The Binghamton men’s soccer team put itself in an early hole Tuesday night at SU Soccer Stadium and, despite an equalizing goal in the second, eventually fell 2-1 in double overtime after Syracuse displayed some late-game heroics.
BU (2-6-2) junior midfielder Ben Nicholson kept the game alive in the second half by netting a rebound goal that sent the teams into double overtime, but Syracuse (7-3) netted the game-winner five minutes into the second overtime period when a rebound in the box fell at freshman midfielder Alex Halis’s feet. The win gave SU its 10th consecutive non-conference win.
Syracuse first scored in the 27th minute of the match. Sophomore midfielder Stefanos Stamoulacatos buried his second goal of the season on a loose ball to the right of the net in order to give the Orange a 1-0 advantage over the Bearcats.
The first 45 minutes of action ended with each team attempting just two shots apiece in a sound defensive effort on both sides, despite SU’s one-goal lead.
In the second half, sophomore goalkeeper Stefano Frantellizzi had his work cut out for him as he faced a barrage of shots on net from Syracuse’s attack. Frantellizzi made a total of seven saves and allowed no goals in the second half.
“[Stefano’s] been a warrior for us,” BU head coach Paul Marco said. “I mean… I’m thoroughly impressed with the ability that he has to carry through and push through some adversity.”
The Bearcat offense was virtually non-existent until Nicholson tied the game in the 78th minute. The goal was his first of the season.
“It was a great goal, I thought that the build up prior to the play was good,” Marco said. “The goalkeeper made a great save and then was smashed into the goal.”
The Bearcats finished regulation with a total of four shots to SU’s 12.
BU headed into the first overtime period with momentum on its side, but couldn’t take advantage as both teams went scoreless in the first 10-minute period.
Five minutes into the second overtime period, Frantellizzi blocked a shot that he had trouble controlling in his own box. With Frantellizzi unable to grip the ball, Halis touched in a shot off the rebound to end the game.
“The ball was struck from such a great distance you know… it was a little wet and could have been a difficult ball for Stef to handle,” Marco said. “I thought we could have done a little bit better with the ball that went to [Halis] and should have done a better job tracking him in the box.”
Halis’s game-winning shot was his third of the season.
Frantellizzi saved a total of nine shots throughout the contest, matching his career-high against George Mason on Sept. 8. Binghamton was outshot 17-6 throughout all play.
“We’ve created a culture where we don’t really look at the result as good or bad, we just move on to the next game,” Marco said.
Binghamton is scheduled to open its America East slate Saturday at Vermont. The Catamounts (6-1-3) come off a 1-1 tie against undefeated Dartmouth on Tuesday, with both goals netted in the second half. The last time the teams met, Vermont took a 1-0 double-overtime victory at the Bearcats Sports Complex, but the teams’ all-time record stands at 5-5-3.
The match will be played at Vermont’s Virtue Field, where the team has been unbeaten this season (4-0-1)
Play is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Burlington, V.T.