After claiming the America East regular season title with a 1-1 draw against Vermont on Sunday, Oct. 26, the No. 1-seeded Binghamton women’s soccer team hosted No. 4 Maine in the AE semifinals, ultimately falling 1-0. After 105 minutes of scoreless play, the Bearcats’ season came to a close when they surrendered a score in the golden-goal second overtime period.

“[I] was very pleased in terms of how we played,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “I thought the first half, a little bit rusty and I think the way off probably took us a little bit of first steps to kind of just get out of that. Second half I thought we were terrific, overtime, I thought we were terrific. Just thought it was just kind of one of those days where goals were going to come because we sure created enough chances.”

Binghamton (10-2-5, 5-0-3 AE) got the first look on goal in the third minute, continuing to push the net with an attempt from sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis that flew over the net. Soon after, in the 13th minute, Maine (6-7-3, 3-3-2, AE) opened its shot book, but junior goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler got her gloves on the ball. Both squads continued to trade shots, but the energized Black Bears squad often controlled possession, forcing the Bearcats into a more defensive-minded style of play.

In the final three minutes of the first half, BU and Maine each saw looks on net, but both attempts were saved as Binghamton entered halftime facing a 0-0 deadlock.

“It was just a couple tactical things that we just need to iron out,” Bhattacharjee said. “And honestly, it was things that we’ve been doing all this season and just got a little bit away from us here and there during the first half, and then we just had to defend a bit in our own half. And credit to Maine in terms of what their game plan was.”

Coming out of the half, the Bearcats’ control of the midfield developed significantly, and they nearly found the opening score in the 54th minute when a deep shot from sophomore midfielder Anna Buckwalter flew just over the net. Soon after, a through ball to Davis saw her in a one-on-one with the opposing netminder, but the goalkeeper dove out before Davis was able to rattle off a shot.

Continuing to push for twine, BU came inches from a score in the 75th minute, when a shot from freshman defender Ale Victoriano bounced off the top post and the rebound attempt went into the gloves of the Maine goalkeeper. In the final minute of the match, Maine saw a near score opportunity of its own, when a shot rattled off the top post, but no score came for either as the semifinal headed toward two 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods.

“Once we kind of knew what we needed to do and kind of figured it out, again that’s where we got good pressure on the ball,” Bhattacharjee said. “We played most of the second half and most of overtime in their half, and again, created some good chances, good services into the box, shots, forced their keeper to have to make a couple saves.”

The Bearcats created several chances in the first overtime period, but their first pair of threats were ended by offside calls. A shot from junior defender/forward Megan Baker in the 99th minute missed over the net and the clock ran down as the second period of overtime began. The Bearcats continued to push the field, and a shot from Buckwalter made it on net in the 102nd minute, but it was saved by the Black Bears’ goalkeeper.

In the 106th minute, the Black Bears embarked on a blistering counterattack, driving down the field and scoring the game-ending goal, bringing the Bearcats’ season to a close.

“What I just told the team is, as hard as this moment feels and as devastating a loss this is, how proud I am over the course of the season, how they represented Binghamton, how they did it with pride, dignity, respect,” Bhattacharjee said. “This streak that we’ve been on, winning a regular season title, just some great performances.”

Binghamton’s historic 2025 campaign came to a close with a loss in the semifinals following an AE regular-season title. The Bearcats tied a program record with four AE first-team all-conference members in junior midfielder/forward Paige Luke, Davis, junior defender Sophia Garofalo and Buckwalter, while Baker and Kessler were named to the AE second-team all-conference. Meanwhile, coach Bhattacharjee and his staff were voted as the AE Staff of the Year, while Garofalo and Buckwalter were selected as the AE Defender of the Year and Co-Midfielder of the Year, respectively.