For the first time in program history, Binghamton is heading to the NCAA tournament. The Bearcats shook off a first-half deficit and dethroned defending champion Albany 12-11 in the America East championship game on Sunday afternoon in Albany.
Binghamton entered the game 0-25 all-time against Albany, including a loss in last year’s conference championship game.
This season, the Bearcats enter the NCAA tournament on an eight-game winning streak. They’ll learn their first-round opponent during the Selection Show tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
Binghamton held an 18-9 lead in draw controls, with Hayley Weltner corralling 12. Emma Blloshmi scored four times for Binghamton, and Kristen Scheidel netted a hat trick.
Albany’s season ends at 8-10. The Great Danes were playing in the America East championship title game for the 13th consecutive time. They have won the tournament three times in that span — 2011, 2012 and 2023. Megan Dineen, Ava Poupard and Grace McCauley each contributed three goals for Albany.
Albany looked dominant at the start, scoring the first five goals and going in front 8-4 when McCauley scored a player-up goal with 98 seconds remaining in the half.
Mia Forte closed the deficit to 8-5 with 53 seconds on the clock. Weltner controlled the draw for Binghamton, and Grace Cincebox turned back an Olivia Muscolino shot. But Scheidel was there for the rebound and got a quick shot off as Albany’s defense collapsed on her, scoring to close the deficit to 8-6 with 20 seconds left.
Binghamton wasn’t ready for a break just yet. Weltner controlled the draw, and Blloshmi powered through the arc and scored to close the gap to one, 8-7, with 3.7 ticks on the clock, Binghamton’s third goal in 50 seconds.
The Bearcats carried the momentum into the second half, with Blloshmi beating a double team and scoring at 13:17 to even the score at 8, and a late Albany slide opened the door for Scheidel to Binghamton its first lead, 9-8, 47 seconds later. The barrage continued courtesy of goals from Blloshmi and Scheidel.
Madison Murphy punctuated the 8-0 run with flare, taking a feed from Weltner and scoring a behind-the-back to put the Bearcats in front 12-8 with 12:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Poupard got Albany back on the board when she scored at 11:35, the Great Danes’ first goal since 1:38 of the second quarter. The Danes, quiet for more than 20 minutes, quickly won the ensuing draw and tallied their second goal in 15 seconds when Dineen scored at 11:20.
The Danes had a pair of player-up chances less than three minutes later, but Dineen’s shot hit the crossbar, and Sofia Salgado saved an Emma Weaver shot at 8:28. Salgado later turned back a quick-release Poupard shot as the player-up advantage expired at 6:43. But Poupard got one by Salgado with 1:44 to play.
Weltmer controlled the draw, but the two teams traded turnovers, with Binghamotn’s second coming when Mackenzie Salentire caused a Weltner turnover. McCauley was there for the ground ball.
The Great Danes, needing to drive the length of the field, called timeout with 18 seconds left. Emma Torkoff did get it down in time, but Allie Maloney couldn’t get a shot off against the Bearcats’ stifling defense.
Ultimately, Angelina Suau forced a turnover and got the ground ball, allowing the Bearcats to run out the clock and storm the field — champions for the first time.
