Last September when the Syracuse women’s soccer team traveled down I-81 to take on Binghamton, 135 fans watched the Bearcats come from behind to work their high-profile opponent to a 1-1 tie.

Tuesday night, 932 fans packed the Bearcat Sports Complex to watch that same Syracuse team come to Vestal. It’s safe to say that, after one game, the new fields look like a roaring success.

Yeah, I’ll concede a good chunk of those fans will drop off from this first game, and not just because there seemed to be several hundred fans there only to cheer for Binghamton native and Seton Catholic Central alum Megan Bellingham, now a freshman on the Orange’s squad. But the drop-off won’t be that much. The day of 135 fans lining the field is over.

Drive up Route 434 on a game night. Take a walk through those stands. Watch the lights go on, illuminating the field in the shadow of the Events Center. Any of these things will show what became evident to everyone Tuesday night ‘ big-time college athletics are here to stay at Binghamton.

It’s fitting that Syracuse was the first opponent to usher in this new era. They are the most shining example of how big-time athletics can exist in upstate New York. Syracuse is a household name, and any time we can beat the Orange in any sport, from soccer to basketball to lacrosse to volleyball, it is looked at as a big step for Binghamton’s program.

Syracuse head coach Patrick Farmer described the old field conditions at BU as ‘a swamp.’ And he wasn’t doing that affectionately the way Florida Gators fans do. He had nothing but good things to say about this new field, adding that he has been pressing Syracuse’s administration to do this for years. For once it seems Binghamton has actually even out-done Syracuse.

The fans, the opponent, even the pregame introductions felt like a big-time soccer match. As the Bearcat soccer players were introduced to the Alan Parson’s Project’s ‘Sirius,’ it was not hard to suddenly see Jeff Leightman as Phil Jackson.

And if Leightman was Jackson, then Kim Povill was Michael Jordan. The senior forward headed the ball past Syracuse’s keeper in the opening half, the first goal in Bearcat Sports Complex history, and assured the Bearcats that they would be the first team to lead on their new field.

When reminded that her goal would be the first one ever scored on this field, Povill responded that it was ‘really awesome.’

And Povill’s summation might be the best to describe everything about the field: ‘really awesome.’ Standing on the field under the lights, it no longer felt like you were in ‘a swamp’ ‘ it didn’t even feel like you were in Vestal.

Tuesday night at the Bearcat Sports Complex felt like it could have been in Ann Arbor, University Park or South Bend. But it was here in Binghamton, right next to the Events Center, where big-time sports, it seems, are here to stay.