To say that the Binghamton women’s soccer team’s 2015 season was disappointing would be an understatement. After BU went 3-12-2 and was victorious in just one conference matchup, former BU head coach Sarah McClellan was let go from her position at the helm.
Since the hiring of Neel Bhattacharjee to take McClellan’s head coaching role at the turn of the new year, the sole constant for the Bearcats has been change. Throughout the spring season, Bhattacharjee and new assistant coaches Taylor Schram and Jackie Firenze have worked to alter the culture of a program that went winless for 13 straight games last season.
Bhattacharjee, who previously served as an assistant at Syracuse, Boston College and George Washington, knows the Bearcats still have considerable room for improvement.
“[The players] know we’ve got some work to do, some things that we want to do in terms of establishing our identity and our playing style and they’ve really caught on to it,” he said.
According to the team, his intentions and vision were clear from the moment they met him.
“Right away when we met Neel [Bhattacharjee], we knew that he was serious, he meant business and that’s just been the mentality — that every day you have to work as hard as you can and nothing’s given,” said junior captain Hannah Shankman.
Part of the culture that Bhattacharjee hopes to establish within the team is having the confidence necessary to win games. Although they were ranked last in the America East preseason poll, the Bearcats believe they will be able to compete every time they take the field.
“We know what the preseason poll said, and we’re not happy about it and we want to change people’s expectations of it,” Bhattacharjee said. “There might be some folks that will take Binghamton as an underdog as we step into games; certainly we don’t feel that’s the case.”
BU, however, has much to prove on the offensive end. Last season, Binghamton ranked 317 of 328 Division I teams in goals scored, recording just 10 the entire season. This paltry mark, which averaged to less than a goal per game, must be improved for the Bearcats to become a team that isn’t expected to lose.
That won’t be an easy task for the Bearcats after the graduation of their leading goal scorer, midfielder Katherine Corcoran, who netted three goals last season. BU’s offense took another blow during the preseason when sophomore forward Julianne Johnston, who was second on the team in goals last year, was sidelined with an injury.
Despite the losses, Bhattacharjee believes the attack has the potential to be much better than recent years. Seven of BU’s 12 losses were by only one goal and they failed to score in four of those games. Bhattacharjee hopes that his focus on possession strategies will give the Bearcats the edge they need to come out on top in tight games.
“One thing that we’ve really focused on over the course of this preseason is what we’re doing with our possession, so build-up play, getting a rhythm, switching the point of attack, [is] what we’re going to do on our attacking set pieces,” he said.
The renewed focus seems to be working so far; Binghamton tied St. Bonaventure, 1-1, in double overtime on Friday and defeated Niagara, 1-0, on Sunday. Redshirt sophomore forward Jocelyn Acor netted the lone goal against the Bonnies while sophomore midfielder Patty Loonie did the same against the Purple Eagles to record the first goal of her collegiate career.
While the offense continues to work on its game, the Bearcats will once again rely on their strong defense to stay in games. In the net for BU will be junior keeper Katie Hatziyianis, who sat out for just 25 minutes in total last season, leading Binghamton to a conference-best 6.65 save per game average.
Hatziyianis, who is second on the program’s all-time saves record, is confident in BU’s progression since the coaching change.
“Everyone’s on board with this team culture that he wants to create and I think that’s going to be really beneficial going forward,” she said. “We know early what we need to do and how we’re going to do it.”
Binghamton is set to return to action on Thursday night in its home opener against Lafayette. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.