Five goals. That’s more than half of what the Binghamton men’s soccer team scored all season prior to tonight. But that’s how many shots the Bearcats (5-12, 3-3 AE) converted against Stony Brook in their penultimate America East contest, posting a decisive 5-1 victory to secure a berth in the conference tournament.
Binghamton saw offensive contributions from 10 different players and goals from four. The team put up 20 shots to Stony Brook’s 15. That’s not uncommon for the Bearcats: Before tonight, they took 132 shots and produced just nine goals. All but two of their matches were decided by one goal.
But with BU head coach Paul Marco able to field his best team now that it’s healthy – conveniently on Senior Day – the goals should keep coming.
“This is the healthiest our team has been in over two years,” Marco said. “So we now have a lot of players to pick from, competitiveness in training has been outstanding and players have only been getting better in that environment.”
Senior forward Pascal Trappe, sophomore midfielders Bret Celeste and Logan Roberts, and junior midfielder Luca Bottoni each netted a goal en route to tonight’s rout.
Spearheading the effort was Trappe, who only recently returned to the lineup. He spent much of the past three years out on injury and did not participate in a 2014 game until mid October. But in his final game at the Bearcats Sports Complex, the Berlin native contributed six of the team’s 20 shots – including his first collegiate goal – and was an integral component to many others.
“He was outstanding today. He has such ability on the ball and his vision is outstanding,” Marco said. “So when he gets it, everybody has to be ready because he can do anything he wants with the ball.”
Trappe’s 81st minute goal electrified the Bearcats, opening a 10-minute period that saw Binghamton’s lead jump from one to four. With the score at 2-1, Trappe finished a cross from graduate student midfielder Tommy Moon, shooting it past the keeper with a touch from the outside of his foot.
“It’s really good to come out and play again. After the three years, it was tough to get back again, especially because I had a lot of setbacks this season, as well,” Trappe said. “It was just a good feeling to celebrate with the team finally,” he added.
The goal solidified the go-ahead Roberts headed in during the second half’s first minute. After Celeste’s sliding 12th minute goal, in which he capitalized on a rebound off a free kick, the team lulled.
Stony Brook (4-12-1, 2-4 AE) pieced together its equalizer in the 32nd minute. Junior midfielder Alejandro Fritz beat BU sophomore keeper Robert Moewes, who was charging for the save, and chipped the ball into the net. The Seawolves continued to hammer the BU backline, dismantling their hosts’ early 5-0 shot advantage and evening it out to 8-7 by the half.
“We scored early and then all of a sudden it was like we just stopped playing,” Marco said.
But Roberts, firing the ball into the far corner off a cross from senior midfielder Tucker Sandercock – another newly healthy Bearcat – reestablished the lead Celeste built, 2-1.
After Trappe’s goal, BU’s fourth score was an own goal from an SBU defender. Bottoni then netted the team’s fifth goal in the 88th minute. Roberts was credited with an assist on the play.
Sophomore keeper Robert Moewes and the BU defense were equally effective. Moewes collected four saves, with one in the 67th minute that especially impressed Marco. After a Seawolves corner kick, freshman forward Fernando Wadskier headed the ball towards the left corner of the goal, but Moewes deftly dove to deflect the shot, and the defense flushed it out.
“I reacted and got a touch on it, and then the defender cleared it,” Moewes explained. “It was important that the defender was paying attention; if not, [Stony Brook] could have gotten a second shot.”
Being the final home contest of the season, the team honored its graduating players prior to kickoff. The six seniors – back Derrick Ladeairous, forwards Steven Celeste, Pascal Trappe and Vlad Finn, and midfielder Matt McCoy and Alan Duff – as well as graduate student midfielder Tommy Moon, all took the field with their families for recognition.
Next up on the Bearcats’ schedule is their final regular season matchup against Albany. The Great Danes (3-8-6, 1-4-1 AE) sit in seventh in conference standings. The Bearcats just secured fourth.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bob Ford Field in Albany.