They’re starting to make this a habit.
The third-seeded Binghamton University men’s soccer team advanced to the America East Championship for the third consecutive season by defeating the second-seeded UMBC Retrievers 4-1 Wednesday night.
“We bust our asses every spring to improve, and over the summer to stay in shape,” said senior back Darius Ravangard. “It’s a great feeling to know all the work you put in paid off.”
The Bearcats set the tone early at UMBC Stadium, en route to their third straight semifinal victory, by scoring two goals in the opening 35 minutes.
“We came out to play right form the whistle,” said senior back Graham Munro. “Scoring first is key and it kind of settled us down.”
Sophomore forward Matt Narode struck first from eight yards out at the 5:29 mark. The Bearcats’ initial shot from junior forward Joey Neilson was partially blocked by the Retrievers’ freshman goalkeeper Steve King, but the ball was deflected to Narode inside the box.
“I was in the right place at the right time,” Narode said. “The ball came down, I just stuck my foot out and put it in the bottom corner.”
The Bearcats added a second goal before halftime, ending their drought of eight consecutive conference games in which they scored just one goal.
“We usually don’t score more than one goal,” said freshman midfielder Barry Neville. “Having two, it definitely felt a lot better.”
Neilson and junior forward Peter Sgueglia connected to put the Bearcats up two on a play that began with a throw-in from senior back Ryan Pierce.
“Peter played a fantastic ball to Joey, he holds his player off, turns and buries the ball,” Marco said.
The Bearcats got in a huddle before the start of the second half to talk about the importance of the next goal, but were unable to stop the Retrievers from scoring 57 seconds later. Junior midfielder David Feazell delivered a ball in the box and senior forward Powell Cucchiella won it in the air.
“They started the second half with better energy,” Marco said. “But right after that, our guys settled in and made an adjustment to control them. They responded great.”
UMBC came out of the locker room with a three-four-three formation, but with the Retrievers needing the equalizer, the Bearcats solidified the back. And even though Marco thought both teams attacked relentlessly the rest of regulation, no team scored until the final minute.
King was caught out of position trying to put pressure on the ball, as freshman midfielder Cody Germain scored on a short cross from Sgueglia.
Neville put the finishing touches on the victory 44 seconds later on an empty-net goal taken near midfield.
The Bearcats were in high spirits after the game but Munro isn’t completely satisfied yet.
“Making three finals is an achievement in itself, but no one remembers second place,” Munro said. “Our goal was to win the conference champion and now we’re one game away.”
Get on the bus:
The men’s soccer team is trying to put a bus together for students who want to go to Stony Brook on Saturday for the America East Championship. If you’re interested in going, send a facebook message to Danilo Oliveira. Include how many people want to go to the game and a phone number that Danilo can reach you at tonight.