Coming off a 10-6 loss at St. Bonaventure earlier in the week, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team wrapped up its three-game road trip with a hard-fought 8-7 win over Marist on Saturday. The Bearcats jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before fending off a late comeback attempt, sealing their second win of the season with a go-ahead goal midway through the fourth quarter.

“I was proud of our players for finding a way to win,” said Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “Our defense really buckled down in the second half and their performance spoke for itself.”

Binghamton (2-3) got off to a flying start, winning the initial faceoff. In the ensuing possession, senior midfielder Christiana Mastrorocco found junior attack Jess Robinson for her first career goal. Marist (1-5) quickly responded, forcing a turnover and knotting the match at one. Continuing her hot start to the season, redshirt junior attack Emma Blloshmi found the back of the net on consecutive shots to build a 3-1 lead. Adding to Binghamton’s offensive onslaught was Mastrorocco, who found twine on a free-position shot. With under a minute to play in the period, Blloshmi was awarded her second free-position shot which she proceeded to bury, securing a first-quarter hat trick.

“We just allowed Marist to take the wind out of our sail in the second quarter,” said Allen. “They made some good adjustments offensively that posed some challenges for our defensive unit. We needed to be more explosive offensively and convert on our opportunities as well.”

After struggling with a dormant attacking unit in the first period of play, the Red Foxes awoke at the start of period two, putting two past the Binghamton defense. The Bearcats were able to nip Marist’s run in the bud when a yellow card against the hosts gave them a man-up scenario, during which junior attack Carla Curth found Blloshmi for her fourth of the day. Momentum swung back in the Red Foxes’ favor when they cut the lead to two on a man-up opportunity. After winning the ensuing draw control, Marist scored yet again as Binghamton’s lead shrunk to one. The foes traded free position attempts, but neither squad was able to find net as the half drew to a close.

“Both Blloshmi and [sophomore goalie Maeve Sayre] played outstanding on Saturday and were extreme difference makers in terms of the outcome,” Allen said. “We are really proud of them for stepping up in a tight game and giving us the opportunity to pull out the win.”

Coming out of halftime, both teams continued to search for twine, but stout defensive play and several forced turnovers kept gameplay scoreless through nearly seven minutes. Marist was the first to get on the board in quarter three, successfully erasing a four-point deficit. The Red Foxes’ good fortune would not last for long when, once again, Blloshmi lit up the scoreboard after a free-position shot. The remainder of third-period play went scoreless, as Binghamton went into the final quarter up 7-6.

“Huge credit goes to to our goalie Maeve Sayre for making stops on Marist’s free positions Saturday,” said Allen. “Our defense needs to clean things up and not put teams on the line as frequently and we are lucky that Marist was not able to convert. It played a big part in the outcome.”

Once again, the Red Foxes opened up the scoring, tying up the game at seven on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Marist continued to look to Binghamton’s net, but Sayre kept the Bearcats in position to win with three consecutive saves. Stepping up for BU once more was Blloshmi, scoring her career-high sixth goal of the match while taking an 8-7 lead. Sayre continued to be a dominant force in the net, saving two free-position shot attempts en route to a career-high 12 save game, as the Bearcats secured their second victory of the season.

BU will aim to build on its momentum and get back to .500 when it hosts Campbell on Wednesday, March 5. The first draw control is set for 11 a.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.