The Binghamton women’s soccer team’s struggles continued as the Bearcats suffered their 10th consecutive loss on Sunday. BU (1-10-1, 0-3 America East) was shut out by Hartford (8-2-2, 2-0-1 AE), 1-0. Heading into the match, the Bearcats had hoped their first game at the Bearcats Sports Complex in seven matches would produce a spark.
“The team did really well,” Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan said. “Holding a really high-level team that had won a bunch of games earlier this season to one goal.”
The Bearcats allowed Hartford to keep possession in the back field for much of the game, contesting only when the Hawks looked to pass upfield.
“We said ‘go ahead and have that possession,’” McClellan explained.
Despite being outshot, 7-2, in the first half, the strategy succeeded in keeping Hartford’s potent offense from finding the back of the net.
“We went out there to be organized defensively, and we really gave Hartford some trouble figuring out how to break down all of our numbers, especially in the first half,” McClellan said. “You could see Hartford getting frustrated.”
But Hartford had little trouble figuring out the Bearcat defense in the second half, outshooting BU, 12-5. Despite the shot discrepancy, it took the Hawks until the 80th minute to find the net. On a rebound, Hartford freshman midfielder Ashley Claud tapped the ball into a wide-open net for what would become the game-winning goal.
“Due to fatigue, maybe, we had a couple of letdowns in a row that led to more of a scrapped type of goal,” McClellan said. “There was a lot of traffic, and we lost a couple of players in the run of that play that unfortunately, they were able to put it in.”
After falling behind, the Bearcats played with a newfound sense of urgency–controlling possession in the Hartford zone and looking for scoring chances, but ultimately, Binghamton failed to net the equalizer before time expired.
Outshot, 19-7, BU only produced three shots on goal. Through their last five games, the Bearcats have conceded 11 goals, while scoring just one. But a bright spot in the game came from the solid play of sophomore goalkeeper Katie Hatziyianis, who stopped 10 of Hartford’s 11 shots on goal.
Despite 10 straight losses, Binghamton will look to continue improving in practice and recuperate during the week-long gap prior to its next match against UMass Lowell.
“The team is disappointed with the loss, so I don’t think they’re thinking about it in the sense that they kept a very high-quality team to fewer scoring chances than expected,” McClellan said. “But we’re getting better, and we’re not conceding the types of goals we were early on in the season.”
The Bearcats are set to take on UMass Lowell on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.