VESTAL, N.Y. - With all eyes on the prize of a regular season title and high seed for the upcoming conference tournament, Binghamton women's soccer (8-5-3, 4-1-2 America East) faces host New Hampshire (5-7-2, 3-3-1 AE) in its second-to-last regular season game Saturday afternoon. The matchup between the second-place Bearcats and the sixth-place Wildcats kicks off at 1 p.m. from Wildcat Stadium.

Binghamton is riding a five-game unbeaten streak but back-to-back scoreless draws have kept the Bearcats from moving into first place in the standings, where three points for a win provides a huge swing versus one point for a tie. The margin during America East play has been razor thin as always this fall, with six of BU's seven games decided by one goal or less. Five of those games have seen only one combined goal (or less). The top seven teams in the conference standings are separated by just five points with two games remaining, meaning all seven are still in the running for the regular season title and all 10 teams are still mathematically in the playoff hunt. Only the top six teams will advance to the postseason. The Bearcats are hunting their fourth postseason berth in the last five years. 

Senior keeper Haylee Poltorak has notched a league-leading seven shutouts and owns a 0.70 goals against average. Poltorak, the department's Athlete of the Week, also leads the conference with a .868 save percentage. Binghamton's defense has allowed just one team since August to score more than a goal in any game. Junior forward Maya Anand leads the team with six goals and 15 points. Sophomore midfielder Victoria McKnight has a team-high four assists (and six points). 

New Hampshire saw its three-game win streak snapped last Sunday when it lost at home to NJIT 1-0. The Wildcats outshot their visitors 18-2 but surrendered the game's lone goal in the 19th minute. Before that UNH posted shutout wins over Stony Brook (3-0), UMBC (3-0) and Maine (1-0). Senior forward Francesca Picicci leads the team with five goals and 11 points. Freshman Meghan Guarente has three goals and three assists. Senior keeper Cat Sheppard has six shutouts and a 0.90 goals against average.  

The Wildcats lead the all-time series 11-7-6, though Binghamton has won two of the last three head-to-head, including last spring's 1-0 home win. In Durham, however, UNH holds a 7-5-2 lead. The last matchup at Wildcat Stadium was in the 2019 tournament quarterfinals, won by UNH 3-2. Earlier that fall, BU posted a 2-0 win in Durham. Binghamton's six head-to-head ties vs. UNH is the most among any America East opponent.