It’s official, Vermont is known for two things: making teddy bears and demolishing Bearcats.
Despite winning three of its last four games, the Binghamton women’s soccer team fell to Vermont (3-5-2, 1-0 AE) in its America East conference opener on Sunday. A hard-fought first half resulted in a one-goal deficit for the Bearcats as Vermont opened up the scoring early, with sophomore Lexie Kaknes placing her own corner kick into the net just three minutes into the game. The score remained 1-0 for the remainder of the half; the next 48 minutes were scoreless for both teams, as Binghamton was unable to capitalize on numerous scoring chances.
“We had lots of chances in the first half but couldn’t tie the game up,” said head coach Jeff Leightman in a press release after the game. “We have to figure out ways to stop beating ourselves. We have to learn from this and move on.”
The disappointment lies within the team’s own effort. Although they were playing “catch up” most of the game, the Bearcats had many opportunities to score but failed to do so. The statistics were in favor of Binghamton, but the result did not comply: BU posted 14 shots to Vermont’s 12 and eight corner kicks to Vermont’s four. The hammer dropped on the Bearcats during the 58th minute, when a procedural clearance kick by BU freshman defender Nicole Montoya was deflected away and turned into a self goal, putting UVM up 2-0.
The Catamounts completed their scoring cycle in the 80th minute, when freshman Margii Driscoll scored her second goal in as many games, giving UVM a 3-0 lead.
The Bearcats played the game without several key players, including leading scorer junior Kim Povill and 2005’s leading scorer, senior Danielle White.
The team seemed to be in disarray for most of the game on both sides of the ball. While Vermont committed no offside penalties, the Bearcats managed to rack up a dismal nine. The loss marks BU’s third straight loss to Vermont and the fourth year in a row that the Bearcats have dropped their conference opener, adding concern as to how the team will perform as they continue their conference schedule.
Hopes are high for the Bearcats when they return home for their third conference game on Sunday, Oct. 1. The team has an impressive home record this year, with two shutout victories and a tie in double overtime. Their remaining schedule includes three home games after two games on the road.
Binghamton will look to rebound from this loss when they face off against Stony Brook on Thursday at 7 p.m on Long Island.