Adam Chavez, Cameron Keith and Justin Leskow made NCAA history Saturday night, scoring one goal each in a span of one minute, 37 seconds ‘ the sixth fastest three-goal outburst in Division I history.
Keith, a sophomore forward, scored twice more in the second half for his second hat trick of the season as the Bearcats routed the Maine Black Bears, 5-0, in an America East men’s soccer match at the Bearcat Sports Complex.
‘When you can win like this it convincingly shows the guys have got a little bit better in training,’ said Binghamton University head coach Paul Marco.
Binghamton (11-3-0, 3-1-0 AE) extended its home-winning streak to 19 games, dating to Oct. 5, 2005. Maine (3-10-1, 1-3-1) dropped into last place. It was the Bearcats’ largest offensive output since Sept. 27, 2003, when they defeated Philadelphia College, 6-0, at West Gym Field.
‘It’s good to show we can score that many goals in a game,’ Chavez said. ‘There aren’t that many teams who could do [that].’
Chavez, a senior back, scored the first goal of the game and his first of the season when he headed a cross from junior midfielder Barry Neville into the top right corner of the goal at the 7:18 mark. Just 36 seconds later, Keith knocked in his first goal of the game poking in a cross from senior midfielder Matt Narode to make it 2-0. A minute later, Leskow scored his third goal of the season off a rebound after a header from Keith nailed the crossbar.
Keith took the second half by storm, scoring his second goal in the 56th minute and his third in the 67th. Crosses from Yusuf Yusuf on the second goal and Chavez on the third set up the scores. Keith’s nine goals are the most by a Bearcat since Charles Darkwah led the conference with 12 in 2004. Saturday was a big game for Keith, not only because he increased his conference lead in goals (nine) and points (19), but also because his family flew in from Scotland to see the game.
‘It was just nice, you know, them coming over and [getting] three goals for them,’ Keith said.
However, Keith, who was named the America East Player of the Week for a third time this season on Monday, modestly said the game wasn’t about him.
‘The team is filled with great players and if it wasn’t for all of them, I wouldn’t be scoring these goals in the first place,’ Keith said. ‘The important thing is to get the win.’
And with the Bearcats ranked 27th in last week’s NCAA RPI calculation, continuing to improve will be necessary if they want to see any home field advantage in the tourney.
‘I think if we keep taking care of each game, one at a time, and we keep getting better at training, I like our chances to be playing here in the NCAA tournament, perhaps in a first-round match,’ Marco said.
Binghamton continued to receive votes in the College Soccer News national poll, released Monday. The record for the fastest three-goal scoring period is 1:02, set by Indiana University against Earlham College in 1976. Binghamton’s 1:37 is the fastest time since 1983. Keith’s first hat trick of the season (and his career) came on Sept. 29 in a 3-0 win over Cornell at the BSC.
The Bearcats will look to continue their hot play on the road as they travel to face New Hampshire tomorrow night at 7 p.m.