Manna delivers in Bulldog’s 1-0 win over Binghamton Thursday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshman forward Remi Manna (Pleasantville, N.Y.) came through for her team with just 16 minutes remaining, as the defense was superb and earned its fourth shutout in the Bryant University women's soccer team's 1-0 win over Binghamton Thursday night.

The Bulldogs (4-4) and Bearcats (4-3-2) were about as even as could be on Thursday evening. Bryant held slight advantages in shots (13-12), shots on goal (6-5) and corners (6-4), but the opening half ended in a stalemate.

With just a few minutes remaining in the opening frame, senior keeper Kaylan Conrad (Avon, Conn.) took a spill jumping up for a high shot and landed awkwardly. She stayed in goal to close out her two-save stanza, but was replaced by junior Rachel Brightman (Rochester, N.Y.) to start the second.

Brightman was hammered with seven shots in the second half, three being on net, but she was able to see the ball well and kept the hosts off the board long enough to set up the game winner. Manna and her team pressed forward in the 74th minute despite not having possession. The freshman was able to win her team the ball by turning her body and blocking a pass up the middle by a Bearcat defender. She broke free down the middle of the field, got into the box and effortlessly struck the ball into the lower left corner of the net past Katie Hatziyianis.

The action quieted over the next 12 minutes, but intensified for both sides with the clock winding down. Sophomore Alison Guilmette (Coventry, R.I.) was a force for Bryant and she took a pair of corners down the stretch, as well as had a shot on net to nearly give her team a 2-0 edge with just two minutes to play.

With the urgency levels high, the Bearcats gave themselves one final chance in the final minute. They earned a corner with 30 seconds remaining, struck it into the box and Michele Galvin got a head on the ball and sent it towards the cage, but the Bulldog backline denied the equalizer and cleared it long to secure a much needed win.

Guilmette paced Bryant with four shots, three being on net. Manna netted her first goal since the season opener, as it was the first Bryant goal since August 28. Senior Kianna Woods (Stafford Springs, Conn.) and junior Brigitte Donaghy (Toronto, Ont.) each had a pair of shots.

Galvin led the Bearcat offense with four shots, one on net, while Lauren Spinnato had three shots and one on target. Hatziyianis made five saves in the loss.

The Bulldogs will look to carry this momentum when they return home for a matchup with Hartford on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.