ALBANY, N.Y. - Host and fourth-seeded Albany (6-7-4) scored twice in a 14-minute span of the second half and defeated fifth-seeded Binghamton women's soccer (8-8-3) 2-0 in the America East quarterfinals Sunday afternoon at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. With its second loss to the Great Danes in the last four days, BU sees its season come to an end.

After a scoreless first half which saw the Bearcats hit the crossbar twice, Albany cashed in with a solo effort in the 61st minute. Jada Colbert dribbled nearly 70 yards downfield and tucked away her breakaway shot for a 1-0 lead. In the 75th minute, the Great Danes took advantage of a giveaway in BU's defensive third and converted another breakaway for the final margin. 

"It was an unfortunate end to the season today," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "We looked in terrific form earlier in conference play when we started off 4-1. Unfortunately injuries started to hit and for whatever reason we couldn't find goals. Today epitomized that with hitting the crossbar twice and not converting. That would've changed the game. Credit to Albany for taking their chances. It's been a perplexing last couple of weeks as we have played some pretty good soccer and created multiple chances but just couldn't convert."

It was the first time since Binghamton's season opener on Aug. 19 that the Bearcats suffered a two-goal loss. The other six defeats in 2021 all came by the narrowest of margins. 

Albany held a 13-11 shots edge. Senior keeper Haylee Poltorak made four saves in her final collegiate game.

"Our program is thankful for the contributions of Kayla MacKenzie, Haylee Poltorak, Gabby Piontkowski and Stefania Piantadosi, as well as Nicole Scudero, who will return in the grad year," Bhattacharjee added. "They have matured and grown during their time at Binghamton and have been high performing players and more importantly, outstanding people who will be terrific alumnae that we will always be proud of. We are forever grateful for all their effort and dedication to Bearcats Soccer."