For the Binghamton University men’s soccer team, it’s not last weekend. And for the Hartwick men’s soccer team, these aren’t the Hawks of years past.

The Bearcats (5-2) are coming off a 1-0 overtime loss to Richmond last Friday and a 3-1 loss to Duquesne on Saturday at the Richmond Nike Cup Challenge, their first two losses of the season.

But as the Bearcats get ready for Saturday’s 7 p.m. match at Hartwick, the shortcomings of a week ago are in the past.

‘I didn’t see any [carryover] in either of the training sessions that we’ve had this week,’ said BU head coach Paul Marco.

Binghamton’s weekend-long problem could have been a lack of humility. In Saturday’s loss particularly, the stun from Friday’s match ‘ a loss delivered on a header by Richmond’s Jordan Evans with one second remaining in the first overtime period of a scoreless game ‘ might have had the Bearcats off their game. Friday’s match was not only the first time that the Bearcats had lost a game this season, it was the first time they had allowed a goal.

‘I think what went wrong is we maybe thought we were really good and we didn’t reflect back on ourselves,’ said BU goalkeeper Jason Stenta. ‘[And on Saturday] everyone seemed like they were just out of it for some reason.’

‘We had no training, nothing to wash ourselves of the Friday night match,’ Marco said. ‘So when we started it, we were still perhaps a little down.’

Hartwick (3-2-1) is trying to wash away the memory of its matches with Binghamton the last two seasons, both 1-0 losses. And the Hawks have made the improvements to do it. Seven players from last year’s team are gone, having either graduated or transferred. But that’s not necessarily a positive for the Bearcats.

‘In years past they’ve had some really big backs and they weren’t as mobile,’ Marco said, having scouted the Hawks three times this season. ‘They’re very athletic and it’s probably the best soccer-playing team I’ve seen from them.’

Hartwick tied Lafayette 0-0 in its most recent match on Sunday. They last won on Sept. 9, 3-0 over Seton Hall.

Forwards John Paul Boyle, a junior from Scotland, and Chris Jackson, a senior from England, are tied for the team lead in goals with three. Binghamton defenders Adam Chavez and Liam Carson will be charged with stopping the duo.

‘Boyle looks to get behind you,’ Marco said. ‘They let him play up front alone a lot. He’ll be offsides 10 times and then the 11th time he’ll be onsides, score, and they win 1-0.’

The Bearcats have had trouble scoring so far this season, with six players tied for a team-high one goal. Ibrahim Yusuf, who scored the game-winning goal against Hartwick last year in the 60th minute, is no longer with the team. Despite Binghamton’s lack of offense, Hartwick coach Ian McIntyre said he expects a difficult match.

‘They’re a very good team; well-coached, very organized and disciplined, and they’ve had a number of very good seasons,’ McIntyre said. ‘It’s going to be a very difficult game for us, as it always is.’