Vestal, NY - UMBC senior midfielder Katana Nelson's goal with 2:27 remaining gave the women's lacrosse team a remarkable 12-11 come-from-behind victory against the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday afternoon. UMBC improved to 3-0 in the America East and is now 10-1 overall.
UMBC trailed 9-2 with 10:36 left in the second quarter but ripped off nine unanswered goals to grab the lead midway through the third quarter. "It was not flawless, but when we needed to dig and get the job done, we did," stated UMBC head coach Amy Slade. "Everyone stepped up and out of their comfort zone. This win started in practice on Monday, and I'm proud of the resiliency and passion this team showed today."
Nelson, who leads the conference with 45 goals this season, tied her career-high with six goals and added an assist and a pair of ground balls. Four of her goals came on free position opportunities.
Senior attackman Grace Bruce added a hat-trick and recorded four draw controls. Her free position tally with 6:40 left in the third quarter gave the visitors a 10-9 advantage.
Reserve goalie Mikaela Staranko came up big as she recorded her first win as a Retriever and came off the bench to make eight saves in 44:20.
UMBC's defense struggled early, as Emma Blloshmi's free position goal made it 9-2. The Retrievers settled down, however, and began their run after Nelson's woman-up tally with 9:19 remaining in the second quarter.
Nelson free position goal with 11 ticks left in the opening half brought UMBC within 9-7 at intermission.
UMBC carried the momentum right into the third quarter as Nelson scored two quick goals to even the score at 9-9 with 12:01 left in the third. The first tally was a woman up goal, and the equalizer came with the Dawgs down a player.
Bruce capped the burst with a pair of goals to give the Retrievers an 11-9 advantage. The second marker came off a feed from attackman Lizzie Bateman, the conference leader in assists.
Binghamton did not go away easily as Olivia Muscolino answered with two goals to even the score at 11-11 with 7:30 left in the contest.
Nelson (ninth hat trick this season) provided the heroics as she darted from left to right, shook off two defenders, and fired a low shot into the left corner of the net from seven yards out.
Binghamton (4-5, 1-2 AE) had the final possession with an opportunity to force overtime, but Blloshmi's shot was wide right in the closing seconds.
The Retrievers have now recorded double-figure wins for the first time since 2017.
