After a stretch of seven straight games without a victory, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team was able to get back in the win column on Sunday. BU (5-11, 1-4 America East) finally captured a victory, defeating UMass Lowell, 12-4, to record its first victory since March 20 against Sacred Heart.
Throughout the skid, BU suffered late, heartbreaking defeats after getting off to promising starts. In their matchup against the River Hawks (1-15, 0-6 AE), however, the Bearcats took an early lead that they would not relinquish.
“It’s been a frustrating losing streak,” said BU head coach Stephanie Allen after the game. “Today just came down to getting back to having fun out there and playing our style.”
In its quest for a conference victory, Binghamton came out of the gate hot against UML. BU sophomore midfielder Stefanie Frolo kicked off scoring for the day just over two minutes into the game. UMass Lowell tied the game at 1-1 five minutes later, but BU quickly found an answer. Junior midfielder Callon Williams created space to free up classmate midfielder Valerie DeNapoli, who successfully converted the pass to put the Bearcats back on top 30 seconds later.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the half, sophomore midfielder Jacqueline Kennedy assisted freshman midfielder Olivia Batista to increase BU’s lead. The Bearcats’ advantage increased to 4-1 when DeNapoli converted a highlight-reel goal with a backhander 45 seconds later. Binghamton led 4-2 heading into the locker room.
The Binghamton offense controlled the tempo in the first half, creating good opportunities and taking 18 shots. River Hawks’ sophomore goalie Courtney Barrett kept her team in the game by making seven first-half saves.
The Bearcats sought to break a string of sloppy second halves and did just that by starting the half on an electrifying five-goal run to pull away from UML. Williams scored her first of four on the day in the opening minute. Soon after, Williams fed DeNapoli once more for her third of the game. The junior duo combined for twelve points altogether, with each player setting a career high in that category.
“They showed the leaders that they can be out there on the field,” Allen said. “They found their stride and continued running with it.”
As great as the offense was for BU, Binghamton’s defense also impressed. The Bearcats forced the River Hawks into 22 turnovers, including 14 in the second half. BU only allowed UML to get 10 shots on goal to BU’s 25.
After 10 minutes of scoreless play in the second half, BU added two goals within a minute of each other to make the tally 9-2. The first of the two, netted by senior attack Sophia Racciatti, gave her a total of 100 points in her career. She is just the eighth player in program history to reach this feat.
“[Racciatti]’s been a staple out there for us for four years now on the offensive end and she’s really stepped up in the last month of play for us,” Allen said.
UMass Lowell halted the BU run with a goal from freshman attack Jane Dudley. DeNapoli then added her forth goal of the game to start another Binghamton scoring run. The Bearcats then added two more, including Williams’ 25th goal of the year. UML scored a late goal with just under a minute remaining to make the final score 12-4.
The game marks just the fourth time this season that BU has hit the double-digit goal mark. The Bearcats’ 12-goal total is the most they have scored since their February win over Quinnipiac, in which they netted 13.
The win puts the Bearcats in a key position for next weekend’s regular-season finale at Vermont. Depending on the outcomes of other conference games, Binghamton could clinch a spot in the AE Tournament with a victory.
“These girls keep believing and we’ll work to do what we can on our end next week,” Allen said.
First draw against Vermont is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. from Virtue Field in Burlington, Vermont.