On Sunday afternoon, the Binghamton women’s soccer team began their 2024 campaign on a high note as they held off George Washington University for a 3-2 victory on the road. The Bearcats flexed their offensive firepower early on with nine shots in the first period, building momentum that would carry them the rest of the way to a victory.

“We kind of see this as a combination of everything that we worked at during preseason giving us a kickstart to what we want to do going into the season,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We are a different team. We have six starters that have moved on. And this past spring … people really stepped in. They were hungry for their opportunity.”

BU (1-0) made its presence known to the Colonials (0-1-1) early on in the first period, taking control of the field and aggressively attacking GWU’s back line. Leading this early charge was senior forward Hannah Mimas, who was responsible for two of Binghamton’s first four shots within the opening minutes. Mimas’ control of the midfield paid off in the eighth minute when she connected with freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter, who found the back of the net to secure her first collegiate goal, putting the Bearcats up 1-0.

“We’ve got some firepower right now,” Bhattacharjee said. “The only thing I’d say is we got a little bit of limited depth … but when they come back, which will definitely be more than ample time before conference play, I think our fans will see we’re gonna have some pretty legit, dangerous attacking options for us to work with.”

After Binghamton’s initial offensive onslaught, the pace of play would slow down for the next stretch, with neither team mounting a goal-netting attack for the next 22 minutes. While the Colonials would make a flurry of substitutions within this timeframe in an attempt to gain momentum, it would be Binghamton striking once again for the game’s next score. Off an assist from sophomore midfielder Paige Luke, Mimas netted a score of her own in the 31st minute to make it a 2-0 game. As the period came to an end, Binghamton would keep its advantage, having outshot George Washington 9-2 during the frame.

Coming out of halftime, Buckwalter showed no signs of cooling off. In the 47th minute of play, the freshman continued to demonstrate her effectiveness in finishing around the box with her second score of the outing to expand Binghamton’s lead to three. When play in the America East had wrapped for the week, Buckwalter’s two-goal performance ended up netting her Rookie of The Week honors.

“I knew that [Buckwalter] was going to be impactful here as a Bearcat,” Bhattacharjee said. “Now, did I think that it was going to mean that she was going to score two goals in her debut game? Now that even exceeded some of my highest expectations. But I give her a lot of credit because she came in extremely prepared.”

Despite the relative ease that Binghamton displayed in building its lead, the Colonials got on the board in minute 54, before a corner kick converted to a goal in the 76th minute cut Binghamton’s lead to one. However, the Bearcats would get a stop when they needed it the most, with the game-tying goal going out over the top of the net in minute 77. The Bearcats held their opponents scoreless the rest of the way, securing the 3-2 victory.

“It just meant that we had to go defensive recovery, and we had to do that a few times over late in the game, where you’re probably feeling it with the legs on a warm day,” Bhattacharjee said. “So I think some of those things just kind of added up, and I know we’re going to be better for it because we experienced it. We did see some gaps, but the thing I like about this team is they learn very quickly.”

Binghamton will continue its season-opening road trip this Thursday, Aug. 22 against Canisius. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, New York.