As the game clock ticked down to 0:00 on Saturday night, the Bearcats’ seasonlong goal became a reality as they clinched a spot in the America East (AE) Tournament for the first time in program history with their win over UMass Lowell. The victory moved the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in conference play with one game left in the regular season.
“This is something that our girls have worked tirelessly for all season and really all year long,” said BU head coach Stephanie Allen. “It was a great achievement by our team and just shows the progress that we have made as a program.”
The Bearcats played an impressive first half, led by five goals from redshirt senior attack Brianne Arthur. The defenses were on lockdown early, with UMass Lowell (4-11, 1-5 AE) finally breaking through after 10 minutes of scoreless play. After the River Hawks gained a 1-0 lead, Binghamton dominated on offense for the rest of the period. The Bearcats quickly responded with a goal of their own just minutes later as junior midfielder Rebecca Golderman found the back of the net to tie the game. BU then proceeded to go on a 7-0 run and take a commanding 8-1 advantage with five minutes still left to play in the first frame.
The River Hawks cut the lead for a short time at the end of the first half, scoring three quick goals in slightly over two minutes. However, the Bearcats’ offense proved too powerful, and the team regained its seven-goal margin going into the break with an 11-4 score off of goals from sophomore midfielder Amelia Biancardi, as well as Arthur’s fifth goal of the half and Golderman’s second goal of the game, the latter coming in with one second remaining on the clock.
UMass Lowell played a higher level of defense in the second period, holding the Bearcats to just one goal over 30 minutes of play, compared to the 11 let up in the first quarter. Golderman scored the lone goal of the second half for the Bearcats, registering a hat trick for the game. The River Hawks used their improved defense and stellar play from their goalkeeper, senior Courtney Barrett, to cut their deficit, but never decreased it to fewer than three goals.
“I thought we did a good job of holding off some of their stronger players in the first half, but [we] allowed them to come back in in the latter part of the second half,” Allen said.
Nonetheless, this was a historic victory for the Bearcats and for the women’s lacrosse program overall, as they clinched a spot in the postseason conference tournament after coming up just short in the past few years. They achieved their goal, but they won’t be able to let up their momentum anytime soon, as the Bearcats hope to continue their success as they round out the regular season and begin the postseason.
The Bearcats are set to play their final regular season finale next Saturday afternoon, April 28 in a home matchup against UNH. The game is scheduled to start at noon from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.