The Binghamton University women’s soccer team overwhelmed the University of Hartford Hawks on Thursday night with a barrage of shots and offensive opportunities. They only found the back of the net once, but it was enough to defeat the conference rival Hawks 1-0 at the Bearcats Sports Complex for their fifth win in seven games.
Binghamton reeled off 17 shots, a season high, while Hartford amassed just seven. Ten different Bearcats had a shot in the contest.
“We really got numbers forward nicely,” said Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan. “We talked about it, the girls executed it and really started to connect with our passing [and] combinations. [We] had a lot of opportunities tonight. We’re gonna start to finish more of those the more we get them.”
Hartford’s sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Brodeur made six saves to keep the Bearcats in check, but the match was decided by the one that got by her.
Freshman midfielder Emily Pape, who had just scored her first collegiate goal in the last game, provided the game-winning goal for Binghamton in the first half. Pape took a throw-in from junior midfielder Stefani Knopick and blasted her only shot of the game high into the far right corner of the net, past a diving Brodeur.
The Hawks had an opportunity to tie it up late in the match. Michele DeSanti had a shot on goal after a free kick with just four seconds left, but junior goalkeeper Erin Iman made the save. Iman once again split the game in net with senior Jen McEachron; the pair registered their fourth shutout of the season.
“[The] shutout is huge,” McClellan said. “It’s just as important as scoring goals.”
The last time the Bearcats played a home game was a disappointing 2-1 loss to Stony Brook University on Oct. 4. But this match was played very differently than the last, according to McClellan.
“The biggest difference was we stayed connected for the whole 90 minutes,” she said. “Yeah, there [are] gonna be some storms to weather, but we can stay connected and stay together.”
McClellan also mentioned other improvements the team made against the Hawks that will help the Bearcats in the future.
“I think we improved in our ground coverage,” she said. “We were able to cover more of the field, we were able to get numbers forward faster, but also able to recover back to defense.”
Binghamton improved to 5-5-1 overall and 2-2 in America East play this season. It marked the program’s first win against Hartford since 2005. But the celebration won’t last very long for the Bearcats.
“We take it one game at a time,” McClellan said of the win. “We’ll be happy today and then tomorrow we’ll be back at it. It’s a tough road trip to Maine.”
The Bearcats are set to hit the road Sunday for a match at noon. Binghamton lost to the University of Maine last year 1-0 and has not defeated the Black Bears since 2006.
“Maine’s always a tough team; they’re very physical,” McClellan said. “We’re gonna have to be ready to battle. But if we play as well as we played today in our offense and still get back and defend, I like our chances.”