After defeating Colgate 16-15 last week, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team made it three straight wins on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Siena 15-9. Despite the game being knotted at five going into halftime, BU pulled away with a 10 goal outburst in the second half to secure the victory over the Saints.

“We were really pleased with our team’s focus today and belief in themselves,” wrote Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “Each game we have gained confidence in our systems and in cohesiveness and today was great progress in both of those areas.”

After a scoreless drought of four and a half minutes to start the match between BU (3-2) and Siena (2-3), junior attack Olivia Muscolino drew first blood, coming from behind the net to scoop one past the Siena goalkeeper. The Saints knotted things at one nearly 30 seconds after, but the Bearcats tacked on two goals to retake the lead with senior midfielder Kristen Scheidel scoring on a free position opportunity and sophomore attack Carla Curth finding the back of the net to put BU up 3-1. Despite another Siena score, the final 5:19 of the first period remained scoreless as BU maintained their 3-2 lead.

“The Siena offense was a lot for us to handle and adjust to,” Allen wrote. “They are patient and like to have long possessions. Our defense stayed composed and stuck to our game plan. Holding Siena to under 10 goals was a huge accomplishment.”

Siena got on the board first in the second quarter to tie things up, and not long after took their first lead of the game with a free position goal. The game continued to go back and forth with both defenses allowing limited opportunities. The Bearcats’ scoreless streak ended with another goal from Scheidel for the tie, but Siena soon netted another score to regain the lead and make it 5-4. Going into halftime, the scoreboard read 5-5 going, courtesy of another goal from Muscolino — which marked her 100th career point.

“[Muscolino] has been a constant impact player for us over the last 3 years, and I am so happy for her to have hit this milestone,” Allen wrote. “She knows she is going to draw teams’ top defenders each game, yet continues to find ways to add value and be big in critical moments.”

Coming out of halftime, the Bearcats went on a three-goal run with a score from senior attack Madison Murphy and two goals from junior midfielder Abigail Carroll to take the lead at 8-5. After Siena stopped the bleeding to make it an 8-6 game, BU continued to keep the pressure on with senior midfielder Hayley Weltner slinging one in on the run and Murphy capitalizing on a free position opportunity to make it 10-6 Bearcats. Both teams traded scores as a free-position goal from Muscolino, with BU holding a 11-8 lead going into the final period.

“We were getting opportunities in the first half, but not taking quality shots,” Allen wrote. “Our offense understood how important it was to capitalize on the defensive stops and draw possessions and convert on more of those. It was a matter of focus and a bigger will to win.”

Less than a minute in the fourth period, Binghamton kept up their momentum as Curth scored to put BU up 12-8. Siena would stay within striking distance with a goal to cut the deficit to three, but BU continued to pull away after Weltner and Murphy found twine to make it a five goal game at 14-9. With just over a minute to go, Weltner brought in the final goal of the game to give the Bearcats a 15-9 advantage which they held for the rest of the game.

“We’ve won three in a row, and it’s been a team effort with each victory,” Allen wrote. “The focus in the nonconference portion of our schedule is about building chemistry and consistency. That has really started to click for this team, and we are excited to see it continue as we head onto the road for our next few games.”

Binghamton held the draw control advantage with 18 in comparison to Siena’s nine. Six Bearcats had multiple goals with Muscolino, Weltner and Murphy recording hat tricks in the victory.

“Winning the draw is critical for maximizing a team’s opportunities,” Allen wrote. “We’ve worked a lot on our draw crew throughout practice this season, and it’s great to see it convert through their gameplay. The work those three put in today was tremendous … It gave our team a huge advantage and surge of momentum.”

BU will continue nonconference slate against Campbell. First draw control is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 3 at Barker Lane Stadium in Buies Creek, North Carolina.