The Binghamton women’s soccer team held its home opener on Sunday afternoon against Canisius, looking to rebound from its season-opening 2-0 loss against Fairfield last Thursday. After a back-and-forth game, during which the BU spent most of the time on the offense with 18 shots, the Bearcats settled for a 0-0 draw.

“Honestly, pretty pleased overall with the performance,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “I thought our procession was good. We certainly created enough attacking chances, 18 shots, eight corners. You know obviously we’re disappointed with the final result. I thought by halftime we could have been up two- nothing, [but we] had a crossbar, had a post, the keeper made a couple of nice saves, couple near misses, a little bit of everything except for the ball going [into the] back of the net.”

The Golden Griffins (0-1-1) got the first kick of the game, but Binghamton (0-1-1) quickly captured possession. The first opportunity to score came from junior forward Hannah Mimas in the sixth minute of the first half. Coming from the right, Mimas aimed for the bottom center of the net, but the Canisius goalkeeper managed to save it. BU was able to get off 11 more shots, with eight on the net during the first half, but failed to score as Canisius held them off. The Bearcats spent very little time in their zone, as they consistently pressured the Golden Griffin defense.

“Normally, this, you know, would be a game that we’d be able to finish up a couple opportunities [and] get the full three points,” Bhattacharjee said. “[It] just didn’t happen today, not at all disappointed in the performance. Just would hope for a little bit more in the result you know, credit to Canisius, they hung in there and made a battle, gave us a battle in the last third, but again I think this is another performance for us to build off of and we’ll do that, continue to get better and then put some goals in the back of the net.”

Despite spending most of the first half on offense, there were a few moments in which BU faced pressure from the Canisius offense. During those moments, the Bearcats were able to hold Canisius to just one shot on the net, which was saved by junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams.

After a strong first half by the Bearcats, with 12 total shots, in comparison to Canisius’ two, the Golden Griffins took back some control during the second half. BU and Canisius had a fair amount of time in their respective offensive zones, with several opportunities from both sides to charge the net.

“It’s always a little bit of a different team vibe and a different challenge, but you know what we want to do is can we keep connecting,” Bhattacharjee said. “We can keep creating quality chances like we did today, and [the] emphasis will be on finishing.”

BU was pressured on defense more in the second but was able to prevent Canisius from scoring. Canisius got off three shots in the half, and none made it to the back of the net. Meanwhile, the Bearcats had six shots this half, with only two of them making it onto the net, a decrease from the first half.

“We just need that final pass,” Bhattacharjee said. “That final finishing touch. If we do that, that changes everything, and I thought if we got that first goal, the game would have really opened up, but again just didn’t happen today, that’s just the nature of soccer. Again [I’m] pleased with the performance, pleased with the opportunities — just got to tuck it away now.”

Even though the second half was more balanced in terms of possession, Binghamton still had more time on offense and more opportunities to score. Despite all the chances, BU was just unable to find the back of the net, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

“[Canisius] had ten ties last year, and a decent number of them were zero-zero games like this, so I’m not totally surprised,” Bhattacharjee said. “[Canisius] gave us some room, but you know, made it difficult for us, and that last little bit in and around the 18, so we’ll just be a little bit sharper.”

BU is set to hit the road to take on Seton Hall on Thursday, August 24. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, New Jersey.