As the sun sank behind the Events Center, it seemed to take Syracuse with it as the Binghamton University men’s soccer team struck back in the second half to clinch Tuesday’s home opener 3-2 in front of 2,063 fans.
“It was a difficult match,” said head coach Paul Marco. “But I am glad we came out on top.”
The Bearcats’ win broke Syracuse University’s 20-game non-conference win streak, the nation’s best such streak. It was the Orange’s first non-conference loss since 2005, when they fell to SUNY College at Oneonta.
“I am speechless,” said senior Kyle Kucharski. “I am just excited that we came out on top on the first game of the year.”
The Bearcats (1-0, America East 0-0) were held scoreless all throughout the first half as Syracuse outshot the team, 6-5, in the first 45 minutes of the match. The first goal came in the 24th minute, as Syracuse senior forward Tom Perevegyencev placed in a corner kick, assisted by junior Geoff Lytle and freshman Mark Brode, who set up the play.
“It was well-played on both sides,” said sophomore Andy Tiedt. “I thought it was pretty even to start out with, but then Syracuse got the opening goal.”
Syracuse kept its 1-0 advantage until the start of the second half. It was then that the match blew up offensively. Less than two minutes into the half, the Bearcats netted their first goal of the season to tie the match. Kucharski fired a free kick that was headed in by junior back Kyle Manscuk. Freshman forward Jake Keegan also got credit for an assist.
“We made a conscious decision that we were going to fight in the second half so that made the other team’s job a lot more difficult,” Kucharski said. “In turn it gave us some opportunities we didn’t have in the first half. Nothing like stepping up and fighting.”
The Orange answered back in the 51st minute as senior Hansen Woodruff scored a breakaway goal; however their lead was short-lived. Three minutes later, junior Josh Sailar netted his first goal of the season off another assist by Kucharski to tie the game, 2-2.
Sailar’s goal set the stage as the Bearcats took control of the rest of the match, netting their third goal 11 minutes before the end of the game. Tiedt scored the game-winner off Kucharski’s corner kick, Kucharski’s third assist of match.
By the end of the match, the Bearcats had outshot the Orange, 14-9.
The Bearcats reached some milestones in the match. Kucharski’s three assists were a career-high for the senior.
“I thought our two centerbacks and goalkeepers did a pretty good job today but Kyle Kucharski was the difference in the game,” Marco said. “I thought the difference was going to be a returning player from both sides and tonight it was Kyle and his deliveries.”
Manscuk’s goal was the first of his career while Tiedt’s game-winning goal was the second score of his career.
“The boys were excellent,” Kucharski said. “We had more opportunities than three tonight, we were able to get three heads on the ball in the back of the net, which is phenomenal. Can’t be happy with anything more.”
Both goalies, Binghamton senior Jason Stenta and Syracuse sophomore Evan Johnson, made two saves apiece.
Although it was a time to celebrate for the Bearcats, they were not going to let the win go to their heads.
“We have some work to do,” said Kucharski. “We gave up two goals tonight which is not okay. We are not going to score three goals every game so we’ll work on that and carry it into the next game where we can keep the ball out of our net.”
Tiedt echoed Kucharski’s words.
“This game is in the past,” he said. “I mean it was good to get it under our belts, but we are already looking forward to Saturday.”
Binghamton will host Colgate University tomorrow. The Raiders are the two-time defending Patriot League champions, going 12-6-3 last season, their best record since 1994. The Raiders finished 2008 with a 5-1-1 record in the league, winning both the conference tournament and season titles leading to their third NCAA tournament appearance. Last season, the Bearcats tied the Red Raiders, 1-1, at the Colgate tournament and in 2007 the Bearcats defeated Colgate, 2-0, in the team’s last meeting in Binghamton.
Colgate returns six seniors this season, including midfielder Alex Weekes. Weekes was one of 38 NCAA Division I men’s soccer players named to this year’s Hermann Trophy watch list.
The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex.