The homecoming match is one of the most anticipated matches for the Binghamton University men’s soccer team every season, and this year is no different. The stakes will be higher this year than last, as the Bearcats (2-4-3, 0-0-1 America East) will square off against conference rival University of Vermont (6-3-3, 1-0 AE). Last year’s homecoming match saw Binghamton play to a 1-1 draw against University of Rhode Island in front of a record-setting sellout crowd of 2,604 fans.
There will be plenty of former Binghamton men’s soccer players attending Saturday night’s game. It’s a great chance for the current squad to get more in touch with the program’s history, and a chance for alumni who have not been in Binghamton for a while to take in the sights at the still fairly new Bearcats Sports Complex.
‘Homecoming is a time to enjoy the return of some of the guys who have played here for us and some of the guys who have played prior to me being here,’ BU head coach Paul Marco said. ‘So it’s a real exciting time for us. We have a lot of guys coming back; we have a few guys coming back from each decade, all the way back to the 60s. So we’re real excited about this particular homecoming. It’s our 50-year anniversary of men’s soccer, and we’re really looking forward to it. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back who played for me; I think there might be 15 or 20 of those guys coming back, and obviously I have two on the staff so they’re really looking forward to seeing their former teammates.’
Although the hype for the homecoming match may exceed that of other matches, Marco insists that playing in front of many former Bearcats won’t put any added stress on the players. The team is approaching the match the same way they would any other match.
‘I think that we’ve got great tradition, and the guys know that they need to perform well no matter who’s watching,’ Marco said. ‘Whether they’re at home playing in front of a sellout crowd or playing on the road in front of 10 [people], we need to perform well. So I don’t think that that adds any pressure or anxiety to the match at all. If anything, the guys have a good demeanor and good heads on their shoulders and they understand the importance of every match.’
Marco and Vermont head coach Jesse Cormier are no strangers to one another. Cormier spent a season as one of Marco’s assistant coaches in 2000, when Marco was the head coach at West Virginia University. A well-natured competitiveness exists between the two coaches, but Marco isn’t preparing his team any differently because of his relationship with Cormier.
‘The fact that we know each other and we’re friends only heightens the awareness and respect we have of each other, because we understand who we are as a person and a coach,’ he said. ‘Do I try to get the guys up more for Jesse’s team than I do for our next opponent? No. The next guy on the docket is the guy that gets all of our focus and attention. I think that Jesse’s pretty much the same.’
Binghamton and Vermont have quite a history over the past several years. The Bearcats defeated the Catamounts in the 2006 America East championship game 1-0. The two teams had a rematch in the AE championship game the following season, where Vermont returned the favor, topping the Bearcats 1-0. Binghamton has won the last two meetings between the two schools, both one-goal victories.
‘This is a very good Vermont team coming in,’ Marco said. ‘I think it’s going to be a great game, certainly one that the fans will really enjoy, and I think it will be a close game again. We’ll see, hopefully we’ll do enough in the game to get the right outcome.’
The atmosphere for Saturday’s game should, at the minimum, match that of last year’s homecoming game. Another sellout crowd is anticipated, and the Bearcat Hooligans will likely be out in full force, offering a classic soccer environment, something Marco and his players truly appreciate and feed off. The team that can remain the most poised in the midst of all the cheering, singing and screaming will have the best chance to come out of the conference showdown with a win.
‘I think that a couple of things have to happen [for us to win],’ Marco said. ‘First I think that we really need to take care of the soccer ball. We need to make sure that we’re being productive. I see both teams being competitively similar and the intensity level will probably not dictate who wins the game, but certainly could influence the outcome. It could be the team who stays more focused on playing, tries to do the right things when they have the ball ‘ [that will] be the team at the end of the day that comes out on top. A few of our key players, some of our attacking guys, will have to be special. If our special guys are special on the night, I like our opportunities for the game.’
Saturday’s pregame tailgate is set to begin at 4 p.m. in the Events Center parking lot. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.