The Binghamton University men’s soccer team has been waiting for a home game all season long. After running through a gauntlet of nationally-ranked teams, the Bearcats are more than ready to get back onto the green turf of the Bearcats Sports Complex. They should be ‘ they haven’t lost a regular season home match since 2007.
Cornell University (3-2-2) is set to visit the Bearcats (1-4-1) on Sunday afternoon. Binghamton has won each of its three regular season matches against Cornell under head coach Paul Marco, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking his opponent lightly.
‘We’re expecting a good opponent,’ he said. ‘Cornell is a very hard team, a difficult team to play against. They are well coached.’
The Bearcats’ first six games of this season were played over a span of just 16 days, and Marco believes that having a whole week to rest up for the Big Red will benefit his team tremendously, specifically with injuries.
‘We have a week to prepare for the match, so we should have guys healthy,’ Marco said. ‘We had a few guys get banged up on the weekend, but they are day-to-day, so we’ll know more later in the week.’
The Bearcats are coming off their best weekend of the season. In their first two tournaments, they went 0-4 against four top-25 teams, including one-goal losses against the defending Big Ten champion, No. 7 Ohio State University and No. 11 Penn State University. Last weekend at the Colgate Red Raider Classic, they won their first game of the season against No. 26 Lafayette College, and also tied Colgate University 1-1. Senior back Kyle Manscuk scored the lone goal in each game, earning Most Outstanding Player honors.
On the season, Manscuk leads the squad with three goals, followed by freshman Luke Halberg’s two. Sophomore Adam Whitehead has a team-leading three assists. Redshirt-freshman goalie Chris Hayen, taking over for recently graduated Jason Stenta, has a .684 save percentage on the year against top opposition. Despite the tough schedule, the Bearcats have actually had more shots on goal than their opponents, 29 compared to 28.
For the Bearcats, riding that momentum into their next match seems likely, as the team returns home where it plays its best soccer.
To say that the Bearcats have a home field advantage would be grossly understating the fact. Binghamton hasn’t lost a regular season home match since Oct. 5, 2005, when the University of Maryland, Baltimore County beat the squad in double overtime. The team has never lost a regular season home match since the Bearcats Sports Complex first opened in 2007. During the 2002 season, Marco’s first at Binghamton, the Bearcats lost three regular season home matches. Since then, they have lost just two regular season matches at home ‘ the aforementioned loss to UMBC and a 2-1 loss to Marist College in 2003.
Overall, the Bearcats have a home record of 39-5-15 dating back to the 2003 season. That’s right: out of 59 home matches, including exhibition, regular season and postseason games, the Bearcats have lost exactly five times.
As far as their history with Cornell goes, the Bearcats have blanked the Big Red 2-0, 1-0 and 3-0 in 2009, 2008 and 2007 respectively. Each of the past two matches was played on the road.
Last season, Binghamton was outshot 14-8 yet emerged with a decisive victory thanks to strong goaltending from Jason Stenta and efficient offense. According to Marco, similar preparation has the best chance to yield similar results.
‘I think that preparations will be the same as every other match for us,’ Marco said. ‘[We’ll] try and take care of the ball when we have it, and when they have it we’ll try to get it back. Set pieces will probably be very important.’
While Cornell has not won a game away from its home field yet this season, the Bearcats have only played road games thus far, and Marco is understandably excited for the upcoming match.
‘We’re thrilled to be home,’ he said.
The BU Hooligans should be out in full force for the showdown between the Bearcats and the Big Red.
The match is set to begin on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex.