The Binghamton women’s soccer team defeated in-state rival Albany 4-0 in its regular-season finale on Thursday evening. With the win, The Bearcats have extended their unbeaten streak to six matches, heading into the America East playoff, where BU has clinched the No. 3 seed.

“We just had a difficult start, but I also feel like this team really responded well,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “After those first two matches, then we were able to get ourselves back on track.”

Binghamton (7-5-4, 4-2-2 AE) scored one goal on eight first-half shots, with the lone score coming from senior forward Mackenzie Ryder in the 23rd minute of the match. The Bearcats got this opportunity when senior midfielder Isabella Martillo led her teammate, sophomore defender/forward Megan Baker, out wide on the right side of the field, who crossed the ball into the crowded middle. The ball bounced then past an Albany (3-12-1, 2-5-1) defender and was picked up by Ryder, who blasted a 14-yard shot past the leaping Great Danes’ goalkeeper to put the Bearcats 1-0, a score they held going into the half.

“It’s always easier to play when you have the lead instead of chasing from behind,” Bhattacharjee said. “That helped, and then we talked about some things that we could do in the second half.”

Coming out of halftime, the Bearcats continued to be aggressive. This ultimately paid off in the 64th minute when Baker was tripped from behind by a Great Danes defender and given a penalty kick, which she buried into the back of the net. This would be Baker’s second goal in two games as she extended the Bearcats lead to 2-0.

“[Baker] is having a really good season,” Bhattacharjee said. “She’s been a big part of why we’ve been able to generate some attack.”

For the next 24 minutes, BU held a 2-0 advantage until Martillo scored her first collegiate goal from 16 yards away, off the crossbar and straight across the goal line to give the Bearcats an insurance goal. Binghamton was not done yet as freshman forward Jahkaya Davis scored her fifth goal of the year just 24 seconds later. Davis took possession off the ensuing kickoff and gathered herself before crossing midfield and advancing an additional 40 yards upfield into the UAlbany 18-yard box, striking the ball past the Great Danes’ goalkeeper to seal a 4-0 Bearcats win.

“I think we’ve been pleased,” Bhattacharjee said. “It was a rough start, but since then we’ve seen some different things. Even then, we’ve had a couple of frustrations, like the tie that we had against NJIT, the tie that we had against UMass Lowell, where we found ourselves up 3-0, only to give up two early second-half goals, and then a tying goal with a couple minutes left. Those were games that we felt like we could have put away.”

After finishing up conference play strong, the Bearcats will set their sights on the AE tournament as they look to gear up for a deep postseason run.

“We’re geared up and we’ll be ready to go,” Bhattacharjee said, “We got some recovery after yesterday, and then we’ll be ready to get going for Sunday.”

No. 3 Binghamton will begin its postseason run against No. 6 Vermont on Sunday, Nov. 3 in an AE semifinals matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.