In front of a national television audience, courtesy of FOX Soccer Channel, the Binghamton University men’s soccer team defeated the Boston University Terriers 2-1 this past Friday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex. 931 fans came out to watch the pivotal America East match.
The Bearcats (7-5-1, 2-1 AE) were coming off of an upset loss at the hands of Stony Brook University. Losing back-to-back conference matches could have been devastating. Ironically, it was Boston, who was previously ranked among the top 15 teams in the nation, that was coming off of two straight conferences losses. Those losses came at home against the University of New Hampshire and at the University of Hartford. The Terriers dropped to 1-3 in conference play, while Binghamton moved to 2-1.
“Terrific win,” Binghamton head coach Paul Marco said. “Just a great job. Our guys were very good [Friday night]. They were great in areas that they really needed to be. We had to be O.K. with [the Terriers] having the ball in certain areas of the field, and I thought we did a very good job of being disciplined and playing with the style and the attitude that we wanted to … and I thought we were very good in transition, we were trying to get after them in certain areas, and I thought we did a very good job of that too.”
Although the Bearcats were outshot 18-6, they made the most of their opportunities.
“We’ll take being outshot and winning the match,” he said. “Shots are a statistic that doesn’t really tell the tale of the game, because depending on where players are taking shots from, you might let them shoot the ball from a distance, and you don’t want them to get in tight. It was a tight game. Either team could have won the game. We were fortunate in a couple of moments. We tried to play a little bit towards our strengths, and get goals in moments that we could, and we did.”
Binghamton opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Jake Keegan intercepted a backward pass intended for Terriers senior goalkeeper Hrafn Davidsson. Keegan was able to dribble the ball past Davidsson and rip it into the net, scoring his team-high third goal of the season.
Boston wasted no time in tying the game. Just four minutes later, junior Aaron O’Neal received a pass from sophomore Michael Bustamante, dribbled the ball into the box and ripped a shot past Bearcats senior goalkeeper Jason Stenta, making the score 1-1. It was O’Neal’s ninth goal of the season, which is a team high, and third-most in the America East.
The match remained tied until the 63rd minute. Bearcats junior Scott Zobre put a move on a defender, then charged up the right side with the ball. He then sent a cross into the box to Keegan. Keegan passed it off to sophomore Ryan Walter, who shot it right through Davidsson’s legs to put the Bearcats ahead 2-1. Zobre’s assist was his second of the season. The Bearcats have now had 12 different players score a goal this season.
“Scott is very dangerous for us,” Marco said. “They’ve got to be careful when he’s on the ball. He can pass, run and shoot. He’s a guy that will attract defenders and open other players up, which is what happened.”
Walter was happy to finally net his first collegiate goal.
“First career goal; [it] took a year and a half, but I finally got one,” Walter said. “[It] felt great to do it on national television. It’s the best way to do it.”
Marco was proud to get a victory against a talented squad, especially on national television.
“Fantastic,” Marco said, regarding the national exposure. “Unbelievable. It’s just a great atmosphere to be in, and to play in. I think we represented the [America East] well, and we represented [Binghamton] well.”
The players didn’t seem too fazed during the match by the fact that they were playing on national television. They were focused on the task at hand.
“You always have butterflies before a match,” Walter said. “Especially on TV, the nerves can get to you even more, but we came out, played strong and got the result. Boston beat us twice last year, knocked us out in the [America East] championship. They’re a great team. It shows a lot of progress on our part to come out here and get the win.”
“It was a hard-fought game,” Keegan said about the match. “[The Terriers] are a great team. We were able to battle, play good defense on them, counter and finish our chances.“
Keegan, who finished the game with a career-high three points, was named the America East Rookie of the Week on Monday.
The Bearcats’ next match is scheduled for Wednesday night at the University of Hartford, currently in second place in the conference and one point ahead of Binghamton. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.