After its game against Bucknell was canceled, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team made its home debut on Tuesday when it faced off against Cornell in the third match of the season. BU struggled to put the ball in the net through four periods of play and ultimately fell 18-4 at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
“We were not a consistent team today,” said Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen. “We showed in the first 10 minutes what we were capable of and then allowed a few-goal run to consume our mindset and our execution out there.”
After Cornell (2-0) broke the ice with the first goal of the game, BU (1-2) responded less than a minute later with a goal from sophomore midfielder Madison Murphy off of a free position shot. With 11:15 left in the first period, a Big Red goal put the Bearcats down 2-1, but Binghamton earned themselves a 3-2 lead with 9:11 remaining in the period after they put in two unanswered goals. Junior attack Kenna Newman was able to put in the tying shot with the help of an assist from sophomore midfielder Jesse Barer. Then, freshman midfielder Abby Carroll rounded off the game’s early scoring flurry with the goal that put the Bearcats up by one. Binghamton was only able to put the ball in the net one other time during the rest of the match.
“[The offense] was not up to our standard or expectation today,” Allen said. “We got some additional people in and tried to bring a spark to that side of the ball. But certainly not an acceptable performance by the offense today, and we’re gonna dial in and focus on it the rest of the week.”
The Big Red scored four unanswered goals during the rest of the quarter to lead 6-3. The Bearcats had a chance to narrow the deficit in the closing seconds but failed to get a shot off. BU was able to bring Cornell’s run to a halt in the second period when Newman put a low shot past the goalie to make the game 6-4. This began a scoring dry spell for Binghamton that would last the rest of the match. Cornell went on another four-goal run to end the half with a 10-4 lead.
The Bearcat’s defensive struggles and scoring woes continued into the latter half of the game as they opted for a defensive change. At around the halfway point of the third period, sophomore goalie Sofia Salgado came in as a substitution for junior goalie Emily Manning, who retired from the match with 14 goals allowed and six shots saved.
“I think [Manning] had a good, strong first half but we just needed to give a different look out there to the Cornell offense,” Allen said.
The substitution helped the Bearcats’ defense as Salgado only let four shots reach the back of the net for the remainder of the game while saving five Big Red attempts in the process. However, the Binghamton offense stayed scoreless, as they were shut out for the last 43 minutes of the game.
“I thought [Salgado] responded very well coming in and taking some point-blank shots early on in her minutes,” Allen said. “I thought she showed that she’s capable of stepping in and competing for that position.”
The Bearcats remain winless in matchups against the Big Red as this marks their ninth-straight loss to them since their first meeting in 2012. Binghamton will look ahead to its next matchup against Mount St. Mary’s.
BU is scheduled to face the Mountaineers on Saturday, Feb. 26. First draw control is set for 1 p.m. at the Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Maryland.