The Binghamton women’s soccer team failed to secure a win during its two-game away slate, falling to Canisius 5-0 on Thursday afternoon before settling for a 1-1 draw at St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon.

“What I was most impressed with is this team’s resiliency,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “That we have an attitude and mentality of learning from things that we can improve upon, and then we look forward and ahead to the next thing.”

BU (1-1-1) began its week of play with a road trip to Buffalo to face off against Canisius (1-0) Thursday evening, and the Bearcats quickly found themselves at a disadvantage to the Golden Griffins. The hosts put Binghamton’s back line to work with three shots in the first four minutes, culminating with the third shot finding the back of the net to make it a 1-0 contest. Although freshman midfielder Anna Buckwalter would get an opportunity to equalize in the fifth minute, the opposing keeper was able to get her gloves on the shot. This set the tone for the rest of the half, as Binghamton failed to capitalize on its opportunities while Canisius added two more points to the tally to make it 3-0 at the break.

“Honestly, the first half didn’t feel like it was a [3-0] game,” Bhattacharjee said. “They had three goal scoring opportunities, and they converted … I felt like the scoreline perhaps exaggerated the difference at that time, because statistically everything else was pretty even. Possession, shots, all of that. The only thing that I honestly felt like we could done a little bit better is I thought we were a little bit too easy to give up fouls.”

Entering the second period, foul trouble for Binghamton would give the Golden Griffins a chance to carry over their momentum as the hosts scored on a penalty kick in minute 47 to go up 4-0. The rest of the match would see Binghamton fail to wrestle ball control from Canisius, getting off only one shot for the entire period, courtesy of senior forward Mackenzie Ryder in minute 51, which was again saved by Canisius’ keeper. The Bearcats wouldn’t get another opportunity to get on the board, surrendering one more score as Binghamton fell 5-0 for its first loss of the 2024 campaign.

Looking to bounce back from Thursday’s shutout, the Bearcats went on another upstate road trip Sunday to face off against St. Bonaventure (0-3-1). As the first period began, however, it appeared that Binghamton would again experience difficulties on offense. While the Bearcats would pepper the Bonnies with shots throughout the first 20 minutes, BU failed to convert those opportunities into scores. Instead, St. Bonaventure struck first in minute 28 to take a 1-0 lead. Both squads would then be engaged in a defensive stalemate for the remainder of the frame, with the score remaining 1-0 as the period came to a close.

“We just keep going,” Bhattacharjee said. “There wasn’t a sense of frustration, it was just ‘keep going, keep going’ … It was just one of those days where I feel like there isn’t much else that could be said, because at the end we played very well. The only thing we were left wanting for was another opportunity to convert a goal.”

Coming out of the gate to begin period two, the Bearcats would start to gain more ball control over the Bonnies. This newfound aggression paid off in minute 65, as junior defender Brooke Herber connected with senior forward Hannah Mimas, who secured the goal to knot up the contest at one. However, despite outshooting its hosts 3-1 the rest of the way, Binghamton was unable to secure a second score to take the lead. Mimas would get the game’s final look in the 88th minute, but the shot went out to the right. When all was said and done, Binghamton left St. Bonaventure tied at one.

“[Mimas] scored a very good goal, and honestly she was probably unlucky not to get a second, third or even a fourth goal because of the chances that we created on set pieces to run a play,” Bhattacharjee said. “Today’s game was just one of those days where we were very pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result.”

Binghamton will look to get back on track as it hosts its home opener against Monmouth on Thursday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.