A year after taking the America East by storm, the Binghamton University women’s soccer team is looking to continue the surprise success it experienced last season. The America East coaches believe in the team more too, predicting that they will finish third this season.
The Bearcats are coming off a 9-7-2 season, but they went 6-2 in conference to earn the No. 2 seed. That gave them a first-round bye in the America East tournament. The team beat third-seeded University of Maine to advance to the finals, which they dropped to No. 1 Boston University. The second-place finish was a surprise to the conference, as the Bearcats had been predicted to finish fifth that year. According to head coach Sarah McClellan, the team is ready to move forward from that experience.
‘We’ve been to the finals before,’ she said. ‘We only needed to be there once to see what it was like. The second time we get there, it’s to win it. First time was just an experience, now it’s a competition.’
Three-time defending conference champion Boston University was unanimously selected by the conference coaches to defend its title once again this year, earning all eight first-place votes for a total of 64 points. Stony Brook received 57 points to finish in second, while Binghamton University’s 47 points were good for third. Albany, Maine, New Hampshire, Hartford, Vermont and Maryland, Baltimore County finished fourth through ninth, respectively. Of course, as the Bearcats showed last year, preseason rankings only mean so much and McClellan is very confident in her squad.
‘I think some teams are going to have a tough time figuring out how to break us down,’ she said. ‘I really don’t see any weak spots. We’re very deep in every position and we look good.’
Many key pieces return from last year’ squad, including seven starters. While the team lost midfielder and first-team All-Conference player Amanda Casares, sophomores Emily Pape and Jamie Holliday return after earning All-Rookie team honors last season. However, the roster is still relatively young, featuring just three seniors and five juniors on a roster of 28.
A year after playing only in the second half and overtime of most games, senior goalie Erin Iman will have the job for herself this season. She had an .800 save percentage last year while splitting time with recently graduated Jen McEachron. Her two backups this year are both freshmen.
Sophomore midfielder Pape finished third in the America East in goals in conference games during her freshman season, finishing with four, three of which were game-winners. Holliday finished tied for sixth with two assists.
As a team, the Bearcats surrendered just seven goals in eight conference games, not including a shutout in the America East semifinals. McClellan isn’t worried about that side of the field, but feels like the offense is where the real improvement will be seen.
‘We didn’t score as many goals as I would like last year, but still did well,’ she said. ‘Our defense is going to be solid again, but the attack is what I’m really excited about. We’ve got a lot of flair, we’ve got a lot of creativity and we’ve got a lot more players that want to put the ball in the back of the net.’
That revived offense didn’t come through on Friday, as the Bearcats lost 2-0 on the road to Fairfield University. The Bearcats were only outshot 10-9, but only two of those nine were on goal. Nineteen players got time on the field, including freshman Carrie Martin who started in goal. Holliday did not play, and Pape came off the bench but didn’t get off a shot. Binghamton looked to rebound when they took on Sacred Heart University at 1 p.m. yesterday.
The team gets another chance to play this weekend as the host Delaware and Delaware State in the Bearcats Sports Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday against Delaware State, and 1 p.m. on Sunday against Delaware.