Binghamton University’s men’s soccer team kicks off conference play against Albany tomorrow at the Great Danes’ home turf.
The Bearcats have only one loss in their last nine games, coming this past Tuesday against nationally ranked No. 4 Maryland in a 1-0 match. The loss will help avoid complacency as the Bearcats are aware that they are beatable.
“This is our first conference game, so it’s a huge [one],” said head coach Paul Marco. “[Albany is] pretty good on both sides [of the field].”
The Great Danes, at 7-2, are undefeated at home and already have a win in conference play. The Danes won their most recent contest on Oct. 4 at Boston University, 3-0. The player the Bearcats need to watch for is junior forward Claudio Dantas. Dantas is having a spectacular year at forward, already tallying six goals and five assists.
The other major Albany threat comes from Scotland native Shaun Kane. Kane is right behind Dantas, having scored five goals and tallying three assists. The Great Danes’ goaltenders split time between the posts as senior Steward Ceus has started in six matches, all the while allowing a 2.00 goals-against-average. Freshman Adrian Foncette has started the other three matches and has a goals-against-average of 0.83.
Meanwhile, Bearcats goalkeeper Jason Stenta has allowed only two goals in Binghamton’s last seven games and posts a 0.60 goals-against-average on the season. If Foncette is in goal against the Bearcats, there is the potential for a very low-scoring affair. The victory may lie in the gloved hands of Stenta as the Bearcats have had trouble finding the back of the net. Junior Scotland native Cameron Keith has the only Binghamton goal in the last three games. Freshman Andy Tiedt, who started the season with a bang, has cooled off of late, but is sure to be itching to score again soon. Tiedt has not found the goal since he scored in back-to-back games in mid-September.
The two teams have played each other more than 30 times throughout the years, beginning in 1969. The Danes and the Bearcats have always had their “Cain and Abel” history, so much so that it has been coined the “I-88 rivalry.” Marco and his squad, however, don’t see Albany as any more of an opponent than any other they play.
“I don’t know if in any of our games we would ever consider a team as our rivals,” Marco said. “I see how the students get caught up in that because it’s a good matchup, with two top state schools going at it. In every upcoming match, we view our opponent as the biggest team to beat.”
Binghamton has taken a bulk of the victories in those contests. That means nothing as of right now.
“Any team that goes to Boston and scores three goals must be doing something right; we are under no illusion that this will be an easy game,” said senior forward Darren McAllister. “We’re in the right frame of mind and know we have a tough game on our hands.”
Marco has previously said that “[Binghamton] is becoming a soccer school.” To be a soccer school, the Bearcats need to regain their dominance of the conference. Taking back the America East crown begins with Albany.
The game is set to kick off tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Varsity Field in Albany.