Junior forward Ben Ovetsky stood just off the field Wednesday night, lamenting the Binghamton men’s soccer team’s bad luck in its 1-1 tie against Cornell. He ruffled his hair, wondering aloud if it looked all right before his first ever postgame interview.
Such interviews usually feature a recurring cast of Binghamton players — sophomore midfielder Harrison Weilbacher and the team’s two captains, senior back Zach Galluzzo and redshirt junior back and midfielder Charlie Novoth. But with two goals in the last three games for BU (3-1-3), Ovetsky found himself as the center of attention instead.
“We hit the crossbar a couple of times, we felt like we had more of the possession, we were unlucky today but it was also a fair result,” Ovetsky said.
This season, Ovetsky has played an increasingly important role, starting in six of Binghamton’s seven games. After senior forward Alex Varkatzas suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month, Ovetsky left his usual spot at midfield for a spot on the front line. Now, with minor injuries to sophomore forward Nikos Psarras and senior forward Logan Roberts, Ovetsky’s contributions thus far will likely keep him there.
“Ben [Ovetsky], in moments, has been outstanding and perhaps one of our best players,” said BU head coach Paul Marco. “His next level will be a little more consistency throughout the match. We need to find him a little bit more. Obviously, he’s a guy we are now leaning on to get us goals.”
Down 1-0 early in the second half, Ovetsky found the ball at his feet after a blocked shot from Weilbacher. He rifled the game-tying goal past Big Red (0-3-2) freshman goalkeeper Ryan Shellow in the 58th minute.
“My teammates set up the goal and made it very easy for me,” Ovetsky said. “It was great in front of a nice crowd here at Binghamton.”
After that, the Bearcats squandered chance after chance. Weilbacher’s shot from outside the box faded just wide late in the second half. In extra time, sophomore midfielder Miles Burbank struck a powerful shot that hit the crossbar, while Novoth missed a scoring chance wide when he emerged from a scrum with two Cornell defenders with the ball in front of the net.
Still seeking its first win of the season, Cornell struck first. Freshman forward George Pedlow’s header from senior midfielder Madison Heck’s corner made it 1-0 after 51 minutes.
Binghamton’s back line is the most experienced part of its roster, featuring two seniors and two sophomores. The Bearcats’ defensive experience, though, offered them little cover. The goal was their third allowed off a corner kick in two games.
“They didn’t know the ball was coming in the box,” Marco said. “I’m disappointed in our awareness and our alertness more than anything.”
While the Bearcats missed chances late in the game, they created few in the first. Binghamton took just two shots in the half, neither of which were on goal.
“The match was a difficult one for us; we made it more complicated than I thought we needed it to be,” Marco said. “We didn’t play very well in the first half and it took us until overtime until we really started to play well.”
Although the Bearcats kept Cornell from tallying its first win of the season, they left the field feeling fatigued and disappointed.
“You could see it in the body language of all our guys, they feel like we let ourselves down today,” Marco said. “Just an average performance from us and we need to be better than what we were tonight.”
Binghamton is set to return to the field on Sunday against Columbia. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium in New York, New York.