VESTAL, N.Y. - Sophomore forward Hannah Knych scored her first collegiate goal in the 40th minute and the tally stood up as Binghamton women's soccer (3-4-2, 1-0 AE) opened America East play with a 1-0 win over visiting Bryant 3-5-1, 0-1 AE) Sunday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The win extended the team's unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1). 

Binghamton held a 15-6 shots advantage and had 56 percent of the ball possession but like most conference games, the margin was slim. 

"When you get to America East play, these games have a different vibe ... a different feel ... there is so much riding on the line," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "So we wanted to come out with our energy and work rate and protect our home turf. I thought we did a number of really good things with our possession and how we covered ground and had a strong work rate defensively. I would've liked to get that second goal ... we just missed the quality on that last pass and final execution. But it's not a surprise for an America East game to be a one-goal game, so we had to grind it out that last 10 minutes. We are pleased with the result and the three points." 

Knych played 43 minutes off the bench and made her presence felt late in the first half. Senior defender Lexi Vegoda sent a long ball into the box from 45 yards out and Knych ran onto it behind the back line from the right wing. She corralled the ball near the end line, dribbled toward goal and beat the rushing Bulldogs keeper low to the far corner from five yards. 

In back, sophomore keeper Kaitlyn Williams needed to make just three saves to record her first collegiate solo shutout. One of the saves was a diving stop in the 22nd minute to snuff out a Bryant scoring chance.   

The Bearcats take a brief detour from America East action to play their final non-conference game of the season Saturday morning at Delaware State.