The New Hampshire Wildcats showed on Saturday why they are the highest powered offense in the America East as they scored two late second-half goals in a span of 4:27 to defeat the visiting Bearcats, 2-1.

Facing the team ranked No. 1 in the conference in both goals (16) and shots (170), BU (1-7-2) played a strong 70 minutes of soccer as the New Hampshire attack featuring two players currently tied for second in the conference in points with twelve apiece, Michelle Sheehan and Caitlin Whelan, was shut down. The two combined for seven shots, three on goal, as the Bearcat backfield did a respectable job of neutralizing their scoring opportunities.

Binghamton controlled the tempo of the first half of the game, keeping Wildcat goalkeeper Nikki Golding on her toes. Senior Kim Povill scored the Bearcats’ lone goal of the game, her second of the season, in the 24th minute on a 30-yard shot that found the corner of the goal. Casey Pedersen recorded the assist, her third of the season. Povill is now the team leader in points with eight, overtaking senior Danielle White who has seven.

‘I thought we played our hearts out,’ said Binghamton University head coach Jeff Leightman. ‘We dominated long stretches and, quite frankly, we had four or five chances to go up 2-nil. New Hampshire really came at us in the second half.’

On a busy night for both goalies, New Hampshire (5-4-1) started the second half focused on keeping Binghamton keeper Erin Iman extremely busy as the Wildcats outshot BU 14-9 in the second half (23-18 for the game). The equalizer by New Hampshire, scored by senior Adriana Gonzalez-Medina, came in the 73rd minute and came on a pass from freshman midfielder Cassandra Guerra. Marianne Rivard scored the go-ahead goal roughly 4.5 minutes later at the 77:32 mark on a feed from Sheehan. The Bearcats had one final chance to tie the game in the 80th minute, but a header by senior midfielder Tricia Reed was sent over the net.

‘It was incredibly disappointing,’ Leightman said. ‘Their first goal kind of disheartened us. They scored another one on a fluky goal; it was like a dagger in our hearts. I think we deserved to win the match.’

Leightman placed much of the blame on himself.

‘It’s a matter of focus and concentration, and I have to take it on myself as the coach to make sure we are mentally and physically prepared for every game,’ he said. ‘Everything falls on my shoulders and I think I can do a better job of making sure we’re better for those moments. Our conference matches are all going to be one goal games because everyone is very good.’

The Bearcats next face the University of Vermont Catamounts and goalkeeper Eliza Bradley on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Bearcat Sports Complex. Bradley leads the conference in saves (83) and saves per game (8.3) as her Catamounts (1-8-1) ride into Binghamton coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss to Boston University on Sunday. Leightman said that scoring the second goal will be critical for victory.

‘Our focus right now is only on Vermont,’ Leightman said. ‘We have a lot of respect for Vermont. The one thing that they always do is work incredibly hard for 90 minutes. [Both teams] are struggling a little bit, but I don’t think Vermont is going to come in and not be prepared to battle.’