After opening the season with five consecutive losses, Binghamton women’s lacrosse has won two of its last four games, including a 7-6 conference win over Vermont.
The Bearcats (2-7, 1-1 America East) earned their first win of the season on March 20, beating Siena 10-7 at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The win also marked Stephanie Allen’s first victory as interim head coach.
“This game was all on the girls, though it does feel nice to get the monkey off our backs,” Allen said, according to a press release on BUBearcats.com. “I thought we were strong on all levels and played sound defense, especially in goal. The girls really stepped up today and stuck to the game plan.”
The Bearcats took a 5-3 lead into halftime and scored four of their five second-half goals on position shots to secure the victory.
Senior midfielder Katherine Hunsberger led the offense with five goals on the day while freshman goalkeeper Erin McNulty recorded 10 saves and posted a career-high .588 save percentage in her first collegiate win. McNulty earned America East Rookie of the Week on March 25 for her efforts against Siena, becoming the first BU player to earn the honor since 2008.
The Bearcats couldn’t build on their first win, however, and lost 19-8 at Colgate on March 28.
Binghamton started slow, allowing Colgate (6-6, 2-2) to score the game’s first four goals and amass a 9-2 halftime lead. The Bearcats would not come any closer than 10-4.
Freshman attack Sophia Racciatti recorded her first-career hat trick with three goals while senior attack Kimberly McGeever and freshman midfielder Allie Rodgers each scored two goals.
As a team, Binghamton collected just 12 groundballs compared to Colgate’s 25. The 19 goals allowed were a season-high.
Binghamton opened its conference slate with a 7-6 victory over Vermont (6-7, 1-2 AE) on March 29. BU sophomore attack Alex Fisher scored the game-winning goal with 7:42 to play.
The first half saw three ties and two lead changes, and three Bearcats scored as the teams entered the break in a 3-3 deadlock.
With Binghamton leading 6-4 with less than 20 minutes left, Vermont reeled off two unanswered goals to tie the score. But Fisher broke the tie for good with her second goal of the game.
The defense forced 19 turnovers and collected 18 ground balls compared to Vermont’s 14. McNulty set a career-best for goals allowed with six to earn her second win.
“We went into the game very prepared and knew what to expect and I thought we did a good job limiting their key players,” Allen said, according to BUBearcats.com. “Overall this is a big win for us, but we don’t want to be satisfied.”
Less than a week later, UMBC beat Binghamton 17-9 to drop the Bearcats’ conference record to 1-1.
Binghamton held a 4-3 advantage just 14 minutes into the game, but UMBC (8-3, 2-0 AE) finished the half on a 9-1 run to take a 12-5 lead into the break.
The Bearcats pulled within five at the 20:57 mark, but the Retrievers finished the game on a 4-1 run to spoil any potential comeback.
Hunsberger led the Bearcats with four goals while senior midfield Kristen Stone added two.
Binghamton is set to host New Hampshire on Saturday. The Bearcats have not beaten the Wildcats (3-7, 0-2 AE) since joining the America East in 2002.
Face off is set for 1 p.m at the Bearcats Sports Complex.