Senior Ryan Tomko had never scored a goal at the Bearcats Sports Complex. On Friday night he made up for that by scoring perhaps the most spectacular goal yet at the year-old facility.
Tomko’s goal propelled the Binghamton University men’s soccer team (4-1-2) to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Bucknell Bison (3-2-2) in the Bearcats’ home opener.
Late in the second half, Binghamton clung to a one-goal lead as Bucknell played with increasing confidence. But Tomko, who had scored only one goal in his four years as a Bearcat, wound up from 25 yards out and delivered a rocket over Bison freshman Tommy Caso’s outstretched arms to cement the victory.
“We’re debating whether it was a laser, a chip or a whistler. It was probably somewhere in between,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco.
Tomko said he had shot from that far back before, but never put one in the net.
“A lot of the guys said that they thought I was going to miss it when I wound up,” Tomko said.
In front of a regular season record 1,892 fans, Binghamton came out of the gate in a hurry. The Bearcats dominated the ball in the first half and opened up the scoring in the 18th minute when junior Kyle Kucharski struck a beautiful cross for freshman Andy Tiedt, who headed the ball into the goal.
Later in the half, Tiedt played facilitator and found Cameron Keith, who juked a defender and scored from close range.
Bucknell’s leading scorer, Chris Hennings, who entered the game as one of the nation’s leading scorers, did not start the game but entered after Teidt’s goal. In the second half, Hennings and Bucknell’s Conor O’Brien put pressure on the Bearcats defense.
That pressure culminated in an O’Brien goal on a header off a set-piece in the 53rd minute.
“I was, to be honest, [upset] that we gave up that goal,” Marco said. “We should have never given up that goal. To Bucknell’s credit, they put the ball in the right place, and our guys didn’t compete in that moment. We were there to win the ball and we just didn’t go to win the ball. Everyone thought someone else would take care of it.”
Bearcat senior Mark Wood made some timely tackles in open space, including a strip of a Bucknell midfielder on a fast break, to help preserve the win.
The only question remaining after the game was which goal was better — Tiedt’s or Tomko’s.
“I’m always delighted, whether it rolled in past the goalkeeper or was an absolute rocket,” Marco said. “Andy’s header and Tomko’s whistler were both fantastic, great goals.”
Binghamton will put its six-game unbeaten streak on the line when it faces Hartwick College tonight at 7 p.m.
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Binghamton University’s men’s soccer team has eight experienced seniors on its roster. But at the Bearcats’ first home game, it was a pair of freshmen, striker Andy Tiedt and back Ryan Walter, that had the crowd buzzing.
Tiedt, who set the New York state goal-scoring record with 62 goals as a high school senior, scored a fantastic header to open up the game’s scoring.
“There were a couple of good goals [in high school], there was one in the state finals that was really good, but I don’t think there was anything like this, in front of 1,800 people,” Tiedt said.
Tiedt, who was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” during his final high school season, said that Binghamton was the only school that recruited him.
“I came from Buffalo, and I don’t think a lot of schools look there,” Tiedt said.
Tiedt assisted the second goal of the game, and scored the game-winning goal against the University of Wisconsin last weekend.
Walter, who also hails from the Buffalo area, leads the Bearcats with three yellow cards this season. On Friday, it was easy to see why.
Walter was relentless in his pursuit of the ball in the first half of the game. One moment he was in Binghamton’s defensive box and the next he was badgering Bucknell’s goalie. His feisty style of play nearly instigated a fight when Bucknell’s Tommy McCabe threw Walter down to the ground in frustration after the two battled for the ball.
“He’s fantastic, isn’t he? He’s an absolute pit-bull,” Marco said. “Walter is just relentless. If there’s anybody [on the opposite team] that we need to calm down, Ryan will calm him down.”
On a team that risks complacency with so many seniors on the roster, a pair of contributing freshmen has pushed the older players to constant improvement.