With its undefeated streak in America East (AE) conference play on the line, the Binghamton women’s soccer team traveled to Smithfield, Rhode Island, and earned its second consecutive tie, drawing the Bulldogs 1-1. After an early goal from both the Bearcats and the Bulldogs in the contest, neither squad could find the back of the net again to take the lead, as they were forced to settle for a draw.

“Overall impression of the game is we had good control of possession,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “Defensively [we] only allowed one shot on goal and created numerous opportunities.”

Binghamton (3-4-5, 2-0-2 AE) had the game’s first attempt only four minutes in when freshman defender Sophia Garofalo shot the ball, but it went out left. Shortly after in the sixth minute of the first half, the Bulldogs (5-3-3, 1-1-2 AE) looked to create an attempt of their own and in this pursuit, found the back of the net to take an early 1-0 lead.

The ball continued to go back and forth between BU and the Bulldogs as both teams looked for opportunities to score. After multiple attempts, senior defender Lexi Vegoda took a corner kick that found graduate student defender Grace Vittoria, who headed the ball into the back of the net, making it a 1-1 game in the 15th minute.

“At the end of the day we just need to finish better,” Bhattacharjee said. “That performance was worthy of three [or] four goals, but we just didn’t tuck it away like we can.”

Binghamton got off a shot three minutes after its first goal in an effort to take the lead, but the Bulldogs goalkeeper managed to make a save. Not long after, Bryant also looked to capitalize on an opportunity to take the lead, but junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams made a save to keep the game tied. Ultimately, this would be the last opportunity for the Bulldogs in the first half. Although the Bearcats outshot Bryant 14-4 in the first half, going into halftime, the score was tied at one goal a piece.

“Very pleased with the effort and overall performance but walking away disappointed we didn’t get the full three points,” Bhattacharjee said. “We had strong statistical advantages on Thursday as well. We just wanted more from this week with wins instead of settling for ties.”

Heading into the second half, both teams strived to get back on the board and take the lead. Bryant was the first to make an attempt a minute into the half but could not find the back of the net. The first opportunity for Binghamton came in the 63rd minute of the game from sophomore forward Samiya Reid, but the shot went out right.

The Bearcats controlled the half once again as their defense held the Bulldogs to just four shots with none making it on the net. Meanwhile, BU had 11 shots with two shots making it to the goal. Possession of the ball went back and forth but neither team was able to produce another goal. The game ended in a 1-1 tie as Binghamton and Bryant each collected one point to add to its total.

“We look forward to getting some rest and then prepping again for next weekend, on the road once again at UMass Lowell,” Bhattacharjee said. “We will work on some finishing reps, if we get chances like we did this last week … we need to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.”

BU will stay on the road to continue AE conference play against UMass Lowell on Sunday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for noon at Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts.