When it rains, it pours.
The Binghamton University women’s soccer team was looking to put an end to its four-game winless streak when it headed to University of New Hampshire on Sunday, but instead the Bearcats continued their struggles by falling to UNH 2-1 in a crucial game in the fight for playoff positions.
Binghamton (4-9-1, 1-4-1 America East) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 21st minute when sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Cook punched in a penalty kick after senior AnnMarie Rizzi was taken down in the box.
“We thought we got off to a strong start,” BU head coach Sarah McClellan said. “A couple of balls were just over the crossbar early on. We had a corner kick and we penetrated on the dribble quite a few times, which is why they finally called a penalty kick when Rizzi was dragged down in the box.”
With the goal, Cook became the 10th player to score for BU this season, though none of those 10 has tallied more than a single goal.
“It’s nice that we have a lot of different players who have shown that they’re capable of being dangerous,” McClellan said. “Now we need them all to come and perform on the same day and it needs to happen this week so that we won’t be talking about missed chances.”
Binghamton outshot the Wildcats (4-10-1, 2-4 AE) 15-11. BU’s failure to convert on its shots has become a trend throughout the season. The Bearcats have their opponents 177-153 over the course of the season.
“It’s hard for the players to get confidence in their shooting when it’s not going in, so it becomes a difficult place to be for players when they are doing all the right things in training but when it gets to games, kind of having a block,” McClellan said when asked about this trend. “I just think we need to rebuild our confidence in these next couple of days and get back out there and come together and make it happen.”
Binghamton was able to maintain its early lead for a mere six minutes before UNH senior Alyssa Michel scored to tie the game after a scramble near the goal.
According to McClellan, however, much of the blame for the loss lies with the game’s officiating.
New Hampshire notched the game-winning goal in the 54th minute after what McClellan described as a questionable call led to a penalty kick scored by senior midfielder Alli Rozelle.
“It’s unfortunate when the officiating becomes a major decider in the way that the game goes and that’s what happened in the second half,” McClellan said. “It was really a mystery penalty kick … There was no substance to them calling any kind of penalty kick. They didn’t have a chance of scoring, there was no foul, there was no one around. It was just a bogus call and it changed the game and the officiating got substantially worse after that on calls that shouldn’t be called or non-calls to the advantage of [New Hampshire]. I thought the officiating was pretty far out there for this type of high-level game.”
According to McClellan, the Bearcats need to win their next two games against the University of Vermont and University of Maryland, Baltimore County to have a shot at a playoff berth. Binghamton has made the playoffs in seven out of the last eight seasons.
Vermont currently sits in fourth place with a 3-3-1 conference record while UMBC dwells in the America East cellar at 0-5-1.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs and I believe that means we have to win our last two home games against quality teams,” McClellan said. “Vermont is having a great season and playing well and they’re up on Thursday. They’re the first of two, and we can only take it one game at a time. We’re going to have to perform well and put an entire game together. I know that we’re capable of doing it. I think that’s why our team has had some frustrations this season. We know how talented we are but it’s just not showing up in our results and I think it’s time for us to show up not just in our talent but in our results.”
Kickoff against Vermont is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.