Despite one player’s white-hot streak and an overwhelming advantage in shots, the Binghamton University men’s soccer team settled for a 1-1 tie on Saturday at conference foe University at Albany.
The Bearcats are now 4-4-4 overall and 2-0-2 in conference play. They are also unbeaten in their last eight contests (5-0-3), their longest unbeaten streak in over two years.
The 23-9 edge in shots was easily the Bearcats’ largest margin of the season, but 10 saves from Great Danes goalkeeper Adrian Foncette and three Bearcat shots smashing the post kept Binghamton at bay.
‘I wouldn’t say that [Foncette] was outstanding,’ said Bearcats head coach Paul Marco. ‘I would just say we hit a lot of balls at him. Field conditions weren’t great, so it wasn’t gonna lend itself to being a pretty game.’
The first goal of the match was scored early by Albany’s Sander Anker, who crossed a shot from six yards out that snuck inside the left goal post in the sixth minute.
‘I was disappointed that we conceded the goal,’ Marco said. ‘Because for the first five minutes of the game they didn’t cross midfield, and then their first time across midfield they score a goal. I thought our guys were poor in the match at doing what was required of them instead of just letting the match pass us by ‘ so obviously that will be part of training this week.’
The Bearcats didn’t score the equalizer until the 40th minute, when sophomore forward Adam Whitehead sniped a free kick from 25 yards out. Whitehead now leads the team in points with eight, including two goals and four assists, and has been a significant part of the Bearcat attack lately.
‘The attacks that we were putting in, a lot of it came through several of our midfield players, him being one of them,’ Marco said of Whitehead’s involvement in the offensive success. ‘I thought that we had success when we possessed the ball, moved the ball side to side, and then looked to get in behind them centrally, and one of the things that we had talked about going into the match was, when we win the ball, will we be ready to attack them? And I thought we did a decent job of that.’
However, Whitehead wasn’t able to finish the match after sustaining an injury.
‘He took a knock in the match and had to come out and couldn’t return,’ Marco said. ‘He hopefully will be back by Saturday; he was out of training today, so we’ll just see how he is. I would list him as day-to-day right now.’
At the end of regulation, the match was still knotted up, but through two overtime periods neither team could score the game-winner. The Bearcats took three shots in the extra time, including two shots on goal from junior midfielder Ryan Walter, both of which were saved by Foncette.
The stalemate marks the fourth tie of the season for the Bearcats, the third such match to end in a 1-1 draw. Marco was asked if leaving Albany with just a tie was a disappointment.
‘Not if you’ve been around soccer that much,’ he said. ‘It’s a sport that you can dominate a team in [every] statistical category except goals. It could have been worse. We could have been on the losing side of that. Saying that, though, I think we created enough opportunities to win the match, so I was disappointed that we didn’t get three points, but I’m still happy to get a point.’
Redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Chris Hayen, who has helped anchor the Bearcats’ unbeaten streak, made just two saves on the day. Eight different Bearcats took shots in the contest, with Whitehead firing a whopping seven of them himself. No one player on the Great Danes shot more than two.
The Bearcats are now more than halfway through their conference slate for the 2010 season. They are currently second in the America East conference, behind only Boston, which has cruised its way to a 4-0 conference record.
‘Boston has done a very good job,’ Marco said. ‘They are the team to beat ‘ they are the cream of the crop this year.’
Hartford sits in third at 2-2, while Stony Brook and UMBC are fourth with 1-1-2 records. The conference is rounded out by Vermont at 1-2-1, New Hampshire at 0-2-2 and Albany, which gained its first point of the year in the tie with Binghamton to move to an 0-3-1 record. As the end of the season approaches, the battle for the America East is still anyone’s contest.
The Bearcats’ next match is set to be played Saturday at home against Stony Brook. A win for the Seawolves could catapult them into a tie with the Bearcats in the conference standings, but a Bearcat victory could change the entire season.
‘Right now, all eyes are set on Saturday’s match, and controlling our destiny after that match,’ Marco said. ‘We win the match, we move that much further, we secure a playoff berth with a win, so a lot will be on Saturday’s match for us.’
But according to Marco, Stony Brook should be a tough opponent for the Bearcats to take down.
‘I think that they are a similar team to last year, and they were good when we played them last year. I thought that they were one of the better teams throughout the year. They’ve got talented players in most positions, and they play very well out of the back.’
The game is set to be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
‘I think it’ll be an enjoyable match to watch,’ Marco said. ‘Because I think that we have players that like the ball just as much as them, maybe even a little more. So I’m expecting a very good match, certainly one that will be worth the Hooligan group coming out to watch.’