CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Three points separate the top five teams in the America East men's soccer standings following four ultra-competitive contests on Wednesday.
Shaun Taylor scored the lone goal in the eighth minute to lead Boston
University (6-5-2 overall, 3-1-0 America East) to its third straight
shutout victory, a 1-0 decision over Maine (3-7-2, 0-3-1) at Alumni Field.
Binghamton
(7-3-3, 2-1-0) dealt Hartford (7-3-3, 3-1-0) its first conference defeat in Vestal, N.Y. Justin Leskow scored the only goal of the contest in the 52nd minute and goalkeeper Jason Stenta made the lead stand with five saves in the 1-0 Bearcat victory.
In Burlington, Vt., Vermont (6-2-5, 1-0-1) and New Hampshire (6-3-3, 1-2-0) played to to a 0-0 double-overtime tie at Centennial Field. UNH goalkeeper Colin O'Donnell made five stops, while Roger Scully made two saves for the Catamounts, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games.
In Albany, N.Y., Stony Brook (2-10-2, 0-2-1) battled the Great Danes (8-3-1, 2-1-1), to a 0-0 double-overtime draw. Steward Ceus made six saves to record a shutout for the Great Danes, while Dawid Ditrich stopped six shots for the Seawolves, who snapped a five-game losing streak with the effort.
Halfway through the conference slate, Hartford and Binghamton sit atop the standings with nine points apiece. Vermont and Albany are tied for third with seven points each, while Binghamton follows in fifth with four points in just three games. New Hampshire (3), Maine (1), UMBC (1) and Stony Brook (1) round out the standings.
Conference action continues on Saturday as Binghamton hosts Vermont in a rematch of last year's America East Championship game. The game, which is at 7 p.m., will be televised in New York on Time Warner Cable. Also on Saturday, Boston U. travels to UNH and Albany hosts UMBC in 1 p.m. starts. Stony Brook welcomes Maine on Sunday at 1 p.m.