In an evenly-played match that looked destined for overtime, the difference came down to experience.
Binghamton University’s men’s soccer team (7-3-3, 2-1-0 AE) defeated first-place University of Hartford (7-3-3, 3-1-0 AE), 1-0, on a mistake by Hartford’s freshman goalkeeper, Luke Citriniti.
Citriniti, who entered the game with a .22 goals against average, made the starting lineup midway through the season when the junior starter Nenad Cudic sustained an injury.
In the 52nd minute, Binghamton junior Kyle Kucharski hit a long cross toward the upper shelf of the goal. Citriniti initially appeared to control the ball, but dropped it in front of the goal. Senior Justin Leskow tapped the rebound into an open goal from a few yards away.
“I was in the right position at the right time and put it away. Some might say it was a world-class finish,” joked Leskow. “Some might not.”
Hartford coach Dan Gaspar said he prepared Citriniti for the very situation that determined the outcome.
“It just seemed to be a launched ball, a very direct ball, typical of Binghamton’s style,” Gaspar said. “They like to go laterally and pump the ball into the box and then kill it. Luke’s a freshman and he’s done an outstanding job thus far. Freshman mistake, unfortunately. Perhaps he lost the ball in the lights, I don’t know.”
Hartford featured the nation’s No. 5 leading scorer, junior Carlos Villa, who had 11 goals in 12 games before Wednesday. He took two shots in the game but did not have a very good opportunity to score.
“We know that he’s going to be a target that is going to be well marked,” Gaspar said. “He’s the type of player that is not dangerous all the time. He drifts away, falls asleep and then he just sees that one opportunity to finish. So we don’t look for him to be spectacular for 90 minutes; we just hope he gets that one or two opportunities where he can finish.”
The Hawks’ most dangerous player was junior Ivan Guarin, who gave the Bearcats trouble in the first half. Binghamton coach Paul Marco tried to recruit Guarin out of Herkimer County Community College and also when the midfielder transferred colleges.
“In the second half, Ryan Tomko [senior, midfielder] did a fantastic job against him,” Marco said. “He never really got the ball in dangerous positions.”
Both teams took 11 shots and had five shots on goal. While Gaspar said his team played well enough for a tie, Marco thought the result was indicative of the play on the field.
“We probably could have had two or three goals. We put a lot of energy into the match and we were definitely more dangerous than they were in the last 20 yards to goal,” Marco said.
While Wednesday’s win was significant in keeping the Bearcats near the top of the packed conference standings, it was also important because of the momentum it gives Binghamton headed into a homecoming weekend game against arch-rival Vermont.
“Vermont’s coming here on Saturday,” Leskow said. “We’ll have to play a bit better if we are going to beat them. I’m looking forward to it.”