Bearcats score two first-half goals to secure victory
9/2/21 by Joe Tonetti
Photo provided by Harry Karpen, Photography Editor
Midway into the first half of play, the Binghamton men’s soccer team’s pressure on St. Bonaventure began to open up the away side’s defense. As the Bonnies scrambled to hold the run of junior midfielder Ethan Homler, junior midfielder Sean Molloy slotted the ball into the feet of his running teammate. Taking the pass in his stride, Homler struck the ball past the left side of the keeper to give the Bearcats a 27th-minute lead.
However, the Binghamton attack wasn’t finished. In the 33rd minute, redshirt sophomore midfielder Anthony Lazaridis picked up the ball on the left flank of the Bonnies’ end. Navigating his way into the 18-yard box, Lazaridis found room among a crowd of defenders to cut in on his right foot and score an unassisted second goal for the Bearcats.
“I think the goal shows my style of play and how I like to play,” Lazaridis said. “Me and [Homler] press hard all the time, and to get a goal out of that shows what we want to do and how we want to play.”
While the Bearcats managed to come away with a win, the Bonnies went down fighting. A 60th-minute goal by St. Bonaventure put BU back on edge throughout the remainder of the second half despite the 2-1 Binghamton victory.
“I thought as the first half went on, our guys looked more to go directly to goal,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco. “They kind of got away from the game plan and tried to hit the ball that leads to a goal directly rather than try to probe the ball, open up the opponent, set [us] up … Thought we got a little selfish.”
The tense second half saw six shots fired from the Binghamton (2-0-0) side without one converted into a goal. The Bonnies (0-1-0) nearly matched the Bearcats’ pressure, tallying five shots of their own. Homler said the Bearcats had begun to get complacent.
“[We had] a solid start,” Homler said. “Toward the end of the first half, we slowed down, weren’t moving the ball as fast and got a little complacent.”
Despite the second-half performance from the Bearcats, they still managed to come away with a victory, marking their second straight win this season. BU has not opened with a 2-0-0 record since 2017.
“In the past, we usually start with a win and our next three or four games we end up losing,” Homler said. “Right now we’re focusing on taking it one game at a time.”
Although Homler and Lazaridis decorated the scoresheet, junior goalkeeper Mats Roorda was crucial on the defensive end for BU. Roorda tallied six saves against the Bonnies with five coming in the first half. Guarded by sophomore defender Will Noecker and junior defender Michael Bush, Roorda kept the Bearcats in the game despite conceding a second-period goal.
Unable to earn a goal for Binghamton against St. Bonaventure was graduate student midfielder Noah Luescher. The Bearcat recorded four shots with two of them on goal.
Although Luescher failed to score for the second game in a row, the Binghamton team still rallied behind his presence near the St. Bonaventure box.
“I thought the energy was great,” Marco said. “[Luescher] did a really good job leading the group.”
Binghamton is slated to take on five straight games on the road. Marco sees the Bearcats’ nonconference schedule as an opportunity to prepare for the America East tournament.
“The focus this preseason has been trying to improve the soccer piece as well as a mental piece,” Marco said. “We’re starting to see those improvements, but only time will tell. We’ll see how we do in the next few games.”
To begin their string of away matchups, the Bearcats are scheduled to take on Niagara University on Friday, Sep. 3. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Niagara Field in Niagara Falls, New York.
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