The Binghamton University women’s soccer team hit a snag before its final slate of conference matches, dropping its first-ever match against the University of Pennsylvania by a score of 3-0. The Bearcats had won six of their past eight before the loss.
Penn, playing at home, opened the scoring on a one-timer at the 6:44 mark. Soon thereafter, the Bearcats had two opportunities to even the score. The first came from freshman forward Jamie Holliday, who hit the crossbar in the 16th minute, and the second came from sophomore midfielder Mary DeWitte, whose shot banked off the post at the 3:17 mark.
“We needed to finish early in the game,” BU head coach Sarah McClellan said of the chances. “The fact that we hit the crossbar, hit the post … that’s [two] goals right there if you’re looking at it from opportunity standpoint.”
The Quakers then tallied two insurance goals in just over 15 minutes in the second half to seal the victory. Penn outshot the Bearcats 17-6 in the game, but the shot count may not have been accurate, according to McClellan.
“I can think of at least four other shots that we had that weren’t counted,” she said. “So the shots were closer than it showed.”
Penn also held a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. The Bearcats have just 34 corner kicks on the season, compared with 80 by their opponents.
“We’ve been talking about trying to limit some of the corner kicks we’re giving away,” McClellan said. “But saying that, Penn is a really top-notch team, so we had our work cut out for us, and we knew that.”
Penn’s record improved to 7-3-2, while the Bearcats fell to 6-6-1 in the final non-conference match of their season. According to McClellan, the game provided some needed lessons for the team.
“I think that we have to start off every game strong, with the same competitive spirit that we have later on in the game, and we have to take advantage of the chances that we create for ourselves,” she said.
Holliday and DeWitte combined for five of Binghamton’s six total shots in the contest. Goalkeepers Jen McEachron and Erin Iman split the game in net against the Quakers, who lead the Ivy League in goals per game with 2.18.
Although the team’s hot streak was interrupted at Penn, McClellan said that the loss may have been exactly what the Bearcats needed before conference play resumes.
“While we want to win every game we compete in,” McClellan explained, “we needed to play this kind of caliber team before we hit, potentially, America East playoffs, because we’ll look back at it and see that it prepped us for the higher caliber of play.”
The Bearcats will play the first of its three remaining conference games at the Bearcats Sports Complex against University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.