On Sunday afternoon, the Binghamton women’s soccer team traveled to East Lansing to take on an undefeated Michigan State squad. Although the Spartans were held scoreless in the second half, BU gave up two unanswered goals in the first frame and mustered just two shots throughout the contest, losing 2-0.

“We knew we were playing a very talented side in Michigan State,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We knew they were gonna be an athletic team that was gonna move the ball well. As the game went on, we certainly saw that from the Spartans.”

The Bearcats (1-2-1) and the Spartans (3-0-1) began the match locked into a defensive battle, as neither squad got a shot off until Michigan State’s first attempt eight minutes into the action. Binghamton was unable to get a shot off for the remainder of the half compared to the Spartans’ 11. Although the hosts connected on two of their first-half attempts, senior goalkeeper Nicole Scott managed to record three saves.

“Both goals that were conceded were in the first half,” Bhattacharjee said. “I don’t think there was a whole lot that [Scott] could’ve done.”

After consistent offensive pressure placed on to the Bearcats, the Spartans scored their first goal off of a header set up by a free kick in the 30th minute. Michigan State scored its second goal seven minutes later after a seven-yard shot tipped off of Scott’s gloves.

“The only frustrating thing from today’s performance is that we did give up a decent number of set pieces in dangerous areas,” Bhattacharjee said. “Michigan State was able to capitalize on one of them.”

The second half did not show a change of pace as BU put up two shots in the frame compared to Michigan State’s 16. Binghamton spent most of this half on its defensive half to neutralize the Spartan’s offense. Neither team could reach the back of the net as sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams tallied six saves in 45 minutes.

“Overall, I thought [Scott and Williams] did well. They came off the line well and made good decisions,” Bhattacharjee said. “They came up with a couple big stops each, and I’m pleased with their performances over the course of the day. Both of them had to make a couple key saves and we knew that was gonna be the case. We can count on them to come up big once or twice a game.”

The Bearcats’ only two-shot attempts came early in the second period from junior midfielder Victoria McKnight and sophomore forward Peyton Gilmore, respectively. Gilmore put her shot low and up the middle of the net where the Spartan keeper recorded her first and only save of the day.

“We saw some opportunities from Michigan State where we had to bend a little bit but not break,” Bhattacharjee said. “We kept things competitive throughout the second period. We are obviously disappointed and frustrated with the result but at the same time we knew that we competed hard, and there’s a lot of takeaways that we will be learning from this experience.”

BU is set to finish off its three-game away stretch against Bucknell on Thursday, Sept. 1. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.