VESTAL, N.Y. – Visiting Syracuse (6-1) scored the game's first two goals and held off a spirited second-half surge from Binghamton women's soccer (1-4-1) in a 2-1 result Thursday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex.

Down 2-0, BU got one back in the 69^th minute and then pressed the Orange over the final 20 minutes.

On the Bearcats' scoring play, senior Maya Anand created some space outside the box and split three defenders with a threaded thru ball to classmate Victoria McKnight, whose touch from seven yards was partially blocked by the SU keeper but trickled inside the far post. It was McKnight's first goal of the season and Anand's team-high fifth point.

"We could've had more out of the first half," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "But I did like our response as we shifted things in the second half. Once we played our game to our speed, we were hungry on the attack, scored a nice goal and had some opportunities at the end as well. I was pleased with what we did in the last quarter of the match – the key is can we sustain it over the course of 90 minutes and be better at defending set pieces. If we can do that, we can be a dangerous team. We just have to put a couple more pieces together and we will be in good shape."

Syracuse opened the scoring in the 20^th minute, converting a header off a corner kick. Up 1-0 at the break, SU scored again on a set piece just 3:39 into the second half. A corner kick – one of nine the Orange took – resulted in a similar header goal.

But the Bearcats improved their possession in the second half and sophomore keeper Kaitlyn Williams made seven saves in the period to keep the score in check.

Binghamton next travels to Teaneck, N.J. for a Sunday afternoon match at Fairleigh Dickinson.