ORONO, Maine - Host Maine (5-1-2, 1-0 America East) scored a goal in each half and held off visiting Binghamton women's soccer (3-4-2, 0-1 AE) 2-1 in the conference opener for both teams Sunday afternoon at Mahaney Diamond. 

The highly-anticipated game was a heavyweight battle between the two-time reigning regular season champion Bearcats and the reigning tournament champion Black Bears. The hosts cashed in on a first-half penalty shot before the teams each tallied a second-half goal to account for the scoring. 

The loss was just Binghamton's second in its last 21 conference games spanning three seasons.

Just 6:03 into the game, a volley played into the Binghamton penalty area led to a point-blank Maine shot that was blocked by senior keeper Kaitlyn Williams. The rebound, however, was deemed to have hit a Bearcat defender, resulting in the whistle and PK conversion. 

The Bearcats registered six shots and four corners in the first half but trailed 1-0 at intermission. 

The teams played the middle 75 minutes scoreless before the Black Bears doubled their lead in the 82nd minute on a tap-in finish from a cross on the right endline. 

Binghamton got on the board in the 84th minute when freshman forward Jahkaya Davis beat the Maine keeper to a thru ball from sophomore Lauren Clark inside the box. Davis then cut back to elude the last defender before depositing her left-footer into the top left corner from 12 yards. 

The Bearcats next host New Hampshire next Sunday in a rematch of the 2022 championship game.