The curse of Boston seemed just as present for Binghamton University’s women’s soccer team as it was for the men’s team. The squad took on “the other BU” in a nationally televised game live from the Bearcats Sports Complex on Thursday. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, they came up a bit short in a 4-2 loss, and fell to below .500 for the first time all season.
Binghamton (5-6-1, 1-3 AE) came into the game, which was broadcast on the Fox Soccer Channel, hoping to take a victory from the Terriers (8-5-1, 3-0 AE), to whom they lost two games in 2007, including the semifinal game of the America East tournament. The BSC was filled with proud Bearcat supporters, including the famed Bearcat Hooligans. Attendance for the game was 946, the most ever for a Binghamton women’s soccer game.
Boston drew first blood in the match, though, scoring a goal just 55 seconds in on a redirected cross by sophomore defender Lina Cords. The Terriers added another goal in the 16th minute when junior Emily Pallotta notched her team-leading fourth goal on a header that slipped past Binghamton goaltender Jen McEachron.
“Boston is a very good team and at the top of the conference,” said Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan. “They came out strong and opportunistic.”
The Bearcats closed the gap to one goal in the 26th minute, though, when sophomore midfielder Casey Pedersen headed in a free kick by defender Dani Raske, out of the reach of Terriers’ netminder Janie Reilly. The tally was Pedersen’s first of the season and Raskes’ fourth assist.
“Casey played a great game for us; she executed her job perfectly within our system,” McClellan said.
Boston then reclaimed a two-goal lead near the end of the first half when freshman Jessica Luscinski sent a cross sailing over the head of McEachron.
However, the game was far from out of reach for the Bearcats, who came out for the start of the second half playing tough and with renewed determination. The team managed to pull the game to 3-2 on a corner kick by Raske that slipped into the far corner of the Terrier net through a sea of players.
The goal was Raske’s sixth of the season, which leads the conference. Including her assist, Raske now has 16 points on the season, which also leads the America East.
”We were hesitant at the start of the game … nerves, pressure, who knows … but once we got our feet under us, we played a very competitive match,” McClellan said.
However, Boston struck back 16 minutes later when junior midfielder Mara Osher took a slot feed from Cords, and beat McEachron from 22 yards out. McEachron finished the game with eight saves on 18 Terrier shots. Reilly, who seemed shaken at times by the presence of the Hooligans, needed to make only one save on Binghamton’s six shots.
And although they lost the game, the Bearcats showed a lot of heart, never surrendering to the Terriers’ strong attack and tough defense.
“I’m so proud of our team for not letting down after a few early goals against,” McClellan said. “We came back twice to keep the game within reach and fell just a little bit short.”
The Bearcats look to rebound to .500 when they play Hartford this coming Thursday. The Hawks (6-4-4, 3-1-1 AE) come into the game having defeated Albany 4-0 on Sunday. Hartford’s upperclassmen lead the way offensively as seniors Lauren Aldred and Kacey Busque lead the conference in several categories. Aldred currently has six goals, which ties her with Raske and New Hampshire’s Sara Hourihan for the conference lead. Her 12 points rank third in the America East.
Busque currently has seven assists, which leads the conference. The Hawks are also extremely strong in goal, as freshman Lauren Brodeur leads the AE in save percentage (.882) and is second in GAA (0.55).
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Hartford’s Al-Marzook Field.