At the dawn of a new rivalry, the Binghamton men’s soccer team has spent the past week training and preparing for its clash with UMass Lowell, a Saturday evening homecoming match at the Bearcats Sports Complex.
With UMass Lowell joining the America East just this season, Saturday’s game will mark the first time the two teams square off as conference opponents.
In their last match, the Bearcats (2-7-2, 0-1 America East) opened AE play with a 2-0 loss to Vermont after the Catamounts scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The Bearcats kept pace with Vermont in the first half, launching five shots to the Catamounts’ seven, but were plagued by missed opportunities in front of the net.
“We played pretty well in the first half and I was disappointed at halftime,” head coach Paul Marco said. “I didn’t show it to the guys, I told them that they were playing quite well, but I was disappointed that we didn’t have one goal on the board because we had created enough chances to get one.”
Junior forward Steven Celeste, who leads BU in 2013 with two goals and 13 shots, fired three shots in the opening nine minutes of the game, but was unable to convert.
In practice, the Bearcats are doing everything they can to make sure that they’ll be ready to take advantage when they get opportunities in front of the goal.
“I would say that our strikers probably finished over 200 balls this week each,” Marco said. “So it will not be from a lack of practice if we struggle again in front of goal. I don’t see that happening this weekend. If we create the opportunities, I see our guys banging them into the back of the net.”
The Binghamton offense, which has mustered just one goal in its past three games, is still searching for a focal point. According to Marco, there are a number of potential candidates who seem poised to fill the role.
“[Four] names jump out at me right now from this week’s training,” Marco said. “Steven Celeste and [sophomore Midfield] Luca Bottoni have had a terrific week of training. I think [freshman forward] Alex [Varkatzas] and [redshirt freshman forward] Logan [Roberts] have had good sessions, too. So I think that one of those four guys probably will be the guy, but I wouldn’t pass a couple of midfielders like [junior] Ben [Nicholson] and [senior] Marts [Reid-Warden] have shown that they could score goals, so it could be one of them.”
UMass Lowell is currently stuck in a three-game losing skid. The River Hawks (2-10-0, 0-1 AE) fell to New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2-0, on Wednesday night, after suffering a 1-0 defeat to New Hampshire on Saturday in their America East debut.
“I would say that this is a team that their record is not indicative of how they play,” Marco said of UMass Lowell. “They’re similar to us — they’re a bit unlucky in front of goal. They’re creating chances.”
“I expect a tight game,” Marco added. “I expect a great crowd and I expect a response from our team.”
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.