The Binghamton women’s lacrosse team dropped its second straight game to begin the 2024 season as the Bearcats were defeated by Temple 15-6 on Wednesday afternoon. After BU got on the board first, Temple went on an unanswered 11-goal run and held the lead the rest of the way to take the win.

“Today was not indicative of how this team is capable of playing,” wrote Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “We had a quick start and then just faded. Both ends of the field need to play more aggressive and with a winning mentality.”

Despite Binghamton (0-2) winning the opening draw control, it was Temple (2-0) that attempted the first shot, which was saved by senior goalkeeper Sofia Salgado. Just over five minutes in, BU took advantage of a two-player advantage as junior midfielder Abigail Carroll scored off a free position shot to put the visitors up 1-0. After being held scoreless for 10 and a half minutes, the Owls responded with two goals, just eight seconds apart, to go up 2-1 as the first half came to an end.

“As Temple went on that 11-0 run, we needed to limit turnovers and convert on offensive possessions,” Allen wrote. “We were unable to execute that today and will reload and reevaluate for Sunday.”

Just 13 seconds into the second period, Temple found the back of the net for its third goal of the game. The Owls took the momentum for the rest of the period, finding twine five more times to make it eight unanswered goals after Binghamton’s opening goal, taking a 8-1 lead. The Bearcats’ offense was held scoreless and outshot 10-1 in the second period as they trailed Temple 8-1 heading into halftime.

“Our offense just needs to play more cohesively as a unit and work for better and more shooting opportunities,” Allen wrote. “We have to have better choice-making.”

Coming out of halftime, the Owls took just five minutes to net their ninth and tenth goals. Temple kept the momentum, making it 11-1 after slinging another one past Salgado. However, senior attack Madison Murphy managed to stop the bleeding, scoring her first goal of the season off a pass inside from junior attack Olivia Muscolino to make it an 11-2 game. Muscolino then registered a goal of her own to cut the deficit to eight. Neither team scored for the rest of the period as Temple led 11-3 going into the fourth quarter.

“We have an entire season ahead of us and need to be hitting our peak as we enter conference play,” Allen wrote. “The talent and IQ of this team is better than the level of lacrosse we are seeing right now.”

Temple scored back-to-back goals to start the final period to go back up by double digits again at 13-3. Later in the period, the Owls continued to pepper BU’s net and connected to take an 11 goal lead. Senior midfielder Kristen Scheidel then responded to cut the deficit back to 10. With under three minutes to go, Carroll put one away for her second goal of the game, with Temple still leading 14-5. The teams traded goals for the rest of the game, with Temple ultimately coming out on top 15-6.

Carroll and Muscolino scored two goals each in the losing effort. In the match, Binghamton was outshot by Temple 31-15. In addition, in her second start of the year, Salgado had eight saves.

“[Salgado] saw a lot of shots today in which the ball was on our defensive end for long periods of time,” Allen wrote. “She continues to help our defensive unit play with confidence and gave us a solid performance between the pipes today.”

The Bearcats will play on home turf for the first time this season as they look for their first win against Marist. First draw control is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.