday’s game will be crucial for both teams.
“New Hampshire’s a quality team,” McClellan said. “They’re hardworking and organized. We have to come out and compete and battle from start to finish. We have a full week to train and I think it’ll be a great week for our players to recover physically from some tough games and also to get focused on what we have ahead of us which is a great opportunity.”
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at New Hampshire’s Bremner Field.