Coming off a 1-0 win in the first of a three-game road stretch, the Binghamton men’s soccer team continued its hot streak by rallying for a 2-1 victory at Iona on Saturday afternoon. BU struggled offensively in the first half with zero total shots as they trailed 1-0 but jumpstarted its offense with 10 shots in the second half to capture their first comeback win of the year — scoring the game-winning goal with only 37 seconds left in the match.

“I think maybe in the first half we were a little timid,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco. “Maybe we gave them a little too much time on the ball [and] couldn’t really get a rhythm going. The tempo of the game wasn’t what we wanted. We changed the shape of the team, and had some higher starting positions in the second half and the guys embraced it.”

Iona’s (1-3-2) defense quickly shut down the Binghamton (4-3-1) attack, while its midfield controlled the possession game early in the match. Iona was first to register an offensive chance, getting off a shot from a corner kick opportunity in the fifth minute. The Gaels, despite dominating the offensive game, struggled to create scoring opportunities. By the 18th minute, they already had three offensive runs shut down by offside calls. Their scoring woes were quick to end, however, as they got on the board in the 21st minute.

“We moved from a 4-4-2 [formation to a 4-2-3-1 formation],” Marco said. “We tried to be a little bit more direct. We were good on the counterattack in the first half, we had the goal get called back for an office. There were five

reviews in the game and all five went against us, which is a bit unlucky.”

The Gaels regained possession off the BU kickoff, and a minute later, they rattled off another shot attempt. The Bearcats made three substitutions in the next minute, but they continued to struggle with Iona’s counterattack, allowing another shot attempt in the 23rd minute. Iona’s inability to stay onside continued to plague the Gaels, as they had three more attacking opportunities called back by the end of the half.

The Bearcats flipped the script on the Gaels in the second half of play, quickly creating a goal-scoring opportunity that ended with a shot on goal by graduate student midfielder Tom Cohen. BU continued its offensive pressure with sophomore forward/midfielder Marcus Nahim getting off his only shot of the night in the 51st minute. The next 25 minutes of play saw both squads trading shots, with the Gaels and Bearcats rattling off four attempts each. Both squads’ defenses, however, stood strong, keeping the game locked at 1-0.

“I mean it was absolutely a terrific second-half performance from our guys,” Marco said. “We were pretty good in the first half but in the second half our guys were outstanding. Two really good goals. One of them was spectacular, perhaps the goal of the season.”

In the 80th minute, the tide began to turn in Binghamton’s favor as they were awarded a needed corner kick. Iona’s defense headed the cross out to the edge of the box and toward the feet of freshman forward DT Megliola, whose ensuing shot bounced off the leg of an Iona defender and toward redshirt sophomore back Cailen Thomas, who flicked the ball past the Iona goalkeeper with his back to the net for the game-tying goal. In the final minute of play, Thomas controlled a lob from senior back Carlo Cavalar, one-touch passed it to the feet of junior back Luke Yates, who blasted it into the upper left corner for his second game-winning goal of the season. When the final whistle blew, the Bearcats came out on top 2-1.

“I think that the guys now have a belief that’s ‘let’s play until the last minute of the game because maybe we can get a goal at the last minute,’” Marco said. “We’ve now scored four late goals to get wins, so the belief is very high in the team in the second half.”

Binghamton will look to tie its 2023-24 campaign win-total at Saint Peter’s University on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Joseph J. Jaroschak Field in Jersey City, New Jersey.