In its final America East matchup of the season, the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team fell, 17-5, to Albany on Senior Night.
Facing their fourth top-25 opponent of the season in the Great Danes (12-3, 4-1 AE) on Friday night, the Bearcats (6-10, 1-5 AE) were overwhelmed by a potent style of play on both sides of the ball from the visitors.
“We came out and competed for 60 minutes which was something we were looking for from our team,” Binghamton head coach Stephanie Allen said. “But unfortunately out there we didn’t hold our own as far as decisions with the ball.”
Scoring on their first possession of the game, the Great Danes jumped out to a 3-0 lead before sophomore attack Brianne Arthur put BU on the board by way of a free possession shot eight minutes into play.
After another quick UAlbany score, sophomore midfielder Callon Williams cut Albany’s lead to two with just under 18 minutes left in the half. But it wasn’t much longer before the Great Danes broke out of the leash. Albany finished the half on a 5-0 run to enter intermission ahead, 9-2. Along with its stellar offensive play to close the period, the Albany defense picked up 12 turnovers from the Bearcats while holding them to a 37.5 percent clear percentage.
The second half began as more of the same for Binghamton, as Albany upped its tally to 10 in the opening minute of the half. The Great Danes climbed to a 13-goal lead, 15-2, before BU found its way back into the goal column midway through the period. Following a quick response by the Albany offense, Arthur found twine for the second time of the day to up BU’s total, 16-4, after a clutch save by junior goalie Erin McNulty.
“At halftime we made a few adjustments defensively,” Allen explained. “Taking out some of their feeders or anyone that really touches on the ball and it helped us out tremendously.”
To close scoring for the day, senior midfielder Renee Kiviat scored her final goal in Vestal as Albany cruised to a 17-5 victory.
Along with Kiviat, senior attack Brianna Russo and senior defender Rachel Antelmi also played their final game at the Bearcats Sports Complex on Friday, with senior attack Alex Fisher sidelined due to an injury sustained earlier this season.
“Just seeing our other three seniors come out and put their hearts out on Friday […] we were just really proud to see them competing and laying it on the line,” Allen said.
Out of playoff contention, the Bearcats are set to play their final game of the season against non-conference opponent Canisius. Winning their final game last season, Allen hopes that the Bearcats can end the 2015 season on a high note before entering the offseason.
“It’s not too often teams can say they ended their season on a win,” Allen said. “And that’s something we were able to hang our hats on and gain momentum from last season — something that we’ll continue to look to do on Saturday.”
First draw control against Canisius is currently set for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, however, according to Allen the game has been rescheduled for Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.