After achieving back-to-back wins for the first time since 2006, the Binghamton University women’s lacrosse team’s brief streak of success came to an end Wednesday as the Bearcats fell to Lehigh University 17-10. The Bearcats (2-3) have never beaten the Mountain Hawks (3-5) in three matchups.

“Lehigh played a very strong game today and we were out-hustled by a hungry team,” BU head coach Tony Zostant said. “They wore our defense down and possessed the ball a good majority of the second half. We just were unable to come up with the draws. We’ll use this game as a learning experience and get ready for La Salle [University] on Saturday.”

The star of the game was Lehigh freshman attack Carli Sukonik, who netted a game-best eight goals for the Mountain Hawks.

“They had a lot of fast breaks and she was the recipient of sheer hustle,” Zostant said.

The final score was a disappointing end to a game that seemed promising for BU at the onset. Maintaining the pace set in Friday’s matchup against Canisius College, BU jumped out in front of Lehigh early. Senior attack Lis Zuern ignited the Binghamton offense with two goals, giving the Bearcats an early 2-0 lead. BU led 3-1, but Lehigh scored three times to capture its first lead of the frame, 4-3. Sukonik scored three times during the Mountain Hawk’s run, and Lehigh never trailed again.

BU junior midfielder Casey Bulman and senior Brittany Stufano evened the scoring for the Bearcats at four and five respectively, but Binghamton could not disrupt the Mountain Hawks’ rhythm on offense. Sukonik’s fourth goal of the game gave Lehigh its biggest lead of the frame (7-5) and junior attack Kelly Draper scored to preserve Lehigh’s lead at halftime.

Draper’s goal with three seconds left in the first half marked the beginning of 10-1 run that would put the game out of reach for the Bearcats.

Binghamton did not score for the first 14 minutes of the second half. During the span, the Mountain Hawks’ offense kicked into gear, going on a 7-0 scoring spurt to build a nine-goal advantage, 15-6. Sukonik was a major catalyst, scoring her fifth, sixth and seventh goals of the game. Lehigh’s run finally came to an end after BU senior midfielder Allie Sabitus put the Bearcats on the scoreboard with her sixth goal of the season.

Trailing 15-7, BU attempted to mount a comeback. Following Sabitus’ goal, Stufano and junior midfielder Katherine Hunsberger scored to bring the Bearcats to within six at 15-9. The Bearcats’ surge fell in vain, though, as the omnipresence of Sukonik on offense proved to be too much to overcome.

Lehigh’s stellar offensive performance was in part propelled by its success in the draw circle, (23-for-29). The Mountain Hawks also outshot the Bearcats 32-24.

Zuern and Stufano each recorded hat-tricks to lead the Binghamton attack. Bulman, Hunsberger, Sabitus and junior midfielder Kristen Stone scored for BU as well.

Binghamton is scheduled to play a St. Patrick’s Day matinee against La Salle University on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The match will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

“We are going to prepare our team just like we do every game. We have two days to prepare for that and we hope that we can come out [with a win],” Zostant said. “We played them in the scrimmage in the fall and they are a tough team, they’re fast, they’re physical and we know what to expect from them.”

Saturday’s match against La Salle is set to kick off at 1 p.m.