VESTAL, N.Y. - Sophomore midfielder Anna Buckwalter scored the go-ahead goal 2:14 into the second half and preseason favorite Binghamton women's soccer (6-1-2, 1-0 America East) opened conference play with a 2-1 win over visiting UMBC (4-4-3, 0-1 AE) Sunday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex. 

With the win, Binghamton extended its unbeaten streak to six games and also remained perfect at home at 4-0. The win also gives the Bearcats their best nine-game start to a season in 29 years. 

"We are pleased with the result," head coach Neel Bhattacharjee said. "It was critical for us to open conference play with a strong performance and earn the full three points. It wasn't necessarily our cleanest game ... it was a physical game and credit to UMBC ... we had to work and grind for it. But at the end of the game we got two quality goals and defensively did a pretty good for the most part.  And now we get some rest and recovery before we focus our attention on Bryant next weekend."

The Bearcats jumped ahead 1-0 just 4:19 into the game when sophomore forward Jahkaya Davis notched her league-leading sixth goal of the season. Junior forward Paige Luke fed a pass into the middle, where Davis spun and ripped a 22-yard left-footed shot to the lower left corner. 

But despite owning much of the possession during the first half, the Bearcats allowed the equalizer in the 39th minute (on UMBC's second shot of the half) and the teams hit halftime even at 1-1. 

Binghamton struck early again in the second half when freshman Ale Victoriano burst down the left side and slotted a ball back to the top of the box. Buckwalter one-timed the pass inside the far post for her first goal of the season.  

The teams combined for 29 fouls and five yellow cards. 

The Bearcats play at Bryant next Sunday. 

NOTE
Binghamton's nine-game record (6-1-2) is the best during the team's NCAA Division I era and also the best since the Division III 1996 team went 17-2 en route to a SUNYAC title and NCAA Round of 16 appearance.