Last year the Bearcats were unstoppable early on, tearing through the schedule en route to a 5-0 start.

The Binghamton University men’s soccer team will try to replicate the feat in 2008, starting with a pair of games at the West Virginia Tournament this weekend. The Bearcats will face Duquesne of the Atlantic 10 in the season opener today at 5 p.m. They then face Lafayette on Sunday at noon.

In 2007, Duquesne, a 5-13-3 team, downed the Bearcats 3-1 in the second game of a tournament in Virginia. The loss dragged Binghamton’s RPI rating down for the rest of the season and possibly cost its at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. It was the only game where Binghamton gave up more than two goals the entire season.

“As a whole, our team wants to come back strong and prove that last year’s game was a fluke,” said senior Cody Germain.

This time around the Bearcats have tried to avoid a similar letdown by focusing exclusively on Duquesne leading up to the weekend. In fact, most Bearcat players know little about Lafayette, and will only start to review that game plan after tonight’s match.

The Leopards play in the Patriot League, which could be helpful for the Bearcats to adjust to the style of play of Patriot League members Colgate and Bucknell, whom Binghamton will face later in the season.

Lafayette brings back seven starters from a 10-4-6 year where it posted the seventh best goals-against-average in the nation. That stingy defense should provide a good test for Binghamton’s offense, which was top in the America East last season.

Junior Cameron Keith led the Bearcats with 10 goals and two assists last season. He didn’t score a goal until the ninth game, when he broke out with three goals against Cornell. The Bearcats are hoping that Keith works his magic earlier in the schedule this season, but there is balance and experience around the Scottish striker.

One of Binghamton’s strengths should be on defense, where the Bearcats return most of their starters, including goalie Jason Stenta.

“Hopefully we can get back on the right page,” Stenta said. “We’re excited. Through three exhibition games we’ve been waiting for this weekend. We just want to go out there and get two wins.”