After starting its season with a 4-1 record, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team has now lost two consecutive games after its 19-10 loss to Canisius on Monday.
Coming off a disappointing performance at home against Cornell, Binghamton (4-3) wanted to rebound on the road against the three-time defending MAAC champions. Instead, they were overwhelmed for the second game in a row and are now a team in search of a spark.
Canisius (3-3) came out hot in front of its home fans at the Demske Sports Complex, converting on its offensive chances to take a 3-0 lead. With 12 minutes left in the half, after a goal by freshman attack Brianne Arthur cut the Bearcats’ deficit to 7-5, Canisius would take command of what had been a close game. Capitalizing on a 5-0 run, the Golden Griffins carried a 12-5 lead into the locker room. In the opening 30 minutes, Canisius outshot Binghamton, 22-11.
Led by sophomore attack Sophia Racciatti’s two goals, Binghamton would regain its composure to start the second half, scoring the first four goals to get to within 12-9. Down only three, the Bearcats were poised for a comeback with 24 minutes remaining.
Then it all fell apart for BU.
Following a familiar script of late, the Bearcats would squander what chance they had at a win by allowing the next seven goals to Canisius. Junior midfielder Renee Kiviat would stop the Golden Griffin’s run with a free-position shot at 2:33 remaining to make the score 19-10, but the damage was already done.
“We are a better team than we are playing right now,” Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen said. “We were not efficient on offense today. We played about half of our offensive opportunities poorly. Fortunately we have three games before conference play to improve upon that.”
One of those areas of improvement, according to Allen, will be valuing possessions and avoiding turnovers. On Monday, the Bearcats lost the turnover battle, 16-12, and have also been outshot during their two-game skid, 68-43.
Sophomore goalie Erin McNulty has been slumping of late. After being pulled early against Cornell, she played only half of the game against Canisius, giving up 12 scores on 17 shots on goal. Allen used all three goalkeepers today, perhaps looking for a defensive spark to get her team back on track.
“We needed somebody to come in and stop the ball,” she said. “Unfortunately, we are not seeing the ball well lately [in net].”
The offense, despite their turnovers, did tally double-digit goals for the fifth time this season. They had previously been undefeated when posting 10 or more goals in a game.
Leading the way offensively was Arthur, who had a team-high three goals for the Bearcats. She was joined on the scoreboard by Racciatti, Kiviat and senior attack Angela Vespa, who each tallied two goals. Junior attack Alex Fisher added a score, and a team-high two assists.
Their hot start now a distant memory, the Bearcats face Siena (2-5) on Thursday to try and stabilize their season.
Play is set for 4 p.m. Thursday at Siena Turf Field.