Contact: Dave Van Gorder (dvangord@binghamton.edu)

BALTIMORE, Md.—The Binghamton women's lacrosse team (3-5) hung tough with UMBC (6-3) all game, but eventually lost 13-12 in overtime at UMBC Stadium today.

"Today was a tough battle, I thought that UMBC was very skilled and athletic," remarked head coach Stephanie Allen. "It was a tough test for our program, and unfortunately we were unable to hold the lead late in the game."

Binghamton trailed 6-4 at the half, but got off to a great start in the second half, scoring seven of the next ten goals.

"At halftime we just focused on us: taking care of our game, and adjusting our positioning and matchups on defense," reflected Allen. "I thought that the girls adjusted well and stepped up defensively, and that helped open things up for us on the offensive end."

Renee Kiviat started the second half off, scoring her first goal of the game, while Binghamton was a player-down. Three minutes later the captain scored again, knotting the game at 6-6. Sophia Racciatti gave Binghamton the lead with her third goal of the game, and Tiffany Ryan scored less than two minutes later to make it 8-6 Bearcats.

UMBC would tie the game on two quick goals, but then Ryan and Racciatti struck just over a minute apart to make it a 10-8 advantage. After another UMBC goal, Valerie DeNapoli scored her first of the game to make it 11-9 Binghamton with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game.

It was a lead the Bearcats were unable to hold, as UMBC scored twice to end regulation tied at 11-all. The Retrievers kept the momentum in the extra period, scoring twice to take a 13-11 lead. Binghamton never gave up though, as Renee Kiviat scored her third goal of the afternoon with just 29 seconds left.

The Bearcats would get the ball back briefly, but time eventually ran out on BU's hopes.

Binghamton was incredibly efficient in their shooting today, as their 12 goals came on just 17 shots. Sophia Racciatti (4), Renee Kiviat (3), and Tiffany Ryan (3) became the first trio of Bearcats to record hat tricks in the same game this season.

"Those three strung some long possessions together for us, and were able to get us the finishes when we needed it," stated Allen.

Samantha Karner led the Bearcats with five draw-controls, and Allie Rodgers caused six turnovers—each a career-high. Rodgers also had a career-high five ground balls.

While she is not satisfied with the outcome, Allen admits that games like this are what she has come to expect with America East Lacrosse: "We have some tough battles ahead of us. There are no easy games in the America East. We'll be facing some of the strongest teams in the country, and we'll have to play with pride. I thought that we brought that today—we just need to work on some of the little things and keep them from creeping up on us.

With the loss behind them, Binghamton now sets their sights on their next game, which is at Niagara. That game will be on Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m.