Facing the most potent offense in the nation in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Binghamton men’s soccer team entered Saturday with a simple objective: score first and take the Harvard fans out of the equation at Ohiri Field.

Score first the Bearcats did, but unfortunately for BU, that lone goal was not enough as Binghamton fell to the Crimson 2-1, ending the Bearcats’ season in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Binghamton started off well, as America East Finals MVP Barry Neville fired the opening shot in the 20th minute and, so it seemed, Binghamton was sitting pretty.

“We were on top of the game for the first 45 minutes, no questions asked,” said head coach Paul Marco. “[We] silenced Harvard’s crowd.”

Call it a tale of two halves: after trailing 1-0 at halftime and being outshot 7-5 in the first 45 minutes, Harvard showcased the talent that had earned it 44 goals in 17 games entering the contest.

“We were getting fatigued … we were just tired … they just kept coming at us for 45 minutes,” said BU goalkeeper Jason Stenta.

A little under 13 minutes into the second period, Crimson sophomore midfielder Michael Fucito tied up the game, and with 11:01 second to go in regulation, standout freshman Andre Akpan scored the game-winner for the Ivy Leaguers.

The loss marks the end of the 2006 season for Binghamton (9-7-5), one that started out on rough waters but resulted in the team’s first-ever AE regular season title, a performance that was followed up with another championship in the AE tournament.

“All great things come to an end eventually,” Marco said.

For the Crimson (14-4-0), the Ivy League champions, eighth-seeded UCLA (10-5-4) awaits on Wednesday at Frank W. Marshall Field in Los Angeles. The Bruins had a first-round bye.

The wind, which picked up in the second half, made it difficult for the Bearcats to get behind Harvard’s defense Saturday. But in the first half, outside of Neville’s score, the Bearcats had actually made another score that was disallowed.

Sophomore midfielder Cody Germain went up for a ball simultaneously with Crimson junior goalkeeper Adam Hahn, and the ball was played in to BU junior forward Matt Narode, who netted the shot. However, the goal was called back because of the collision between Germain and Hahn, a foul that often goes in favor of the goalkeeper, whom referees try to protect.

“I think if we got an extra goal that first half we would’ve been sitting more comfortable than we already were,” Stenta said.

Though Binghamton accomplished more than what they were expected to this season, it will be a long winter for the Bearcats, who know they had their chances. In the second half, senior forward Peter Sgueglia, one of five graduating Bearcats, had two scoring opportunities, the last of which came with less than five minutes remaining. Sgueglia narrowly missed the goalpost by, in Marco’s estimation, a foot at most.

“We were not disappointed in the way we played, but we were more disappointed in the result we got,” Stenta said.

Binghamton was outshot 9-3 in a second half that was all Crimson.

After having Sunday, yesterday and today off, training resumes tomorrow as the BU men’s soccer team seeks to repeat as America East champions and to advance further into the NCAA tournament.

“Looking at the season as a whole, I want to win a national championship, and to do that we need to get further than we did this year,” Marco said. “I’m gutted that we’re not playing in L.A. on Wednesday, but I understand our team probably achieved some pretty good things along the way as well.”