The kings can finally take their new throne.

The Binghamton University men’s soccer team’s first match at the new Bearcat Sports Complex ‘ which, if it was built for anyone, it was built for the reigning AE champs ‘ is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday against Cornell.

The Bearcats (6-2-0) are off to a strong start despite having played all of their matches thus far on the road. Now they come home, knowing they never lost in Vestal during the regular season last year.

‘I think this game is going to set the tempo for how our home games go,’ said junior midfielder Cody Germain. ‘We usually win at home, we are usually really up for home games. And Cornell’s also a really good team.’

Both teams were ranked in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America in the Northeast Region for Division I. Binghamton (6-2-0) is at No. 8, while Cornell (5-2-0) is at No. 10. Both teams also begin conference play their following matches, which BU coach Paul Marco said added no importance to the match.

‘Whatever happens this weekend, we’ll be focused for [our first AE opponent] Boston,’ Marco said. ‘Win or lose or tie this match, we’ll have put this match behind us come Monday training.’

Cornell enters on a two-game winning streak, coming off a 1-0 win over Vermont, the Bearcats’ AE rival, on Saturday. Binghamton ended a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Hartwick the same day.

‘We’ve been able to hang in there,’ said Cornell coach Brian Scales. ‘We’re still a work in progress, we’re not a big-time team this year. I think we’ve played well in stretches.’

Senior midfielder Brian Kuritzky and sophomore forward Matt Bouraee are the Big Red’s top two scorers, with five goals and four goals respectively.

Binghamton’s leading scorer is junior Justin Leskow, with all of two goals. Seven other Bearcats have one goal each. On defense is where BU has shined: red shirt sophomore goalkeeper Jason Stenta and his defense have held opponents to a 0.68 goals against average, 19th best in the nation among Division I schools.

Marco, who has seen Cornell play three times this season, said the Big Red have a similar style to the Bearcats.

‘They’re probably going to play out of a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3,’ Marco said. ‘I guess they could play out of a 4-4-2 and they’ll probably be expecting the same thing from us.’

Like Binghamton, the Big Red are gearing up for conference play. They host Harvard on Oct. 6, the same day Binghamton hosts Boston.

‘The game this weekend should have no bearing on how we open up against Harvard next weekend,’ Scales said.

Notes: Strangely, this is the first regular season meeting between the Bearcats and the Big Red since 2001, despite Binghamton and Ithaca’s close proximity. Both coaches said that was due to scheduling conflicts.

‘We just couldn’t find a date,’ Marco said. ‘There’s no Ivy playoffs, so they’re looking for some games late in the year when we’re winding down into the playoffs.’

The two are currently scheduled to play each other in 2008 and 2009 as well.