Three weeks on the road can ruin a team’s morale. For the the Binghamton University men’s soccer team, it only strengthened its resolve.

The team is scheduled to play Niagara University at the Bearcats Sports Complex this Sunday. BU is making its long-awaited return home as the game will mark the Bearcats’ first home contest in over three weeks. The team is excited to be back playing at home, according to head coach Paul Marco.

“Playing at home … it’s certainly easier on your body,” Marco said. “For the coaching staff, it’s easier for our families. For [the players], it’s easier academically. We’re really looking forward to playing at home.”

Binghamton has always relied on home field advantage in the past. During the 2008 campaign, the squad averaged 1,115 fans per game, which was 20th in the nation.

“We have a great crowd that comes out to support the team,” Marco said. “It’s good to play in front of them as well.”

The Bearcats will take the field having won their last two games, both shutouts — a 1-0 victory against University of California, Davis and a 2-0 win at Cornell University. Marco feels some of the reasons for the team’s recent success include better ball handling and more refined defense.

“One of the more important [keys] is the guys’ consistency level of taking better care of the ball and the ability of our guys in defending one against one,” he said. “I think those two areas have improved over the last couple of weeks.”

Niagara comes to town with a 2-3-1 record and is no stranger to playing in close games, as each of its three losses were by one goal. The team also boasts a 1-0 victory, which came against William & Mary at the Old Dominion tournament. However, they showed that they are capable of opening up the scoring, as evidenced by their 5-1 victory over Robert Morris University at home last Friday.

“[Niagara] are very good on free kicks, they’re very good on set pieces,” Marco said of the challenges the Purple Eagles may present. “They are a very disciplined team and well organized.”

The Purple Eagles have placed in the top four in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference three of the past four years. Sophomore Carl Haworth and junior midfielder Levi Tesch are the standouts for this Niagara squad. Haworth was the 2008 MAAC Rookie of the Year after totaling nine goals and four assists in his freshman campaign. He was also named to the 2008 College Soccer News All-Freshman Third Team. He currently leads the team in scoring with three goals. Tesch, who leads the team in shots this season with 22, was an All-MAAC First Team member in 2008. Haworth and Tesch were two of the top four goal-scorers for Niagara last season.

Also leading the way for the Purple Eagles are senior goalkeeper John Fiutowski and senior back Anthony DiBiase. Fiutowski led the NCAA in 2008 with 6.56 saves per game. This year, he already has 50 saves in just six games, accumulating a 1.11 goals against average. DiBiase was named to the 2008 All-MAAC Second Team and is currently tied for the team lead with two assists.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.