The Binghamton men’s soccer team was defeated by William and Mary 2-1 after traveling to Williamsburg, Virginia on Thursday evening for its season-opening match. Despite coming out of the gates hot and getting on the board first, BU was unable to maintain its lead.

“I thought we started quite well,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco. “We have five or six new faces on the team to start. I thought the team came together quite nicely to start. I thought our guys showed pretty good fight … it was a tight game, one where we should probably be walking away with a draw.”

After a scoreless 25 minutes to begin the match, Binghamton (0-1-0) got the scoring started in the 26th minute when graduate student midfielder Jack Green connected with junior forward Mael Lopes, who found the back of the net, giving the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead over the Griffins (1-0-0). However, William and Mary would respond not long after, tying things up at 1-1 at the 38th-minute mark after scoring on a corner kick. Entering halftime, the Bearcats and the Griffs found themselves all tied up at one score apiece.

“We gave up two set-piece goals,” Marco said. “That in itself is disappointing. We gave up a corner to tie the game and a penalty for them to go ahead. We shouldn’t be giving up set-piece goals … we were there to make plays and we didn’t.”

A back-and-forth pace marked the beginning of the second period, as neither team could really get much going. Then, in the 74th minute, a foul was called on graduate student goalkeeper Dylan McDermott, which gave William and Mary a penalty kick and an opportunity to take the lead. McDermott was unable to make the save as the Griffs cashed in on their opportunity to take a 2-1 lead over the Bearcats.

“I thought our guys showed pretty good fight,” Marco said. “We let the game get a little bit away from us right before the penalty. We let the game get a little bit away from us before the penalty. I thought we looked a little tired.”

BU remained unable to get anything going into the second half, eventually being held scoreless for the remainder of the match by the William and Mary defense. When things were all said and done, the Bearcats found themselves on the losing end of things, dropping their season opener to William and Mary 2-1.

“We had a couple of new faces on the field,” Marco said. “Overall I think the guys showed we can start well and play good soccer at times, so it’s certainly something we can build on and try to improve on for sure.”

McDermott finished the match with six saves for the Bearcats. With a bunch of new faces continuing to get accustomed to playing with each other, slowly building chemistry, Marco believes that the team will regroup and aim to look toward the future instead of dwelling on the past.

“I thought [McDermott] made some outstanding saves,” Marco said. “He was very good. He played his part. We’ve had a really good growth in two weeks together so if we can continue to maximize the time we’re together with a growth mindset and a confident positive attitude … it’s more about how we respond to this rather than what actually is going on because we can’t get the game back and I think this group has that in them.”

Binghamton will stay on the road for its next matchup against the defending national champions in Syracuse on Monday, Aug. 28. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium in Syracuse, New York.