With the words ‘Go f’ yourselves,’ Roger Scully picked up the ball and flung it into the bleachers at the Bearcats Sports Complex, where the Bearcat Hooligans stood.

Time had expired in Saturday night’s America East men’s soccer title match, and Scully’s Vermont Catamounts had just dethroned the defending champion Bearcats, 1-0.

Scully, Vermont’s redshirt junior goalkeeper and the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, finished his outburst and met his leaping teammates at midfield. Moments later, Catamounts backfielder Will Haywood had his own parting shot to offer the Hooligans, Binghamton’s student-fan section: the crotch chop, the signature move of the WWE’s D-Generation X that delivers an equally crude message.

‘[Vermont’s] pissed off at us for various reasons,’ said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco before the match. ‘They’re bringing their ‘A’ game to play against us because of maybe who we are, what we stand for [and] how we play.’

In AE men’s soccer, all Binghamton has stood for is winning, with a finals appearance every year dating to 2003. Last season the Bearcats defeated Vermont twice, including a 1-0 decision in the championship match at the old West Gym Field.

It was that championship match that was still under Haywood and Scully’s skin.

With Binghamton and Vermont scoreless in the final minute of the first overtime period, Haywood illegally took down Binghamton forward Bryan Arnault in the box. On the ensuing penalty kick, Binghamton midfielder Barry Neville beat Scully for the game-winning goal, sending the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament and ending Vermont’s season.

Long after Binghamton’s fans had rushed the field and taunted him up close that afternoon, Haywood was the last to leave the field, tearily and grudgingly walking away. His penalty cost the Catamounts a title run and the majority of the 2,078 in attendance Saturday night wouldn’t let him ‘ or Scully ‘ forget it.

‘You going to cry again!?’ the Hooligans rhetorically yelled to Haywood.

Every time Scully had a goal kick, a roar started that climbed in decibels until Scully struck the ball, when a choral ‘YOU SUCK!’ would ring out.

‘Hay-wood, Hay-wood, Hay-wood,’ the Hooligans chanted, disparagingly drawing out each syllable.

When time had finally run out, however, Scully and Haywood were on top. After all the verbal abuse, they had their revenge. Their team had stuck it to the Bearcats and they decided to stick it to the Hooligans.

And on some level, you can understand why Scully and Haywood lashed out: at some point, being called ugly over and over by a group of fans (a group that Scully and Haywood likely would contend was out of control) must start to grate on you. But it remains a classless display that Marco would never allow of his players and one that the America East commissioner Patrick Nero should not condone.

‘We continuously address sportsmanship with our athletic directors, our coaches and our student athletes on expected behaviors,’ Nero said. ‘But I won’t comment on particular issues brought to light because at this time I’m not aware of them.’

Marco felt the incident was a byproduct of the heat of the moment.

‘I didn’t see it so I couldn’t really comment on it, but obviously you don’t like anyone to behave in that manner,’ Marco said. ‘I would like to think that Roger and Will just perhaps got caught in the moment of competitiveness ‘ I thought it was a wonderful college environment, one of the best I’ve seen as a spectator, as a coach or a player.’

Binghamton senior back Adam Chavez didn’t see Scully or Haywood’s actions either, but said that going after the spectators wasn’t right.

‘A celebration’s fine, but doing something extreme like that takes away from the fun of the game,’ Chavez said. ‘They made an attack on the fans and the fans had nothing to do with the actual game.’

All season long, the Hooligans have come out in the cold to the BSC. There’s a reason that Binghamton won each of its seven home games leading up to the finals and collectively outscored the visitors 17-1.

Said one Bearcat of playing in front of the Hooligans: ‘It really is like heaven.’

For better or worse, the next time Scully and Haywood play in front of the Hooligans, you can be sure they’ll be given hell.