Continuing its blazing-hot start to conference play, the Binghamton women’s soccer team picked up another victory with a 1-0 win at UMass Lowell on Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats took an early 1-0 lead that they held onto for the remainder of the match as they remained atop the standings in the America East.

“We got off to a terrific start,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “It’s always great when you can score an early goal. We can spend a little bit of time in terms of things that we wanted to do on set pieces, so that was terrific.”

Binghamton (9-1-3, 4-0-1 AE) opened the match eager to find an early score, driving down the field twice before the third push led to a corner kick attempt in the second minute. Taken by sophomore midfielder Anna Buckwalter, the kick lobbed toward UMass Lowell’s (4-5-3, 1-2-1 AE) net, and sophomore forward Alexus Worrell took advantage of a bobble by the goalie, kneeing the ball into the net for a 1-0 BU lead.

The River Hawks responded on the ensuing drive, creating a chance inside the box, but their attempt flew over the net.

“Yeah, no,” Bhattacharjee said when asked if the goal affected their strategy. “I mean, it was good to get that first goal, and we just wanted to keep our foot on the pedal and keep pushing for more. I thought with how well we were playing for the first half, that we were good enough to get a second goal and give ourselves a little bit more of breathing room heading into halftime.”

Despite holding a lead, the Bearcats continued to apply offensive pressure, and a shot on the edge of the box from sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis in the 27th minute nearly made it a 2-0 game. A corner kick in the 36th minute saw the Bearcats in the box once more, but the shot flew wide. Binghamton attempted one more shot in the closing seconds of the half as a deep boot made its way to the River Hawks’ netminder.

UMass Lowell attempted several counterattacks, but it failed to string together a shot after its lone attempt in the fourth minute.

“I thought our defensive pressure was very good,” Bhattacharjee said. “UMass Lowell, one thing we know about them is they’re a very good possession team. So what we wanted to do was be physical with them. We also wanted to deny them getting into a rhythm, because that’s where they can be pretty deadly if they get a good possession rate.”

Looking to even the score, the River Hawks nudged their back line up, quickly creating a chance in the 48th minute that was saved by junior goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler. UMass Lowell attempted another shot in the 54th minute, but missed wide of the net.

Searching for an insurance goal, Binghamton played a ball into the box off a corner kick. In the ensuing commotion, a close-range shot from junior defender Sophia Garofalo was blocked by a River Hawk defender.

“We only gave up two shots on goal the whole game, so that part was good,” Bhattacharjee said. “But I think our possession and just kind of our quality got a little bit away from us in a couple moments in the second half, but in the end, I thought we did enough, and certainly to get a deserved 1-0 win today.”

Hoping to generate some momentum, UMass Lowell made a slew of substitutions in the 62nd minute. Seconds later, the River Hawks attempted a shot, which Kessler got a glove on before controlling possession.

Despite the newfound offensive sparks, the River Hawks only registered four more shots throughout the remainder of play as the Bearcats held on for the 1-0 victory, growing their unbeaten streak to 10 games.

“So now, really what our emphasis is going to be is to continue to get results to then get us an opportunity to get us a higher seed and hopefully have an opportunity to host postseason matches, because that’s a big advantage,” Bhattacharjee said.

The Bearcats look to continue their strong conference play when they host Albany on Thursday, Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.