The Binghamton women’s lacrosse team continued its hot start on the road at Sacred Heart on Saturday. After scoring the first goal of the game for the third consecutive contest, the Bearcats (3-1) didn’t let up against SHU (2-3), stretching their advantage to as much as seven before taking their third straight win, 9-5.
Senior midfielder Renee Kiviat opened scoring for Binghamton University with an unassisted goal in the game’s eighth minute. Near the midway point of the first half, junior attack Sophia Racciatti found the net for BU again, this time on a free possession shot, spurring a Pioneer timeout as the Bearcats took a 2-0 lead.
Following the timeout, Sacred Heart’s luck turned around briefly, finding a free possession goal of its own to cut BU’s advantage to one. But Binghamton had the final word of the half, as freshman midfielder Tiffany Ryan netted one to push Binghamton’s lead back to two.
In the contest’s second stanza, the Bearcats’ offense stepped on the gas, finding the back of the net five times in the period’s opening 10 minutes — capped by a hat trick by sophomore attack Brianne Arthur.
“It was good for her to get a solid performance off,” BU head coach Stephanie Allen said, according to bubearcats.com. “We’ve had to count on a number of different players this year, and everyone has been stepping up nicely.”
Holding a dominant lead, 8-1, Binghamton’s hot streak was quelled by a Sacred Heart goal with just over 16 minutes left in play. But the clock didn’t count down 30 more seconds before BU won the ensuing draw control and continued its commanding play with Kiviat’s second goal of the game.
For the remaining minutes of play, the hosts tried to catch up to the Bearcats from their 9-2 lead. But it was too little, too late for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers mustered three goals in 15 minutes to only trim the large lead — as Binghamton took its third straight victory in convincing fashion, 9-5.
But despite the stellar play of the Bearcat offense on Saturday, the day was owned by the BU defense. Junior goalkeeper Erin McNulty captured America East Defensive Player of the Week honors for her play against Sacred Heart and Lafayette last Wednesday. McNulty collected 18 saves in the two contests and currently holds a .486 save percentage on the season, good for third-best in the conference.
Next up, the Bearcats are set to face Cornell in their second straight road contest. First draw control is scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York.