With the departure of top scorer Jake Keegan, the Binghamton men’s soccer team knew the biggest question heading into 2013 would be on the source of scoring. And after failing to find the back of the net in each of their first two contests, the Bearcats seemed destined for a season riddled with goose eggs.
But three games and three positive results later, Binghamton is finding its offense identity and finally capitalizing on opportunities in front of the goal.
“I’ve said all along it’s going to take us a little bit of time to figure out who will be the goal scorer,” head coach Paul Marco said. “We graduated [Keegan], the top goal scorer that we’ve had in our Division I history, so filling those shoes won’t be easy.”
Whereas the 2012 Bearcats thrived on Keegan’s individual success, this year’s squad has no distinct focal point on the offensive end. Instead, this season’s offense is operating by committee.
Binghamton can’t replace Keegan, but it can recreate him through coordinated efforts on the attack and cohesion on the opposition’s side of the pitch.
On media day in August, senior midfielder Tommy Moon, who leads the team with eight shots taken, envisioned a similar game plan for BU’s offense.
“It’s not going to come from one player,” Moon said. “One player is not going to magically start producing goals. It’s going to be bits and pieces from here and there … It’s going to be a total team effort and I think if everybody can help out, it’ll be huge.”
To match the output of last season’s offense, this year’s team will have to be more precise when given scoring chances. For a young team that includes nine new faces, precision and fluidity will only follow when the team is given enough time to mesh.
“Could we finish more opportunities? Of course,” Marco said. “We could finish every one of them. But we created some great opportunities [during Friday night’s 2-0 win against Buffalo], scored two goals, we hit the post and the crossbar each, so, overall, I’m pleased with the effort we’re getting.”
Through five games last season, Keegan represented more than half of BU’s offensive output, scoring five of the team’s first eight goals. Through five games in 2013, all three Bearcat goals have been scored by different players (Moon, junior forward Steven Celeste and senior back Robbie Hughes).
Similarly, six Bearcats have taken at least four shots, while none have taken more than eight in the team’s effort to share the wealth.
Five games into the season, BU’s offense already seems to be performing at a higher level than it did on opening night.
“I think we’ve just grown a little bit as a team,” Celeste said after Friday night’s win. “We’ve come together a little bit. We got tougher as a group … and we showed a lot of heart the past couple of games.”
The Bearcats can’t be a one-man show if they want to succeed in 2013, but they already understand that it’s the cohesion of their ensemble cast that will make or break their season.