WEST HARTFORD, CT ? The University of Hartford women's soccer team scored three second half goals en route to a 3-1 victory over Binghamton University on Thursday night at Alumni Stadium.

The win, coupled with an Albany loss to Stony Brook earlier in the day, clinched a berth in the upcoming America East Championship for the Hawks (7-4-4 overall, 4-1-1 America East). Hartford is unbeaten in its last five matches and has allowed only two goals during the stretch.

Senior Lauren Aldred scored a pair of goals to lead the Hartford attack. She leads the team in scoring with eight goals on the season. Junior Laura Guigli also added a score, her third of the season.

It was Binghamton (5-7-1 overall, 1-4-0 America East) that struck first, however, as Amanda Casares capitalized on a miscue in the Hartford backfield. The Hawks' defense played a ball back to freshman goalkeeper Lauren Brodeur, and pressure by Casares allowed a bad bounce to turn into a Bearcats' goal. When Brodeur tried clearing the ball away, her kick deflected off Casares and back into the goal.

Binghamton took the one-goal lead into halftime, but Hartford quickly tied the game in the second half. Freshman Breeanna Robinson tracked down a ball down the right side and made a cut back past a Binghamton defender. With a clear path to the goal, Robinson looked for her shot but was taken down from behind. The Hawks were awarded a penalty kick, and Aldred stepped up and stuck the shot into the top-left corner of the goal. Binghamton goalkeeper Jen McEachron guessed right and got a piece of the ball, but not enough to make the save.

Aldred struck again just over seven minutes later. The Hawks played a ball into the box that was deflected by a Binghamton defender but not cleared. Aldred came in from the right side with a sliding shot that found the side netting, giving the Hawks a 2-1 advantage.

The game took a major turn in the 64th minute when Binghamton's Erica Goldberg was issued a red card for a sliding tackle from behind. The Bearcats were then forced to play a man down for the rest of the contest, and the Hawks took advantage just four minutes later when Guigli drilled home a shot from 25 yards out.

Brodeur finished the game with two saves while McEachron made three. The Bearcats held an 11-10 edge in shots.

Hartford will play its final regular season road game at New Hampshire on Sunday, October 19 at 1 p.m.