VESTAL, N.Y. – First-year head coach Neel Bhattacharjee points to his back line as the backbone of a 2016 Binghamton women's soccer team whose aim is to climb the standings and return to postseason play.
 
Bhattacharjee and his staff, who took over the reins of a program that notched just three wins in 2015, have worked tirelessly to reinvigorate a program that reached the America East title game in 2009 but has slipped in recent years. With a steadfast commitment to fitness, preparation and commitment, the 2016 Bearcats are ready to open play with a pair of non-conference games in Buffalo this weekend. Binghamton will face St. Bonaventure in its season opener Friday night and then play at Niagara Sunday afternoon. The team then returns home to host Lafayette on August 25.
 
Picked to finish last in the America East Coaches' Preseason Poll, BU will rely on a talented defensive unit to keep games close and look to a new offensive scheme to spark a group that was limited to just 10 goals in 17 games last season, including just six in eight conference games.
 
"Our back line and goalkeeping will be a strength for the team," Bhattacharjee said. "We will be difficult to break down and penetrate."
 
Improving the team's goal production will be vital to success in 2016.
 
"In order for us to succeed we need to have a good rhythm of build-up play through our midfield," he said. "This, along with switching our point of attack, will lead to advancing our possession of the ball and attacking opportunities in the final third."
 
GOALKEEPING
Junior Katie Hatziyianis returns for her junior season after playing all but 25 minutes during an exhausting 2015 campaign. She held a 1.86 goals against average and recorded 107 saves – second-most all-time at Binghamton. Having played in 34 collegiate games halfway through her career, Hatziyianis is an experienced and talented anchor in back.
 
"Katie is an inspirational leader," Bhattacharjee said. "She is capable of making the big save when we need it."
 
Senior Haley Downin, a former all-state scholastic keeper and four-sport athlete, will be in the backup role.
 
DEFENSE
In Bhattacharjee's 4-3-3 alignment, the back line is steadied by senior center back Allison Mack, who has been a starter since arriving to campus back in 2013.
 
"Allison is a steady defender who reads the play very well and provides strong leadership," Bhattacharjee said.
 
Joining Mack in back will be junior co-captain Hannah Shankman, another returning starter from a year ago. Shankman, a good 1-on-1 defender who also brings attacking skills, will line up on the left as she begins the second half of her stellar collegiate career.
 
A pair of freshmen – Lauren Spinnato and Sam O'Malley – are expected to step into starting roles after impressing the coaching staff in preseason. Spinnato was an all-state back for Cold Spring Harbor High and also was a member of the Long Island Rough Riders Academy Team that won back-to-back Super Y League national championships. She will lineup next to Mack in the middle. O'Malley was a decorated midfielder and defender for a Goshen High program that won three straight sectional championships. She will be on the outside right.
 
"Sam is a tough defender with a competitive attitude," Bhattacharjee said. "She can run the flank tirelessly from the outside."
 
Two other freshmen – Barbara Badeer and Ryan Reilly – are expected to push for time. Both were named on Newsday's list of Top 50 Seniors on Long Island. 
 
MIDFIELD
Sophomore Sierra Barr organizes this unit from the middle after a solid freshman season last fall. She started all 17 games and is a hard-nosed, intense two-way player.
 
Redshirt junior Michele Galvin is back to top health and Bhattacharjee is eager to see her contributions from the left side of the midfield.
 
"Michele is a dynamic, technical and creative midfielder," he said. "She can play out of tight spaces and will connect our lines."
 
Set to move into a starting role on the right side of the midfield is freshman Carly Barnett, a two-time all-state player at Byram Hills High. She led her team to a pair of sectional titles and was the county player of the year.
 
"Carly is a ball winner with a tough mentality," Bhattacharjee said. "She provides rhythm in our buildup when she switches the point of attack."
 
Three returning letterwinners- sophomore Patty Loonie, junior Valerie McNamara and senior Aly Falinski, offer additional options. McNamara started 16 games last fall and Falinski has appeared in 21 career games.
 
FORWARD
This unit has been thinned by injuries in the preseason but will be boosted by the return of second-year speedster Jocelyn Acor and talented junior Tricia Hanley. Acor missed the entire 2015 season and Hanley was limited to three starts with injury. 
 
Providing the focal point in the middle is senior Leighann Bennett, who tallied a goal and an assist in 16 starts last season.
 
"Leighann has a workmanlike attitude and is a senior leader," Bhattacharjee said. "She can play centrally or wide up top."
 
Acor showed off her blazing speed in her freshman season, creating scoring opportunities on the flank and tallying twice before her momentum was stalled on the sidelines last fall.
 
Junior Tricia Hanley returns healthy and is looking to regain the form from her freshman season, when she played in 15 games and scored a memorable game-winner to beat UMBC and lift BU into the postseason.
 
Freshman Sydney Corda, a five-year letterwinner and three-time All-Class midfielder at Hewlett High, begins a promising collegiate career and should garner minutes up front. Barr may also jump up front during the season.
 
SCHEDULE
The 2016 slate is comprised of 10 non-conference games followed by the typical eight-game America East slate. The non-conference slate features games against teams from seven different conferences: MAAC (Manhattan, Siena, Niagara), Patriot League (Lafayette, Lehigh), American Athletic Conference (Temple), Atlantic 10 (St. Bonaventure), MAC (Buffalo), Northeast (Bryant) and Ivy (Cornell).

"We have a challenging slate of opponents within the non-conference schedule with different tactical styles that will challenge our team and prepare us for a demanding America East conference schedule and hopefully the opportunity to play in the postseason," Bhattacharjee said.
 
Conference play begins Sept. 25 at Hartford. The Bearcats will play four home league games before finishing the regular season with away games at UMBC (Oct. 20) and Vermont (Oct. 23). Last season five of BU's eight America East games were decided by one goal or less. With three points on the line for a victory versus just one for a tie, goal-scoring is at an even greater premium in league play.
 
History shows that earning a top-six regular season position and adjoining playoff spot can pay off with a title. The last five America East tournament championships have been won by five different schools, including a three-seed and a six-seed.
 
OUTLOOK
 Bhattacharjee's preseason core values highlighted such attributes as toughness, caring, focus, selflessness and resiliency. In a rebuilding season that may produce some bumps, the team's printed quote from Nelson Mandela is perhaps most apropos.
 
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
 
Bhattacharjee, who helped build strong ACC programs at Boston College and Syracuse, is putting BU on that incline, looking to rise in 2016.