Shortly after their 3-2 loss at the hands of New Hampshire on Sept. 28, Binghamton University’s women’s soccer head coach Sarah McClellan and her squad envisioned a rematch in which they would get retribution. Yesterday afternoon the team did just that, downing the Wildcats 1-0 in the America East quarterfinals.
“The moment we hit the locker room, we said, ‘We have to play New Hampshire again,’” McClellan said. “And with this game, we got what we asked for.”
The Bearcats came out playing fast and physical, putting a ton of pressure on the Wildcat defense, which included All-America East first team defender Caitlin Whelan.
“We had good composure and we executed our plan perfectly,” McClellan said.
The game was deadlocked in a 0-0 tie until the 36th minute, when forward Mary DeWitte played a through pass from junior defender Nicole Montoya and converged on New Hampshire goalie Nikki Golding. Golding rushed out to try to knock the ball away from DeWitte, but the freshman Bearcat sidestepped her and knocked the ball into the open Wildcat net. It was DeWitte’s second goal of the 2008 season. DeWitte finished the game with three shots, and now has four points for the season. Montoya, who earlier in the week was named to the All-America East second team, was awarded an assist, her first for the season. Golding, the senior netminder, finished the game with five saves on 12 Binghamton shots.
On top of Montoya’s assist, the Bearcat defenders did their jobs incredibly, holding an offense that featured AE Striker of the Year Michelle Sheehan and AE third-place goal scorer Sara Hourihan to only 10 shots throughout the entire match. Sheehan, a senior forward who was given the honor earlier in the week, came into the match having scored six goals and with 10 points, even after missing seven games due to injury. Hourihan, a senior forward, was the team leader with seven goals and 16 points. And despite being down a goal, the Wildcats never quit playing hard, forcing Binghamton goaltender Jen McEachron to make six saves on their 10 shots. McEachron notched her seventh shutout in preserving the Bearcat win.
“New Hampshire certainly battled it out and kept throwing players forward,” McClellan said. ”But I felt that our back line, particularly Jen Abbate, played well and, more importantly, played smart.”
Joining Montoya on the All-Conference second team were midfielder Amanda Casares and defender/forward Dani Raske. Raske, a redshirt freshman, was also named to the America East All-Rookie team. Casares and Raske each finished the game with one shot.
The Bearcats will be playing their semifinal opponent Stony Brook for the second time in less than two weeks. In their first meeting, the Seawolves edged out the Bearcats 3-2 on a late goal by freshman Colleen McKenna. DeWitte and senior forward Charlotte Foster scored the goals in the match for Binghamton.
Stony Brook boasts a balanced attack, an equal mix of good defense and stellar scoring. The team is led by freshman McKenna, the America East Rookie of the Year, and senior Brooke Barbuto, the reigning AE Player of the Week. McKenna, who earned the honor for the third time this season, is tied for the conference lead in points with Raske (19) and in goals (eight) with Hartford’s Lauren Aldred. Barbuto is second on the team in both categories, tallying five goals, including one in the win against the Bearcats, and 15 points.
The Stony Brook defense is rooted by goaltender Marisa Viola, who was tabbed as AE Goalkeeper of the Year, and was also named to the All-America East first team. Viola is a strong netminder, ranked in the top five in the conference in most categories, including save percentage (.854), goals-against-average (0.89) and saves per game (7.5).
“It’s a good matchup and will be another good rematch,” McClellan said. “This is our fourth road game in a row, but we’re not making this trip to roll over.”
Kickoff is set for Sunday, 6 p.m., at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium.