With the Bearcats facing elimination, Sunday afternoon’s match was a do-or-die game for the Binghamton University women’s soccer team. But Stony Brook proved to be too much for Binghamton, as the Bearcats fell to the America East foe 2-1.
Coming off a tie against New Hampshire, Binghamton faced two possible fates: either tie with Stony Brook and hope that Maine loses to Boston, or win and just need the Black Bears to lose or tie. As for the Seawolves, they had already clinched a playoff spot. With the win and the results from the other games, Stony Brook clinched the No. 2 seed in the America East tournament with a 5-2-1 conference record.
The Bearcats’ offense came out strong in the first half with their eyes on victory, as they pressured the ball in Stony Brook territory and took shots at the goal. But that confidence seemed to fizzle away when Stony Brook took a short corner that went to Seawolf sophomore Sa’sha Kershaw, who scored off of a long shot from the left side.
‘We played well, we had a lot of chances in the [first] 20 minutes,’ said BU head coach Sarah McClellan. ‘After the corner, that chance took a lot [out] of us.’
The Seawolves continued their attack and struck again 15 minutes later. Freshman Larissa Nysch drilled the ball into the upper right corner of the net, widening her team’s margin to 2-0 at halftime. Junior Dominque Adamo, who was named America East Player of the Week, was credited with an assist on the play.
‘The corner kick really put us in a rut ‘ but we outshot them in the first half,’ McClellan said. Binghamton had been aggressive on offense the first half, outshooting Stony Brook 5-3.
The Bearcats came out in the second half with renewed vigor and drive. Just 17 minutes into the second half, Binghamton got on the scoreboard with a goal by freshman Kaitlyn Cook, assisted by sophomore Candice Rowland. Binghamton needed only one more goal to keep its playoff hopes alive, but the Seawolves’ defense proved to be too much for them. The Bearcats’ equalizing opportunity came in the final minute when senior Stefani Knopick took a free kick from 35 yards out, but no Bearcat could finish it and it ended up being headed away. The Bearcats outshot the Seawolves 8-7 and the goalkeepers from both teams made four saves each.
The Bearcats finish the season in seventh place with a record of 2-4-2 in the America East and 4-11-2 overall. They had gone to the playoffs six consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2009, bringing home the trophy in 2004 and finishing as the runner-up last year, losing in the America East finals to Boston University. This year, the Bearcats were a young team, welcoming in seven freshmen. They are saying farewell to three seniors, two of whom ‘ Leora Kenney and Erin Iman ‘ suffered season-ending injuries.
Freshman goalkeeper Carrie Martin made four saves in the match and finished the season with 85 saves.
‘Our goalkeeper Carrie Martin has vastly improved. She is a freshman keeper who didn’t have college experience, but she did a great job,’ McClellan said. ‘We would have had more players improved but injuries set them back.’
Binghamton had a difficult schedule this season, facing teams from the Big East and Ivy League conferences.
‘We have young players. The season was tough; that ultimately is a good thing, ultimately we will get better,’ McClellan said. ‘We will get better. We need to keep our heads up and train in spring to be a stronger team ‘ mentally, physically and emotionally.’