The Binghamton women’s lacrosse team suffered a tough 10-8 defeat against the Bucknell Bison in their season opener Tuesday afternoon at Graham Field.

Sophomore midfielder Leanne Musso netted a game-high four goals for the Bearcats, but missed a potential game-tying goal when her shot bounced off the left post.

Playing in blistering cold weather, the Bearcats (0-1) managed to contain the Bison (1-0) in the first half. Junior attack Anna Riordan scored the first goal of the game just over three minutes into the opening half, starting a streak of three consecutive goals by the Bearcats. Bucknell would quickly answer to tie the game at three, but junior attack Heather Grose found the back of the net with five minutes to go to give the Bearcats a 4-3 halftime lead.

Bucknell came out of the locker room firing, tying the game up at 4-4, two minutes into the second half. After the Bearcats scored two goals in a span of 39 seconds, the Bison went on to score five out of the next six goals to take a 9-7 lead. Musso would add her fourth goal of the game to cut the deficit to one, but the Bearcats were unable to tie it up in the final three minutes.

Head coach Emily Edmonston was satisfied with the way her squad performed, despite the losing effort.

“It was a very tight game throughout,” Edmonston said in a press release after the game. “Despite the final result, I am very excited about how well we came out and competed.”

The Bearcats put forth a strong defensive effort, giving up just 10 goals on 27 shots. Sophomore rookie goalkeeper Sandra Alvarez had a strong performance, finishing with a game-high 12 saves in her collegiate debut.

“Our defensive unit just put forth an absolutely awesome effort today,” Edmonston said. “I can’t say enough about Sandra’s performance in net. She was just terrific.”

Binghamton had a total of five different players in the scoring column, giving them a balanced offensive attack. Freshman Julia Demuth and junior Danielle Edwards scored one goal each.

The Bearcats will make their home debut against the Canisius Golden Griffins Saturday at 3 p.m. at Binghamton East Middle School Stadium.