PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Host Duquesne (2-2) converted a penalty kick in the 53rd minute to edge Binghamton women's soccer (2-3-1) 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Rooney Field.

The Atlantic 10 member Dukes, who won 11 games last fall and were picked to finish third in the league this year, took advantage of a delayed call on a collision near the top of the box early in the second half. Freshman keeper Haylee Poltorak, who made four saves, guessed correctly and nearly got a hand on the spot shot before it nestled inside the lower right post. 

"Today was a tough way to end the weekend," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "We knew we were playing very good opposition with postseason experience so this gave us a chance to see how we stacked against quality opponents before we head into conference play soon. It's frustrating to come away with a loss but it wasn't necessarily easy to play two strong teams with just a day's rest in-between. We cannot make excuses and we must be better in playing a full 90 minutes. We still need to put in a dominant full game performance and we still have a few more opportunities to fulfill that before America East play starts."

The Bearcats had two good chances in the first half, when they were outshot 5-4. Freshman midfielder Ivana Pjetri, making her first collegiate start, nearly had a header goal in the seventh minute. Senior forward Kayla Saager took a free kick and after her initial cross bounced around, Pjetri's header just edged over the crossbar.

Sophomore forward Genna Michitti then had a good opportunity in the 15th minute. After a strong run down the right side and cross by freshman midfielder Nicole Scudero, Michitti found herself open to the left of the net but her shot sailed high.  

Duquesne held an 11-7 shots advantage. 

Binghamton pushed forward in the closing minute and had a last-chance corner kick in the waning seconds but couldn't convert.

The Bearcats next play at Manhattan on Thursday night. 



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