In the Binghamton men’s soccer game against Canisius, the Griffins were the only team that scored, even if it wasn’t always on the correct goal. In the 84th minute of the game, Canisius’ freshman defender Ryan Dagelman netted an own-goal to give Binghamton its first and only score of the night.

The Bearcats scrambled in the last seven minutes of the game, taking three shots during that period, but were unable to put one away to tie up the game.

In the 87th minute, the crowd was on its toes when senior forward Haris Brkovic performed a bicycle kick that went just wide of the post. The crowd reacted the same way when, with less than one minute left in the game, freshman defender Michael Bush took a shot from close range off of a free kick taken by redshirt freshman Parker McKnight. The shot was saved by Canisius’ redshirt freshman goalkeeper Fabio D’Errico, and the Bearcats lost the game 2-1.

“I thought that we ran out of time,” said BU head coach Paul Marco. “I’m disappointed that we couldn’t get the tying goal back.”

Despite outshooting Canisius 22-5, Binghamton could not find the back of the net. Of the 22 shots, nine were on goal, and 11 players took shots.

“I didn’t think there were a lot of highlights for us,” Marco said. “Although we had a lot of shots, there weren’t a lot of great shots. I thought our guys played with a lack of urgency tonight.”

Of Canisius’ five shots, three were on goal and two went in. Their first goal came in the 18th minute when redshirt sophomore defender Alessio Atzori capitalized on a cross from freshman forward Federico Mereto and fired the ball into the lower right corner of the net. Mereto assisted on the second goal as well, netted by senior forward Troy Brady in the 63rd minute.

“I thought that the second goal they had was terrific, no angle to shoot at and he puts it in the goal,” Marco said. “We had easier chances to score goals and we didn’t, and they get two goals with three shots on goal. I think Canisius came here to win a game, and they did. I’m extremely disappointed that we didn’t put up a better fight.”

Marco said that he was disappointed in the back third, but the Bearcats were missing an important force for the team — graduate student defender and co-captain Stephen McKenna. McKenna wasn’t dressed for the game due to a minor injury, but is expected to return to the pitch soon. Redshirt sophomore defender Ryan Pyszka started for McKenna and played for 80 minutes.

“I think we’ve got to tighten it up more in the back,” said junior defender Chris Stamper, who had three shots throughout the contest. “I think that without Steve being in the back line it was a bit different than how we’re used to playing, so I think that made a bit of a difference in the mindset.”

Next up for the Bearcats is a matchup against Rutgers University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey.