The men’s soccer team may have lost its first round NCAA tournament game just this past Saturday, but it has already begun its practices and preparations for next year.

The goal for 2007 will be more of the same: win, win and win some more. Head coach Paul Marco isn’t content with resting on this season’s accomplishments. He intends to be crowned both America East regular season and tournament champions again next year, and to advance further in the NCAA tournament.

“I came to Binghamton because I thought it was an opportunity to be on the national scene year-in and year-out,” Marco said. “We want to get to the ‘Sweet Sixteen,’ and eventually develop a program that can compete for a national title.”

Defensively, Binghamton appears set to dominate from the get-go. The Bearcats return several talented backs in Barry Neville, Justin Leskow, Liam Carson, Mark Wood and Adam Chavez — all of whom proved to be excellent defenders, and all can get even better with another year of experience. In goal, all-rookie keeper Jason Stenta looks to improve upon his impressive 0.72 goals-against-average.

The offense is another story. The Bearcats will lose Ibrahim Yusuf, Peter Sgueglia, Bryan Arnault and Joey Neilson to graduation. Those players accounted for 50 percent of Binghamton’s scoring in 2006, so there is a considerable lack of proven offensive talent returning next year. Neville, Matt Narode and Cody Germain will look to pick up some of the slack, but Marco will look to recruit a striker or two in hopes of finding more goal-scorers.

Marco’s recruiting class, as usual, will feature some international talent as well as some local players. He’s hoping that bringing in fresh blood at all positions will make his players competitive and hungry to keep their spots. The incoming freshmen for fall 2007 will be announced in February.

Don’t forget about some of the younger players already on the roster, many of whom are ready to contribute to the club. Marco believes Michael Zervas, Pablo Trillo and Chris Terry flew under the radar in ’06, but could be on the verge of breakout seasons.

One familiar face will be cheering in the stands next year — no longer on the sidelines or in goal. Junior keeper Ryan Bertoni, who went down with a facial fracture early in the season, plans to graduate rather than use his final year of eligibility.

“I don’t think it really has anything to do with soccer, to be honest with you,” Bertoni said. “It really wasn’t a soccer-based decision. It was a matter of my choice about what follows school. I plan on going to law school, and so I’m taking the LSATs in October, and it would be too difficult for me to play soccer and study for that.”

Bertoni is not bitter about how the ’06 season turned out for him; first he was moved out of goal in favor of Stenta and then had to watch from the sidelines due to injury. Bertoni’s fully supportive of Marco and Stenta and thinks the team is in good hands for the future.

“[Marco] made the right move. We’re on fine terms,” Bertoni said. “I think [Stenta] did an amazing job this year; he was a big reason why they were able to do what they did.”

Perhaps the biggest change next season won’t be the players on the field — it will be the field itself. The team will play on a brand-new turf field with lights for night games, which gives Marco more flexibility in scheduling home opponents. If the field construction is completed on schedule, the Bearcats’ home opener will be a Saturday night game against nearby Cornell. In the future, Binghamton fans will see more home games and possibly a Bearcat-hosted annual soccer tournament.