Binghamton University’s men’s soccer had a dominant offense and home field advantage. Vermont had the conference’s best defense and a six-game shutout streak.
Something had to give.
On Saturday, No. 2 Vermont downed No. 1 Binghamton 1-0 in the America East Championship match, redeeming last year’s title game loss and propelling the Catamounts to the AE’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.
Twenty minutes into the rematch of the 2006 championship, Vermont junior Jordan Crasilneck hit a pass from Tyler Hasman past Bearcats keeper Jason Stenta for the game’s only goal.
Stenta made seven saves, but the only shot that got by him was the one he could not see coming. Stenta was screened on Crasilneck’s championship-winning shot and didn’t flinch until it was too late. Crasilneck also scored in Vermont’s regular season 2-0 win against Binghamton.
‘It was almost the exact same play that happened last time we played them,’ Crasilneck said. ‘Tyler Hasman passed me the ball exactly the same way. Last time I went far post, but I knew the keeper might be expecting that so I changed it up and went near post, and that’s all she wrote.’
Vermont’s dominant defense, led by keeper Roger Scully, held Binghamton scoreless for the remaining 70 minutes. In the second half, BU head coach Paul Marco tried every offensive scheme he knew to no avail.
‘I tried everything,’ Marco said. ‘I moved to a different system of play, I moved players around. A few times when we tried to create chances, we would move it behind their defenders and their goalkeeper would get the ball.’
After the game, Vermont players cheered their goalkeeper’s name. Later the stadium announcers told the crowd what it already knew: Scully was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The acrobatic junior keeper, who finished his excellent year by recording his sixth straight shutout, earned the night’s award by recording five saves and repeatedly disrupting the AE’s top offense.
‘He played well tonight,’ Stenta said. ‘He got the balls out of the air and made some key plays on the ground. He kept them in the game and deserved to win the MVP.’
The game was seen by 2,078 fans, the largest figure at the Bearcats Sports Complex in the facility’s first year. The Bearcats averaged a crowd of 1,299 at home, by far the largest number in the league.
Binghamton’s home-field advantage was striking: the Bearcats had won all seven games at home, scoring 17 goals in the process. Vermont was the only team to shut out the Bearcats in Vestal this season and was also the only team to outshoot the Bearcats at the BSC, 13-11. Binghamton entered the match with a 20-game home undefeated streak that dated to 2005.
In the 2006 title game, No. 1 Binghamton beat No. 2 Vermont in overtime when Vermont back William Haywood took down BU forward Bryan Arnault in the restricted area. Barry Neville hit the penalty kick to clinch the championship. In 2006 Vermont entered the game with a flashy resume and the Bearcats, who did poorly out of conference, played grind-it-out defense. But in 2007 it was Vermont who used gritty defense to turn around its mediocre early season and down the high-scoring Bearcats.
‘We learned a lot of lessons early,’ said UVM coach Jesse Cormier. ‘We had a few bumps in the road early on in the season. Binghamton got the best of us last year, and for the guys, it ignited a fire under them to want to represent the conference [in the NCAA tournament].’
After his big win on Saturday, Cormier, who was an assistant under Marco at West Virginia, was put in the unusual situation of shaking his mentor’s hand after ending his season.
‘There’s a lot of respect,’ Cormier said. ‘Obviously the Binghamton program is well established and very successful. To actually come on top in this scenario against this good a team and this good a coach is really exciting for us.’
For the Binghamton players, a promising season ended in disappointment.
‘I told them I was extremely proud of their energy and effort tonight, and the commitments they’ve made to the Bearcats all season,’ Marco said.