Albany, N.Y. ? No. 3 seed Binghamton University, the defending America East Champion, scored three unanswered goals in a eight-minute span to Advance to the America East Men’s Soccer Championship game for the second-straight year with a 3-1 win over No. 2 seed Albany at Varsity Field (Albany, N.Y.).
Albany got on the board first, as senior Savvas Theofilou beat Binghamton goalie Stefan Gonet with a header off of a corner kick coming off the foot of fellow classmate Vadim Ivanyushchenko for a 1-0 lead. Binghamton would tie the game up just before the half, scoring in the 44th minute (43:15) on a goal by sophomore Bryan Arnault, who finished a ball into the left side of the net on a cross from sophomore Joey Neilson.
Binghamton took its first lead of the game five minutes in the second half, getting a goal from two-time America East Defender of the year Graham Munro, who redirected a pass from junior Danilo into the lower left net. The Bearcats would add an insurance goal a minute and a half later (50:17), as senior Charles Darkwah beat Albany goalkeeper Bouna Coundol on the right side on a break to make the score 3-1. Junior Ryan Pierce was credited with the assist.
Gonet made two saves for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats improve to 11-2-7 on the season, while Albany’s season comes to an end with a final mark of 12-4-2.
Binghamton, who in its second trip to the conference championship will go to the finals for the second consecutive year, will have to wait until after semifinal game #2 finishes to know whether they will be hosting or traveling to the Championship game. If No. 1 seeded Boston University beats No. 5 Stony Brook, the Terriers will host, if Stony Brook wins, they will travel to Vestal, N.Y. Either way the game will be played on Sunday, November 14 at 1 p.m.
The America East champion earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championships.
Scoring
Albany-Savvas Theofilou (Vadim Ivanyushchenko), 29:38
Binghamton-Bryan Arnault (Joey Neilson), 43:15
Binghamton-Graham Munro (Danilo), 50:17
Binghamton-Charles Darkwah (Ryan Pierce), 51:48
Shots
Binghamton: 11
Albany: 7
Saves
Binghamton: Stefan Gonet (90:00, 2 saves)
Albany: Bouna Coundol (90:00, 7 saves)