It was a special day on the Binghamton University campus this past Saturday. From the parking lot tailgate to the fireworks display, it was quite the experience for all of the alumni that made the trip for the Homecoming 2009 weekend, as well as the student body. The homecoming game is usually one of the best of the season for the men’s soccer team; this year was no exception.
A record-setting sellout crowd of 2,604 fans filled the Bearcats Sports Complex Saturday night, as the Bearcats tied the University of Rhode Island 1-1 in a back-and-forth affair.
After a scoreless first half, URI broke through early in the second half. Senior midfielder Kevin Shaw put the Rams ahead just 3 minutes and 12 seconds into the half, scoring his first goal of the season to make it 1-0 by cleaning up a loose ball in the box.
Binghamton head coach Paul Marco felt that his team missed out on some early chances.
“I was a little disappointed in the first half,” Marco said. “I thought we should have had a goal in the first half … or two … we had a couple of really good chances. We hit the bar, put a couple wide that we probably shouldn’t have, and sometimes those come back to bite you a little bit … and it did. They went up 1-0.”
Exactly 10 minutes after Rhode Island took the lead, the Bearcats evened the score. Following a Rhode Island foul, senior Kyle Kucharski sent a free kick into the box, and freshman Jake Keegan headed the ball past senior goalkeeper Chris Pennock on the left side. It was Keegan’s second goal of the season, tying him for the team lead. Keegan finished with six shots, and now leads the team in shots for the season with 23. Kucharski’s assist was his fifth of the season, extending his team lead.
The game resulted in a tie after two scoreless overtime periods. Binghamton outshot Rhode Island 17-12, but the Rams dominated the scoring chances in the second overtime. They had two corners, and a late shot from freshman forward Jamie Eckmayer who hit the crossbar with 30 seconds to go. Marco was not pleased about the way things unfolded at the end of the game.
“I was very disappointed in some of the positions that we were taking up,” he said. “We were actually trying to go and win the game, and not be safe at the back. In the moment of those transitions in overtime, we just got caught, and almost got caught with our hand in the cookie jar.”
The result did not sit well with Kucharski.
“A little disappointed not to get the win,” he said. “We played well, fought hard, but with all the hype and the fans coming out, we’re disappointed with a tie.”
Kucharski was not happy about the missed opportunities either.
“That’s been a common theme throughout the season,” he said. “It doesn’t help when we give up a goal … you give up a goal, you’ve got to score two to win. Hopefully we can keep the ball out of our net and start finishing a couple of our chances.”
Overall, Marco remains satisfied with his team’s effort.
“I like our team right now,” he said. “We’re playing as well as we have all year. We’re moving the ball very well. The guys are keeping their composure, they’re playing off each other. I’m very pleased with how things are going right now … we’ve come a long way. The younger guys are really coming through, and the older guys are leading the way, the few of them that we have.”
The players seemed thrilled with the atmosphere of the sellout crowd and the high amounts of energy the crowd brought with them.
“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said team captain Liam Carson about the crowd. “Couldn’t ask for more. It makes it all the more sweet for us.”
The atmosphere was unbelievable, according to Kucharski.
“Earlier in the week they were talking about the weather not being so hot,” he said. “[I] woke up [Saturday] morning, the sun was shining … saw the tailgate going on, everyone having fun, full stands … can’t ask for anything more.”
Binghamton’s record now sits at 5-4-1. They extended their regular season home unbeaten streak to 26 games with the tie.
The Bearcats are gearing up for the start of conference play. Their first America East match will be on Wednesday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex, against the University of Albany. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.