BUFFALO, N.Y. - Binghamton women's soccer struck first but host Buffalo rallied with four second-half goals to pin a 4-1 loss on the Bearcats in the team's season opener Thursday night at UB Stadium. 

The Bearcats had several chances early in the game and got on the board in the 39th minute when sophomore forward Peyton Gilmore ripped a 15-yard shot into the lower right corner. On the play, senior midfielder Olivia McKnight won the ball at midfield and fed it to classmate Maya Anand. With Gilmore racing down the left wing, Anand found her with a crisp ball. Gilmore took her defender on, cut toward the middle and bent in a low shot to give BU a 1-0 lead.

Binghamton held the halftime lead, but might've had a larger cushion, if not for an earlier Gilmore shot that rang off the crossbar and another rip from Anand that just sailed high. Senior keeper Nicole Scott made six saves in her debut in the first half, including a strong leg save on a point-blank shot just 1:42 into the contest. 

But Buffalo countered in the second half, using two goals in a 6:14 span early in the period to take the lead for good. The Bulls, who returned eight starters from a 13-win team of a year ago, added two late goals for the final margin. The hosts held a 21-17 shots edge.  

"Tonight was a game of two halves," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "In the first half we stuck to our game plan and got a nice goal from Peyton. In the second half we needed to be better at dealing with set pieces and tracking movements. Buffalo is a very good and athletic attacking team that takes advantage of any miscues. We will learn and grow from this."

Binghamton hosts Temple at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.