Behind a Scottish striker and playing in a brand new stadium, Binghamton University’s men’s soccer team is in the driver’s seat for America East playoff positioning.
Buoyed by another stellar performance by sophomore Cameron Keith and a large crowd at the Bearcats Sports Complex, the Bearcats (12-4-0, 4-2-0 AE) swept their regular-season home slate by downing Albany (2-10-3, 1-3-2 AE) in a 3-0 shutout. With the win, Binghamton sits in first place in the AE.
Keith, a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, scored the first goal of the game when teammate Kyle Kucharski beat Albany defender Milos Jankovic to the ball. Dane keeper Steward Ceus was caught out of position as Keith drove Kucharski’s pass into the goal.
Just four minutes later, junior Justin Leskow beat Ceus on a header in the restricted area in front of the goal. Ceus was forced to foul Leskow, giving Binghamton a penalty kick. Junior back Barry Neville tallied the Bearcats’ second goal on the PK. Neville scored the game-winning penalty kick against Vermont in the 2006 AE championship.
Bearcat freshman Scott Zobre added an insurance goal late in the second half to finish another home blowout for Binghamton.
Binghamton won all six regular season home games in 2007, downing the likes of Cornell, UMBC and Boston University. The Bearcats, who have won or tied in their last 19 home games, scored 16 goals and only let in one at the BSC this season.
Keith has led the way with nine goals at home. He is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation in goals per game and No. 6 in points per game. He also leads the AE in those categories by a comfortable margin.
‘I absolutely love playing here,’ Keith said. ‘Especially with the student section over there ‘ they’ve been so loud. There’s just a certain buzz about playing in here.’
‘It seems as if all the hard work we’ve been putting together all year has been coming together here at the stadium,’ added senior Adam Chavez.
Bearcat keeper Jason Stenta recorded his tenth shutout of the season. Stenta and the Bearcats rank No. 1 in the nation in shutouts, tied with six other teams. Stenta is also ranked No. 9 in goals-against-average, and leads the AE in that category.
Prior to the Albany game, Bearcats dropped a midweek road match against New Hampshire on Wednesday. Chris Banks, 2006 AE Striker of the Year scored his second goal of the season in a 1-0 game. Binghamton out-shot UNH 8-6, but only shot once in the second half.