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Coming off a pair of losses, the Binghamton University women’s soccer team faced Big East foe Seton Hall University and Ivy League member Cornell University looking to get its third win of the season. Unfortunately for BU, its streak wasn’t destined to end quite yet, as the Bearcats dropped both matches.

Home or road didn’t seem to make much difference during the losing streak, with the four losses evenly split between home and road games. It’s bad timing for the Bearcats to hit a slump ‘ these were the last non-conference games for women’s soccer of the season, as conference play begins at home on Sunday against the University of Maine.

The match against Seton Hall resulted in a 1-0 loss. The Pirates’ Meghan Hayes scored the only goal of the match, and her first of the year, in the 35th minute. It marked the third-straight time the Bearcats have been shut out this season, and the fourth time in five games. Binghamton took only one shot in the second half compared to Seton Hall’s 19, and were outshot 27-7 for the match. However, in shots on goal, they were only outshot 7-3. Freshman goalkeeper Carrie Martin was busy at the goalpost making five saves in the second half, and six total for the night. Of the Bearcats’ seven shots, six came in the first half.

‘First half against Seton Hall was strong, for the first time we were able to get good movement,’ said head coach Sarah McClellan. ‘Second half we ran out of steam ‘ We need to solidify the back line before offense. Our attack is going to come from our defensive organization.’

McClellan also felt the level of competition played a role in the outcome.

‘This is a top-30 team, they are right up there with Syracuse, whom we played earlier this year,’ she said.

The team was back at home to face Cornell in the first game of a two-game home stand. Cornell also had two wins coming into this match. Both teams looked strong in the first 10 minutes of the half. Martin looked comfortable at goal, shutting down any balls shot at her, though Cornell had the possession of the ball most of the first half. The Big Red finally broke through in the 18th minute when Martin came out of the box to save the ball, but couldn’t gain control of it. Cornell sophomore Maneesha Chitanvis took possession and crossed it into the middle for freshman Caedran Harvey, who tapped it into the goal, giving Cornell a 1-0 lead.

‘It was a misjudged ball, it was an easy ball to clear; that’s the goals that have been scored on us [this season],’ McClellan said of the goal.

The Bearcats started to look stronger on offense after the goal, passing and moving the ball efficiently late in the first half. At halftime Cornell had only outshot the Bearcats 10-5.

Binghamton came out aggressive in the second half, trying to push the ball into Cornell territory. But Cornell scored two goals in a seven-minute span, solidifying their lead 3-0. The goals came in the 51st and 58th minutes. The Bearcats had key opportunities to score with their five corners in the second half, but failed to finish.

The Bearcats continued to play aggressively and finally broke through the Big Red’s defense with two minutes left in game. The goal came courtesy of junior Mary DeWitte, her first of the season. Unfortunately, BU was a day late and a dollar short as it fell to Cornell 3-1. Binghamton avoided what would have been the fourth time they were shut out in a row.

The team starts its America East Conference play on Sunday as it faces off against the Black Bears. The Bearcats, who were runners-up last year, are predicted to finish third this year as determined by the America East coaches.

‘We’re excited to see the America East, and how we handle the competition ‘ Winning is going to be determined by how quickly we dictate the pace [of the game],’ McClellan said.

Kickoff against Maine is scheduled for Sunday at noon at the Bearcats Sports Complex.