Even with Binghamton’s mercurial weather, it’s not supposed to snow in August. But ahead of the Binghamton men’s soccer team’s first practice, a snowball fight took place in the bowels of the Events Center.
True to meteorological reality, the snowballs were just paper, each marked by a player with a fact about themselves. And with nine freshmen on the roster, the icebreaker may have been more necessary this year than ever before. BU head coach Paul Marco calls this year’s team the youngest he’s had in his 20 years as a head coach.
The large incoming class replaces a group of seniors that led the Bearcats to their best season since 2008, including a victory against No. 28 Ohio State and a trip to the America East (AE) championship game.
Two-time AE Goalkeeper of the Year Robert Moewes left Binghamton, after graduating, to play out his eligibility and pursue a graduate degree at Duke. Last year’s leading scorer, forward Pascal Trappe, is also gone after tallying six goals — the highest total of any Binghamton player in a season since 2012. Midfielder Tucker Sandercock and back Bret Celeste also graduated. Both were key players whose defensive presence will be missed.
With a year of collegiate play already under its belt, Marco hopes the 10-member sophomore class will pick up the burden left by the graduating seniors.
“The great news is that a lot of those sophomores played significant minutes last year,” he said. “The growth of the team has been quite good. The spirit of the team has been terrific. The enthusiasm in which the guys have gone down to the field with, and even doing fitness tests, has been great. So yeah, we are going to miss Pascal and Robert, but we’ll be a little different.”
Sophomore Harrison Weilbacher will take over Trappe’s spot at forward, where Marco expects him to be able to cover more ground. Weilbacher played in every one of the team’s 20 games last season, starting in 19 of them and finishing the season with a team-high five assists.
The decision of how to replace Moewes in the net will be tougher. None of the four goalkeepers on the roster have played in a collegiate game. Ahead of the season opener, a starter has yet to be named.
“We have four freshmen [goalkeepers] on the team, all fighting for the right to play,” Marco said. “Robert [Moewes] was terrific for us; he was such a good leader on the field and his intensity was terrific. You get goalkeepers who can make great saves or have great distribution, and I think we have that in our goalkeepers. They’re going to have to grow quickly with confidence and courage and that is something that Robert excelled at.”
Redshirt junior back Charlie Novoth and redshirt sophomore forward Isaiah Barrett, the latter of whom was named the AE All-Rookie team, both lost last season to injury. This year, they will be expected to play major roles on the young team.
“I’m 100 percent; I played all summer in Florida,” Novoth said. “I played 14 out of 16 games there. I’m fully prepared for everything, better than ever.”
Novoth will serve as captain alongside senior back Zach Galluzzo. Novoth and Galluzzo will provide a veteran presence on the back line alongside sophomore Kevin Flesch as the Bearcats adjust to a new goalkeeper.
“The challenge for us is going to be how can we move through some of those simple mistakes that we are going to make early in the season, and can we stay together when it gets a littler harder?” Marco said. “By conference play, hopefully, we have everything going in the right direction.”
Binghamton will open its season on Friday against Canisius. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.