VESTAL, N.Y. - Ally Reynolds bodied in a rebound from two yards out just 1:19 into overtime to lift visiting New Hampshire (7-7-2, 3-3-1 America East) to a 2-1 win over Binghamton women's soccer (7-8-2, 2-5 AE) Thursday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The loss eliminated Binghamton from playoff contention.
The Bearcats were just 3:09 away from a 1-0 regulation win when UNH tied it. On an extended scramble inside the box, BU couldn't clear the ball and the visitors popped a ball to the far post where it was headed in from close range.Â
Then seizing the momentum, UNH pressed from the start of overtime and capitalized. An initial shot by Kaylan Williams from the left caromed down off the crossbar right to a charging Reynolds, who kneed it in for the winner.
"It was a bitter, gut-wrenching way to drop a game," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "I thought we played well enough ... our performance was sharp enough and certainly our effort was there all evening there to get three points. Unfortunately they got a set piece goal with three minutes left and then the overtime winner. I was proud of how hard our team played for 90+ minutes. They have some heavy hearts tonight ... it's sad to know we won't be playing postseason, which was a goal of ours all long. But it's not just about tonight ... a couple of things caught up to us tonight but if we had played with this effort and quality all season long it might've been a different story. It came down to a couple of key moments tonight and it's a bitter loss for us to swallow right now."Â
Binghamton grabbed a quick 1-0 lead just 8:59 into the game when senior forward
Kayla Saager took a ball in the middle of the field just outside the box, dribbled in, cut back around a defender and deposited a shot to the lower right corner. It was her 11th goal of the season.
The Bearcats then maintained the slim lead for more than 77 minutes, only to be overtaken late.Â
Binghamton outshot UNH 16-14 and recorded 10 corner kicks to New Hampshire's two.Â
Sophomore keeper
Mackenzie Hanna, who got her second start of the season, made five saves and shut down several other dangerous scoring chances with aggressive coverage in the box. Â
The Bearcats finish their 2018 season by hosting Albany at 1 p.m. Sunday.