Women's soccer takes down Fordham at home

Piantadosi records two assists in 2-0 shutout

8/26/21 by Joe Tonetti

In its home opener, the Binghamton women’s soccer team took to the pitch to face off against Fordham on Sunday. Despite a scoreless first half, a few tactical adjustments in the second period gave the Bearcats the upper hand and enabled them to take down the Rams in a 2-0 victory.

“Well-earned victory today,” said Binghamton head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. “We stepped up our lines and pressure in the second half and once we did that we got some good moments in transition and scored two quality goals because of it.”

The turning point for the Bearcats (1-1-0) came in the 58th minute of play against the Rams (0-2-0). After a period of possession by BU, the ball found the feet of senior forward Stefania Piantadosi on the right flank. Piantadosi curled in a cross to the back post where it met the head of junior forward Maya Anand and lobbed over the keeper into the back of the net.

After its first goal, BU continued to stay in control of the game. Despite making a string of substitutions, Fordham still failed to compete with the Bearcats’ pressure in midfield.

“Even at this point in the season, we needed to show a bit more resilience coming back off of a tough loss on Thursday — and we did that,” Bhattacharjee said.

In the 77th minute, the Rams’ struggles on the defensive end began to catch up with them. On a spacious right flank, Piantadosi fed a pass into junior midfielder Olivia McKnight, who dribbled the ball into space. Although closed down by three defenders, McKnight was able to slot the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, just beyond the keeper’s reach. Piantadosi earned her second assist of the afternoon, and McKnight’s insurance goal left Fordham unable to overcome the deficit.

While McKnight’s strong performance in midfield and Piantadosi’s offensive pressure gave Binghamton an edge on the attacking front, the Bearcats’ backline kept Fordham off the scoresheet. Senior goalkeeper Haylee Poltorak spent the full 90 minutes in net and tallied eight saves during the Rams’ best scoring opportunities. Poltorak, guarded by a calm and collected back four, picked up her first clean sheet of the season after conceding two goals to Siena during BU’s opening matchup.

“We did everything we needed to do to hold off that dangerous Fordham attack,” Bhattacharjee said. “There were some things in the first half we weren’t happy with. I got to give Fordham credit, they caused us some tactical issues and we had to make some changes on our side in the second half.”

Returning to a normal fall schedule and full crowd attendance, Bhattacharjee acknowledged the difference the energy in the stadium made on the field.

“For us to have parents, fans and other student-athletes in the stands really makes a difference,” Bhattacharjee said. ” … It was a great atmosphere for us today and we hope to keep that going through the fall.”

Following BU’s lone home game amid a string of four away matchups, the Bearcats are scheduled to face Bryant University on Thursday, Aug. 26. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island.