The Binghamton women’s soccer team defeated Wagner 4-0 Sunday for their first victory of the season. The Bearcats controlled the game from the beginning, when junior Tricia Reed drilled a header from classmate Betsy Harris just seven minutes into the game, giving the Bearcats the lead.
“That was definitely one of our hopes for today,” Harris said. “We wanted to go out there and score some goals early, so we could play ahead.”
The Bearcats had not held a lead since the first game of the year against Georgetown. Playing ahead for the first time in weeks, Binghamton kept that lead going when junior Mackenzie Harris beat the keeper for BU’s second goal, and sent them into the half with a 2-0 lead.
The Bearcats allowed just two shots in the first half and none in the second half. But while it may be tough to find fault in a 4-0 shutout, head coach Jeff Leightman wants the best his team can possibly give him, and saw room for improvement.
“Honestly, I was disappointed by the first half,” Leightman said. “I thought we came out very lethargic. I thought it was very ugly. I didn’t think we played great.”
The Bearcats came out with a little more energy in the second half, adding two more goals. The first came off the foot of senior Kelly Burnham, and then sophomore Kelly Haslinger knocked in the Bearcats’ final goal, coming off a corner kick by Harris.
Senior goalies Kristie Bowers and Kristy Doerner combined on the shutout, with Bowers turning away two shots, while Doerner had no opportunities to make any saves. The total team effort was something the Bearcats needed in order to kick-start what has been a disappointing season thus far.
“I think it was really important for us to do well today,” Harris said, “especially since these last few games are so important, because we want to go into conference play after winning and have some confidence.”
Despite the overwhelming 4-0 victory, the Bearcats still feel they have a long way to go before they are ready for conference play. They outshot Wagner 12-2 but still looked as if their play could use some refinement.
“We’ve got some work to do before we can be a great team,” Leightman said. “We can be very good, but we’re not great yet.”
The Bearcats will continue with their non-conference schedule for three more games, starting with Fairleigh Dickinson at home on Friday. They will look to work out any of the kinks they have left in their system before then, because conference play looms as a threat in the not-so-distant future.
The conference slate looks to be a grueling one this year, as several teams in the conference have improved and the Bearcats no longer have the luxury of a guaranteed trip to the conference tournament.
“Come Vermont, come Stony Brook, those are going to be absolute battles,” Leightman said. “In the past we’ve always been in the top three; this year, just being in the top six is going to be tough. It will never be, ‘OK, this game we know we’re going to win.’ It’s always going to be a battle. And the team that comes out and executes the best and works the hardest wins.”