During the course of the 2014-2015 offseason, the Binghamton women’s soccer team lost back and midfield anchors, Connie Gormley and Emily Nuss, to graduation. In addition, the Bearcats also lost last season’s point and assist leaders — midfielders Katie O’Neill and Rebecca Raber, respectively — to transfer. But, in its season opener against St. Bonaventure on August 21, Binghamton (1-0-1) did exactly what it needed to do to set the tone for its 2015 campaign.
The Bearcats rallied for a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, earning their first win over the Bonnies (0-1-1) in over five seasons.
“We talk a lot about having a perfect response to mistakes or obstacles and I thought that was definitely an obstacle in the first half for us,” Binghamton head coach Sarah McClellan said after the season opener. “So I thought the team battled back really well — blocked [the early deficit] out of their mind and just continued to play.”
Binghamton will look to build upon a 2014 campaign that ended with a 4-2 PK loss against New Hampshire in the America East quarterfinals. Among the top returners from last year’s squad are senior midfielder Katherine Corcoran, a 2014 second team All-America East selection, senior forward Stephani Church, who scored BU’s first goal of the season against the Bonnies and redshirt sophomore forward Jacque Rice, coming off a 2014 campaign that saw her named to the AE All-Rookie team.
Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Hatziyianis is back in net after recording a .763 save percentage mark in over 845 minutes played last season. Looking to assist Hatziyianis on the defensive side of the field for BU are junior backs Kelly Corrado and Allison Mack and sophomore back Hannah Shankman — all returners from a squad that posted six shutouts in the 2014 season.
But Binghamton isn’t without new talent this season. The Bearcats reloaded with eight newcomers, including seven freshmen. And already, the rookies are stepping up in a big way. In the 70th minute against St. Bonaventure, freshman midfielder Sierra Barr found freshman forward Julianne Johnston to connect for the contest’s game-winning goal.
“That was huge and we’re going to get better and better each game,” McClellan said of Johnston’s goal. “The more players we can continue to get experience and collaborations on the field, the more longevity we’re going to have and the progress will continue all the way to [America East play].”
In BU’s second contest, this time against Mid Atlantic Athletic member Canisius, Binghamton was presented with its first overtime challenge of the season — double overtime to be more exact. Despite holding an 11-4 advantage in shots over the Golden Griffins (1-1-2) in regulation, the Bearcats were unable to convert their scoring chances into goals.
“I liked our fight, we stayed attacking the entire game and in both overtimes we were very alert,” McClellan said after her team’s second match. “The tough thing is when you got a team that you are getting more shots than and doing a lot of attacking … It doesn’t matter how you played the whole game, one mistake could cost you the game.”
Again outshooting Canisius in both 10-minute overtime periods, 5-1, the Bearcats continued to struggle finding the back of the net and ultimately settled for a 0-0 draw. And against a Golden Griffins team that entered the Bearcats Sports Complex averaging 5.6 goals per game, Binghamton’s first shutout of the season was a testament to its dominant backfield play.
“We knew that they had some players who could score some goals and some dangerous forwards,” McClellan said. “So I thought we shut them down very well.”
In attack, McClellan believes that communication will be key as the offense continues to sharpen its game against non-conference competition.
“I thought we had some moments of brilliance there,” she said. “So its going to come together, we just have to stay with it and make sure that we communicate until we find that rhythm.”
The Bearcats returned to the field Sunday, when they took on Lehigh in a non-conference contest. Results of the game were not available at the time of production. Visit bupipedream.com/sports/soccer for a complete breakdown of the match.