Last season, for the first time since 2008, the Binghamton men’s soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the America East playoffs. Despite being ranked seventh of eight in the AE preseason poll, the Bearcats carried the third seed into the postseason tournament before being bested in overtime by Hartford.
BU has once again been predicted to finish seventh of eight in 2015. This season, however, the Bearcats will field a team that includes 16 newcomers, more than any other team in program history. For a squad with such a large number of new players, an adjustment period can be expected, but Binghamton must adjust quickly to have a shot at besting last year’s 3-4 conference record.
“It is going to take some time, obviously, but I think that we’ve got some pretty sophisticated soccer players that we’ve brought in,” head coach Paul Marco said. “The growth rate and the strength and the level of competitiveness that our young guys can actually bring to the game may be a deciding factor for us.”
Returning players are also set to play important roles in BU’s 2015 campaign. Leading the Bearcat defense will be 2014 AE Goalkeeper of the Year, Robert Moewes, who was recently named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List. In 2014, the standout sophomore was second in the conference with 73 saves, including 11 in an outing against nationally ranked opponent Syracuse.
Junior back Zach Galluzo, who played in 15 matches last season and was named to the America East All-Tournament team, will also help shore up the Bearcat defense. Senior midfielder Tucker Sandercock, as well as junior midfielders Mike Kubik and Connor Nealis, will round out BU’s backline. Freshman midfielder and Munich, Germany native Kevin Flesch is also set to compete for a staring spot in the backfield.
Offensively, the Bearcats will look for production from junior forwards Logan Roberts and Alex Varkatzas as well as graduate forward Pascal Trappe — a trio that combined to score four goals in 2014.
“Having Pascal and Tucker back will help us from a maturity standpoint,” Marco said. “I think that they will have to take on some roles that the two of them perhaps didn’t have to fill in the past. They’ve had some injuries for the last year, but both seem to be quite healthy and very hungry to play, so I’m just thrilled to have the two of them back again.”
The group is tasked with improving an offense that scored just 16 goals and took a conference-worst 178 shots last season. Despite winning three AE contests, the Bearcats were outshot by their conference opponents in all but two matches.
Amid many new faces, this BU squad aims to once again eclipse expectations and contend when the postseason arrives.
“We want to make it deep into the playoffs,” Marco said. “We want to be playing at Thanksgiving time. Those are lofty goals right now, for where we currently are, but I do feel like this group is going to come along.”
On Friday, Binghamton kicked off its season with a 2-0 loss to Wright State in the opening round of the Bert & Ira Wolstein Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The Bearcats, who started seven newcomers, conceded both goals within three minutes of each other during the second half and were outshot 19-7. Goalkeeper Robert Moewes recorded double-digit saves (10) for the second time in his career. Binghamton faced off against tournament hosts Ohio State on Sunday. Results of the contest were not available at the time of production. Visit bupipedream.com/sports/soccer for full coverage of the Bert & Ira Wolstein Classic.