Splitting its first six games of the season, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team was looking to go above .500 against Ohio State on Friday. But despite hat tricks from three Bearcats (3-4), BU was edged by the Buckeyes (2-4), 14-13.
The hat tricks were recorded by redshirt senior attack Brianne Arthur, senior attack Tiffany Ryan and junior midfielder Rebecca Golderman. Arthur’s three goals on Friday allowed her to become the team’s current high-scoring player alongside senior midfielder Jacqueline Kennedy, with 14 goals to each player’s name. Golderman totaled five points during Friday’s game, bringing her to a total of 18 points on the season.
“I thought [Arthur, Ryan and Golderman] did a nice job executing the game plan when it came to shot placement,” said BU head coach Stephanie Allen.
The Buckeyes were the first on the board, but the Bearcats answered promptly with a goal of their own. This exchange of scores occurred again — Ohio State scored, then Binghamton answered. OSU rallied once more, but instead of BU responding with a goal, the Buckeyes tacked on three more to the scoreboard. However, BU did not let Ohio State’s run lessen its morale and the half concluded with the score at 7-7, with Kennedy, junior midfielder Ciara Gordon, graduate student attack Callon Williams, Arthur, Golderman and Ryan leading BU’s attack.
“We certainly showed a lot of resiliency in the game,” Allen said.
The Bearcats headed into the second half ready to compete, opening with back-to-back goals netted by Ryan and Golderman. This put Binghamton up 9-7, giving BU its first advantage of the game. But the lead was short-lived as OSU netted two goals of its own. After a few more minutes of play, the Buckeyes found the back of the net two more times, pushing the score to 11-9.
Goals by Arthur, Golderman and freshman attack Paige Volkmann were not enough for Binghamton to claim the win. The Bearcats, down by one with five minutes left in the game, were not able to find the back of the net, and ultimately took a close 14-13 loss.
“Our discipline on both sides of the ball with our possessions on the offensive side and unnecessary turnovers or empty possessions certainly hurt us in the second half,” Allen said.
Despite three consecutive defeats, the Bearcats are still prepared to compete for their next win.
“Our girls don’t ever lose sight of their goal,” Allen said. “We’re focused, and they’ll have the weekend off to recover from a physical standpoint, and we’ll be ready to go come Monday.”
The Bearcats are set to face Marist on Saturday. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field in Poughkeepsie, New York.