After scoring the game-winning goal on Tuesday night, junior back Zach Galluzzo celebrated by attempting a backflip, but fell short — landing on his hands and knees. Fortunately for the Binghamton men’s soccer team (5-2-0), this was the most profound shortcoming Galluzzo had in Binghamton’s 2-1 victory over Siena (0-5-2), in which he tallied both goals and made a series of impressive defensive plays.
Binghamton got on the board early, opening the score in the 15th minute. Galluzzo connected with graduate student midfielder Pascal Trappe’s floated cross, heading the ball through the Siena net for his first goal of the season.
Freshman forward Nikos Psarras nearly scored a second goal only minutes afterward. The striker burst past multiple Saints defenders, but his shot was saved by sophomore keeper Nick Mancini.
Siena’s dormant offense, which had taken just two shots in the opening 40 minutes of play, came alive just before the end of the first half, when two Siena shots forced junior goalkeeper Robert Moewes into a pair of impressive saves.
At the start of the second half, the Bearcats managed to regain control. Freshman midfielder Harrison Weilbacher came close to doubling Binghamton’s advantage, firing junior forward Logan Roberts’ cross narrowly wide of the post. Minutes later, Weilbacher skillfully evaded almost the entire Siena defense, weaving into the penalty box and forcing Mancini to make another save.
Siena rebounded from Binghamton’s onslaught and began to dominate possession for the first time in the match midway through the second half. Their impressive spell culminated in a 61st minute equalizer, when junior forward Junior Rosero tapped in a well-placed cross from senior forward Tom Allen.
Following the contest, BU head coach Paul Marco likened Galluzzo to “a superhero,” and in the end, it was the energetic left back who came to the Bearcats’ rescue. Weilbacher looped a corner into the box in the 73rd minute and Galluzzo rose over the Siena defense to power in a towering header. The goal was celebrated by Galluzo’s acrobatic routine, which he later revealed had been planned.
“Two years ago I saw [former Bearcat defender] Ben Nicholson had done it,” Galluzo said. “He’s got a picture up somewhere on campus and I kinda thought maybe I could get one.”
Galluzo’s two-goal performance marked the first time a Bearcat has scored twice in the same match since standout forward Jake Keegan did so in 2012.
Both goals were a result of set pieces, an aspect of play Binghamton has been working hard on in practice.
“We work on set pieces as much as possible,” Marco said. “We worked on them this morning, before we came in to report for the game. I thought the set pieces we’ve been putting in lately were creating enough for us to get goals, but we weren’t really putting them away like we did tonight.”
Siena managed to put the ball in the back of the net again in the 84th minute, but their joy was short-lived. The goal was disallowed due to an offsides call and the Binghamton lead was preserved. BU was pegged back by Siena in its own zone during the later stages of the match, but the Bearcats held on for the 2-1 victory.
Statistically, Binghamton led Siena in both shots, 12-11, and saves, 7-3.
“I think any time you win matches, it’s terrific,” Marco said. “I thought that our guys responded quite well after the first goal, I thought then we started to play a little bit. And then obviously to get a second goal was terrific.”
Binghamton is set to face Syracuse on Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium in Syracuse, New York.