Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Host Siena (2-0) broke a 1-1 tie with the game-winner in the 71st minute and posted a 2-1 win over visiting Binghamton women's soccer Sunday afternoon at Siena Field. It was the season opener for the Bearcats (0-1), who entered the match having won six of the eight all-time meetings between the two schools.

Siena opened the scoring in the 10th minute, converting a chance through the middle of BU's defense. But the Bearcats countered 13:23 later when senior forward Kaitlyn Martin settled under a long feed over the top and beat the keeper just under the crossbar. Senior midfielder Emma Kurth and freshman back Allison Mack drew assists on the goal.

The teams were even at half and remained deadlocked until the Saints netted the winner at the 70:34 mark. Amid some contact in the box, a deflected ball found its way to Siena freshman forward Andrea Pereira, who hit the far corner to snap the tie.

The Bearcats, who were outshot 11-10, nearly had the equalizer in the final five minutes but sophomore forward Stephani Church's strike caromed off the crossbar.

Binghamton started five underclassmen and had five freshmen see minutes in the game.

"Our team took a good step forward in our mentality today," head coach Sarah McClellan said. "We competed for the whole game, produced an excellent goal and we were knocking at the door at the end with the shot off the crossbar. It was a little sloppy for both teams out there but a good starting point for our team against a quality opponent. We are a young team and they worked hard from start to finish and kept their heads up ... so I'm proud of our effort. We will continue to get better and I'm excited to see how much we can improve."

Junior keeper Gaby Gold played the second half and made five saves. Senior Carrie Martin drew the start and was credited with one save in the first 45 minutes. Each keeper allowed a goal.

The Bearcats play at Manhattan on Friday before finishing up three straight on the road with an away tilt at Iona next Sunday.