Fresh off of a convincing and impressive victory over Quinnipiac on Saturday, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team looked to build momentum on the road at Canisius on Tuesday afternoon. Making a change in the cage, the Bearcats (2-3) decided to call upon sophomore goalkeeper Emma Jehle to anchor the net, but BU (2-3) fell short in Jehle’s first career start, dropping the contest, 12-7, to Canisius (1-1).
“Obviously we were disappointed with the outcome,” BU head coach Stephanie Allen said. “It was a closer game than the score indicated. I thought our girls really battled [today].”
Binghamton opened the game with immediate intensity. Less than five minutes into play, freshman midfielder Rebecca Golderman converted a free position chance to open scoring. The promising start soon evaporated, and along with it, the lead. With BU unable to clear — going 11-for-16 on the day in the category — Canisius took advantage of Binghamton’s miscues to even the score at one. This would be the last time Binghamton would hold a lead or the game would be tied.
Turnover trouble also plagued Binghamton that day, as the Bearcats committed 11 in the first half alone. The Golden Griffins also outshot BU, 7-2, in the game’s opening 10 minutes, scoring two successive goals to shoot to a 3-1 lead.
Following a time-out after three more unanswered goals by Canisius, BU answered the call — scoring twice before the half to bring the deficit to 5-3 at the half.
That BU hot streak, however, was quickly extinguished at the start of the half. It took Canisius under three minutes to convert a BU turnover into a goal to push the mark to 6-3. Scoring went back and forth for the next few minutes of play, including BU pulling within one score twice. Back-to-back free position attempts by junior midfielder Callon Williams and sophomore attack Tiffany Ryan struck gold, making the game, 6-5, and forcing the Golden Griffins to call for a timeout.
Canisius quickly regained control after two Binghamton fouls led to a free position opportunity, opening the lead to two goals once again. However, BU responded when Callon Williams scored a free position goal, her second of the game, to come within one score. Binghamton could not quite get over the hump to tie the match, and would only score once more for the remainder of the game. As turnovers at crucial moments were the back-breaker of the first half, the same held true for BU in the second. Canisius turned Binghamton setbacks in the offensive zone into two more goals, widening the lead, 9-6.
“We just had some really unfortunate turnovers at critical points in the game where it could have been a big momentum swing for us,” Allen said.
The ensuing draw win by Golderman eventually set up Tiffany Ryan’s second goal of the game following offensive pressure to make it 9-7 with just under 12 minutes. Canisius answered again, forcing a BU time-out with four minutes remaining and the Bearcats trailing by three. Attempting to create a last-ditch spark failed, inhibited by the turnover and two more Golden Griffin goals as Binghamton was defeated, 12-7. The first of six non-conference schedule matchups for Binghamton this month, the Bearcats will have plenty of chances to improve their game before conference play begins in April.
“[We want to] come out practicing at a higher level every day and being consistent with our intensity,” Allen said.
The Bearcats are set to continue their nonconference slate on March 9 at Siena. First draw is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Siena Turf Field in Loudonville, NY.