In a critical loss against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County this season, the Binghamton University men’s soccer team hit two goal posts. Last weekend, the goal post was friendlier to the Bearcats.
In pouring rain, the Bearcats (9-4-3, 4-2-0 AE) strengthened their playoff position with a 2-0 victory over the University of New Hampshire (6-5-4, 1-4-2 AE) on Saturday.
Junior Cameron Keith, who took part in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony, scored a goal in the first half when a teammate’s shot was deflected by a Wildcat defender. Keith, who was on the left side of the goal, shot a ball across the box that hit the right post and bounced into the goal.
“He was a bit unlucky at UMBC, so for him to come back and make sure his name was on the score sheet was great,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco.
Keith’s goal added to a strange half where UNH out-shot Binghamton 5-2, but did not challenge Binghamton goalie Jason Stenta.
The weather contributed to sloppy play for much of the game. The turf at the Bearcats Sports Complex was riddled with puddles, so most passes that hit the ground skidded to a quick halt.
“To be honest, it was probably one of the strangest buildups to a game ever,” Keith said. “The pitch was soaking so we had a very short warm-up. And there was the Senior Night thing, as well. It was quite hard for us.”
To combat the puddles, Marco stressed limiting risky passes to Stenta where the ball could stop short of its target and end up in possession of UNH’s strikers.
“We passed the ball and it would stick when it reached a puddle,” Marco said. “We hadn’t faced conditions like that all year other than in practice. There were some problems with the field, but our maintenance crew did a fantastic job getting the field into shape.”
By the start of the second half, the rain had subsided and the BSC drained midway through the period.
In the 68th minute, senior Darren McAllister crossed a ball to Keith, who headed the ball into a puddle in front of the goal. Fortunately for the Bearcats, Wildcat goalie Colin O’Donnell was caught out of position and could not reach the ball as it rolled slowly into the goal.
“It was a great cross from Doz [McAllister]. I headed it down into the ground and it skidded off of the turf into the goal,” Keith said.
Cameron Keith hadn’t had a multi-goal game since the 2007 season, in which he scored 10 goals and was named America East Striker of the Year. This year, Keith started slowly but is quietly amassing his share of goals. He has seven so far, and has at least three more games in which to match his 2007 total. If he scores two more goals, he will tie Charles Darkwah for the most goals in Binghamton’s Division I history — in only two years.
Keith was named the AE Player of the Week for his efforts. Stenta added to his program record with his 28th career shutout.
At the BSC, 685 fans sat through the rain and cold. Marco thanked the fans for their support. The Bearcats play against Stony Brook in their last home game of the season tomorrow at 7 p.m.