When the Binghamton University men’s soccer team’s schedule was finalized over the summer, head coach Paul Marco admitted that it was going to be the toughest one that his team has had to endure during his tenure at Binghamton. One has to look no further than the first four games of the season to see why that is the case.
The Bearcats have begun the season with four losses, all against nationally-ranked opponents. They fell to No. 23 University of North Carolina at Wilmington 1-0 and to No. 15 Monmouth University 2-0 over the first weekend of this month at the West Virginia Tournament. Things didn’t get any easier for the team last weekend at the Penn State Tournament ‘ No. 7 Ohio State University topped the Bearcats 1-0 on Friday and on Sunday, host No. 11 Penn State University defeated Binghamton 4-3 in a wild back-and-forth affair.
Although the team failed to score in the West Virginia Tournament, it wasn’t short on goal-scoring chances. Marco was not discouraged by the team’s effort.
‘I thought we created some very good opportunities,’ he said. ‘We were just unfortunate not to get a goal. I don’t think that I was down by any means because we hadn’t scored a goal on the first weekend. We knew we were up against some stiff competition and it was a good measuring stick to see where we were.’
Ohio State, the defending Big Ten champions, scored its lone goal on a penalty kick in the 41st minute. A Bearcat defender committed a foul around the top of the box and the referee called the foul inside the penalty area. The call, at the time, appeared to be so difficult that even Marco was unsure of whether the foul took place inside or outside the box. However, according to Marco, video of the play showed the call should have been conclusive.
‘When you watch it on video, he is definitely outside the box and it is disappointing that the referee in live time saw it inside the box,’ Marco said.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chris Hayen saw his first action of the season against the Buckeyes after missing the first two games because of injury. True freshman Anthony Sokalski played between the pipes at the West Virginia Tournament, and although Marco was satisfied with his performance, when Hayen came back to training he ‘proved that he should be the No. 1 guy.’ Hayen and the defense put forth a quality performance against one of the top 10 teams in the nation.
‘[Hayen] played quite well,’ Marco said. ‘He seemed confident, made a couple of pretty good saves. The back line of redshirt freshman Tommy Klim, senior Kyle Manscuk, sophomore Austin Hughes and senior Josh Sailar did quite well. We minimized opportunities for Ohio State. They’re a big, strong team, I would expect that from the Big Ten, and I thought our guys did very well in the game.’
The Bearcats finally got on the score sheet in their match against the Nittany Lions. They were put in an early 2-0 hole, as Penn State freshman Jordan Tyler scored two goals within the first 20 minutes of the match. Binghamton struck back in the 29th minute when freshman Luke Halberg scored his first collegiate goal. Junior Corey Hertzog gave Penn State another two-goal cushion after scoring in the 51st minute. However, the Bearcats wouldn’t go down without a fight. Manscuk scored his first goal of the season at the 64-minute mark, and just five minutes later, Halberg scored his second goal, tying the game at 3. In the 85th minute, Hertzog fired a shot from around midfield, catching Hayen off his line and putting the ball over his head to put the Nittany Lions ahead for good. Bearcat sophomore Adam Whitehead tallied two assists in the match, and fellow sophomore Jake Keegan assisted in Halberg’s game-tying goal. Although Penn State won the game, Marco doesn’t necessarily think his team was outplayed.
‘I think the match, itself, if you take all of the goals out and you just watch possession and movement and competitiveness, we were probably the better team on that day,’ he said. ‘The goals that they scored, two of them were very disappointing that we conceded; they were just mistakes that we shouldn’t be making. But for us to score three goals against a top team is fantastic. Getting three goals in our game against anyone is a great feat, and when you do it against a nationally-ranked team at their place ‘ it was nice to see.’
No team wants to start off the season with four consecutive losses, but the Bearcats were competitive against four of the nation’s top teams. The experience the young squad gained from those four matches should prove invaluable as the season progresses.
‘I think our team has done quite well coming together with a lot of new faces,’ Marco said. ‘The attitude has been fantastic. We just need to do a little bit more in each game and maybe those outcomes will be the ones that we want.’
Binghamton will look to win its first game this weekend at the Colgate Tournament. The Bearcats are scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff against Lafayette College on Friday and a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against host Colgate University on Sunday.