The Binghamton women’s soccer team won back-to-back matches over a span of 72 hours on Labor Day weekend. The Bearcats (3-1-2) defeated Manhattan on Friday, and stole a victory from Siena on Monday in overtime.
Against Manhattan (1-5), Binghamton found success with its consistent defense and revamped offense. Both teams went scoreless in the first half, relying largely on their defenses to pick up the slack. Then, an assist from redshirt sophomore forward Jocelyn Acor early in the second half led to a goal off the left foot of senior forward Leighann Bennett from 20 yards out to put the Bearcats ahead, 1-0.
After Bennett’s goal, Binghamton’s back line continued to lock down any offensive efforts by the Jaspers. Manhattan was limited to five shots all game, with just one shot on goal, which was deflected with a diving save by junior goalkeeper Katie Hatziyianis.
Against Siena (1-3-2) on Monday, however, Binghamton was not in control for the majority of its overtime win. The Bearcats recorded five shots — fewer than half as many as they had against Manhattan on Sunday — while allowing 16. The Bearcats played more aggressively than the Saints on both sides of the ball, acquiring 14 fouls throughout the match — twice as many as Siena.
Despite allowing Siena to control possession for much of the first 90 minutes, BU was never out of the game. More tough nosed defense and exceptional goalkeeping by Hatziyianis kept the Bearcats’ hopes alive. With less than three minutes to play in the first overtime period, freshman defender Ryan Reilly sent a cross to redshirt junior Michele Galvin, who headed it in for her first goal of the season and Binghamton’s first home victory.
With his first home win as Binghamton women’s soccer head coach under his belt, BU head coach Neel Bhattacharjee was pleased with his players’ performance through their third overtime match of the season, particularly that of Hatziyianis.
“The sign of a great goalkeeper is if they can make great saves at critical moments,” Bhattacharjee said. “In the first half, we were under the gun and didn’t have a lot of possession, and she had to come up big for us, which she did. She’s a game changer in the back. We’ve won a number of games 1-0, so we’ve really needed those shutouts, and needed her.”
Prior to the game against Siena, the Bearcats acknowledged the difficulty of winning two consecutive games and recognized they would need to play with more tenacity to get the win.
“In the first half, we kind of forgot things that we’ve worked hard at and that have made us successful,” Bhattacharjee said. “Our defensive pressure, moving off the ball, all of which we needed to change in the second half. By moving our lines up, Siena was forced to move their lines back, making us the aggressor. That’s when we started to see a shift in the game, and we started to do all of the blue-collar things that lifted us into [overtime].”
The Bearcats will look to extend their wining streak to three on Friday when they are set to take on Lehigh. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.