The Binghamton men’s soccer team controlled its own destiny as it prepared for Wednesday night’s regular season finale against Albany. With a win, the Bearcats would have secured the No. 5 seed in the America East tournament.

But Binghamton fell to the Great Danes (5-10-4, 3-3-1 America East), 2-1, leaving its postseason fate in the hands of nationally ranked UMBC. The Retrievers delivered with a 1-0 win over Stony Brook to grant the Bearcats (3-10-5, 1-3-3 AE) the No. 6 seed.

With three minutes remaining in regulation, UMBC junior midfielder Michael DiCesare swung into the box and connected on a pass from sophomore midfielder Malcolm Harris to snap the scoreless tie. Stony Brook (6-10-1, 1-5-1 AE) keeper Carlos Villa, who played for the full 90 minutes, managed to complete 10 saves but couldn’t stop the last.

But that was good news for the Bearcats, and despite falling to Albany (5-10-4, 3-3-1 AE), 2-1, at the Bearcats Sports Complex on Wednesday evening, the team will now enter the AE tournament as the No. 6 seed.

In its own match, Binghamton suffered through a blustery first half, during which two goals blew past sophomore keeper Stefano Frantellizzi. The first came in the 18th minute off a defensive error. The second required the effort of three Great Danes players, with the ball deflected off one’s chest and then finding its way into the goal off the foot of freshman back Bernardo Mattos.

“Albany did well tonight,” BU head coach Paul Marco said. “They came out in the first half and played quite well. They put balls in behind our backs. We scored our own goal off of one of them, so that was a difficult pill to swallow.”

Difficult, but inspiring, in a sense.

“[The goals] put pressure on us because we knew we really had to press forward,” junior forward Steven Celeste said. “Especially in the second half, when we had the wind behind us. And I think we showed it. As soon as the second half came out, we really took it to them a little bit.”

The Bearcats didn’t just count on the wind helping them after switching sides in the latter 45 minutes. They also shifted their position in order to heap the pressure on Albany’s defense.

“We moved to playing four up front and three at the back to try and get the equalizer,” Marco said. “And we did create enough chances to get the equalizer, we were just a bit unlucky in front of goal.”

But luck did find the Bearcats in the 51st minute, when Celeste connected on a pass from freshman midfielder Mike Kubik and netted his team-high fourth goal from 13 yards out.

That was just one opportunity, though. The Bearcats put up seven shots in the second half to Albany’s five, and outshot their opponents on the game, 10-8, but freshman goalkeeper Michael Pizzuti put his foot down after one.

“We pushed a lot of numbers forward. We did get the chances, it was just a struggle,” Celeste said. “It just wasn’t our night to put it away.”

Marco said a little more time could have been all the team needed.

“I thought our guys did a great job in the second half,” he said. “We came out hard, we competed well, we were productive with the ball, we were more deliberate in our attacks and we were rewarded with a goal. Maybe we just ran out of time to get the equalizer.”

Regardless, the Bearcats will move on, and seniors Robbie Hughes and Marts Reid-Warden will see another game. Binghamton is set to head to Hartford for a quarterfinals matchup on Saturday. The teams have met once before during postseason play, with Binghamton taking the semifinals match, 1-0, at the West Gym Field in 2003.

But if they want to double their luck, Marco said the Bearcats will have to be more consistent.

“I do really like how we’re playing right now,” he said. “I think that the players who are available to us, the ones that are healthy, are putting effort forward, and I like the way that we train right now.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Al-Marzook Field in Hartford, Conn.