As the 2006 men’s soccer season began, Paul Marco’s team had seen better days.

The Bearcats had lost some of their best players ever to graduation in the spring. Gone were the big three of Danilo, Graham Munro and Darius Ravangard. It didn’t matter.

They lost several games in the beginning of the season, entering America East play with a lowly 2-5-3 record. It didn’t matter.

They lost their captain Kyle Antos and starting goalie Ryan Bertoni to injuries.

They looked down for the count against Boston in the AE semifinals, down a goal with 13 minutes left.

In penalty kicks they pitted a freshman keeper against one of the conference’s most experienced goalies.

Then in the conference finals they faced the top forwards in the AE: Vermont’s Lee Stephane Kouadio and T.J. Gore.

None of it mattered. No amount of adversity could stop head coach Paul Marco from leading his team to its second NCAA appearance in four years. Along the way, he established himself as the conference’s premier coach.

He is also Pipe Dream’s 2006-07 Coach of the Year.

Marco’s 2006 Bearcats were not his most talented team. The AE champs had only one player selected to the first-team all conference squad. There were no superstars to handle the scoring load, just a balanced attack of blue-collar players coached by a gifted soccer mind. No one was taken by the MLS, MISL or USL in the pro soccer drafts, though five other America East seniors were. Yet Binghamton won its first-ever regular season title in a near-perfect conference season.

Talent can only take a team so far. Hard work, soccer smarts and team chemistry are harder to come by.

‘He knows how to recruit players who, even if they never see the field, get along really well with everyone else,’ said senior Ibrahim Yusuf.

‘He’s very organized in recruiting and practicing,’ added sophomore Cody Germain.

Marco’s coaching style is not uncommon among other soccer coaches. He preaches discipline. He makes his team run. A lot. His calm public demeanor belies his fiery motivational abilities. And he doesn’t accept anything less than winning.

‘You have to listen to him,’ Yusuf said. ‘At the end of the day he can say, ‘How many championship games have you been in?’ He has the experience to back up everything he says.’

Another one of Marco’s talents is player development. After Bertoni fell to injuries, Marco put his full trust in freshman Jason Stenta, who emerged as one of the top goalkeepers in the conference. Marco put in extra practice time to help the raw freshman turn his 6-foot-3 frame into skilled goalkeeping.

By the time playoffs rolled around, Marco had also shown confidence in his young goalie. Stenta still had not faced penalty kicks in his short collegiate career. In the semifinal game against Boston University, that confidence paid off: Stenta blocked a tough penalty kick to send Binghamton to the title game.

It was the Bearcats’ fourth championship game appearance in as many years, yet Binghamton was tied for fourth in the preseason coaches poll. Call it a hunch, but Marco’s Bearcats won’t be picked to finish fourth next year.

This spring, Binghamton will graduate some key cogs from the men’s soccer team. Seniors Antos, Yusuf, Bertoni, Joey Neilson, Peter Sgueglia and Bryan Arnault will receive their degrees and move on.

And again, it won’t matter.