Binghamton women’s lacrosse couldn’t keep pace with the nation’s second-highest scoring offense on Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium as Stony Brook overwhelmed the Bearcats (2-12, 1-5 America East) in their final game of the regular season. The Seawolves (14-2, 6-0 AE), who average 15.94 goals per game, scored 17 times in the contest, while BU managed to find the back of the net just six times.
The Seawolves outshot the Bearcats 42-19 and took 15 out of 25 draws.
The afternoon was not without some bright spots for Binghamton, however, as senior midfield Katherine Hunsberger ended her Binghamton career with her 13th hat trick. She led the team this year with 36 points and 35 goals, ending with a 17-game scoring streak dating back to last season. Junior attack Angela Vespa added a hat trick of her own as the two combined to score all six Binghamton goals.
The Seawolves led the whole way after jumping out to a 5-0 lead. They kept the pressure up heading into the locker room, outscoring BU 7-3 through the rest of the half to extend their lead at halftime to nine.
In the second half, Stony Brook picked up where it left off, scoring two more goals to go up 14-3 before Vespa scored her second goal to cut the deficit to 10 goals. The Bearcats could not get any closer though, as the Seawolves maintained a double-digit lead through the entirety of the second half, led by the seven goals of senior midfield Demmianne Cook, the nation’s leading goal scorer.
Though Hunsberger’s career in the green and white is over, she has left a substantial mark on the program’s record book. She leaves Binghamton as the program’s all-time leader in draw controls with 152 — her 76 draw controls this year set a single-season program record and gave her the ninth-best draw control average in the country. She is also fifth in school history in both single season goals (35) and career goals (83).
“Katherine has been a staple for us in the midfield and led us defensively as well as in transition,” Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen said. “We will miss her leadership … We have young players ready to step up and fill her shoes.”
Fellow senior Kimberly McGeever will part from the Bearcats in second on the program’s all-time assists chart with 58. Her 33 assists in 2012 set Binghamton’s single-season record, and her 121 career points tie her for fourth in program history.
Stony Brook moves on to host the America East tournament set for this Friday and Sunday. The top-seeded Seawolves are scheduled to face fourth-seeded Vermont in the first semifinal. In the other semifinal matchup, No. 2 seed Albany is set to take on No. 3 seed New Hampshire.