The last time the Binghamton men’s soccer team took the field against Hartford was in the 2014 America East semifinal. The Bearcats played the Hawks into overtime, but fell, 2-1, ending their season. The outcome of BU’s most recent match-up against Hartford on Saturday, however, was filled with a mix of frustration and success — rather than season-ending despair — as the two teams played to a scoreless draw.
“We had to make sure we were going to put a team out that was going to be competitive enough,” Binghamton head coach Paul Marco said.
The Bearcats (7-5-2, 2-1-1 America East) relied on a relatively young lineup and solid defense to will its way to a 0-0 draw against a relentless Hartford squad. Seeking its first conference victory to remain in the playoff hunt, Hartford (4-5-4, 0-2-2 AE) came out of the gates playing with a sense of urgency. After peppering Binghamton with a few shots that sailed wide, Hartford saw its best chance at opening the scoring come just nine minutes into the game as a deflected ball clanked off the crossbar.
The Bearcats’ stellar midfield play continued to slow down the Hartford attack and created some opportunities for the Binghamton offense. BU looked to work the ball early in the Hawks zone, but could not create strong opportunities on net. Their best chance of the night came in the 26th minute when junior forward Logan Roberts knocked on Hartford’s door with a close strike, but was met with a great save by the Hartford keeper. Roberts’ shot was the second of just four that the Bearcats would register for the entire game, only one of which was on goal.
“I thought we were going to get [good chances] in the game,” Marco said. “We were then shooting the ball from far away or not taking care of it on the final pass.”
While the BU offense could not find its rhythm, the defense continued to stave off the Hawks. A relatively quiet first half gave way to increased Hartford ball pressure, which resulted in a barrage of shots on the Binghamton goal. Most were unsuccessful, though, as it was tough to find a good shooting lane and space to pass the ball close to the net. When the ball did find its way to the goal, junior goalkeeper Robert Moewes made numerous impressive saves to keep the match knotted at zero. He totaled nine saves en route to his fifth solo shutout of the year. Against a potent Hartford squad including senior forward and 2014 America East Conference first-team selection Javoni Simms, any slip-up could have proved costly, but the back four of Binghamton’s defense led a tremendous effort.
In the overtime periods, the crossbar became BU’s saving grace once again. Just over three minutes into the second OT period, Hartford penetrated the Binghamton defense and fired a shot off of the crossbar, coming as close to scoring as they did in the first half. The Bearcats’ last viable scoring opportunity came with five minutes remaining in the game, when they penetrated the Hawks’ zone, but the chance yielded no shot at the target.
Although hampered by a 20-4 shot disadvantage, the Bearcats escaped with another point in the America East standings, capping a successful road trip. The tie provides the team with some momentum heading into a pivotal match-up at home against last season’s conference champion, UMBC.
“I see us being good again on Saturday,” Marco said. “UMBC is going to be a very difficult game again, and when we create our chances, we’ll have to do well with them.”
The Bearcats will look to remain atop the standings and send their seniors out with a win when they are set to return to action with a Senior Day contest against UMBC. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.