Men's Soccer Falls to Binghamton in OT
November 2, 2005 | Men's Soccer
VESTAL, N.Y. ??? The Boston University men???s soccer team (6-8-3 overall, 2-3-3 America East) fell to Binghamton (11-4-3 overall, 4-2-2 America East), 1-0, in overtime in a regular season-ending rematch of last year???s conference championship game in which the Terriers overcame the Bearcats by means of a penalty-kick shootout. Binghamton clinched third place in America East with its first-ever win over BU, while the Terriers finished sixth and will travel back to Binghamton for an America East first-round match-up on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Although the Terriers needed a win or a tie to clinch a spot in the playoffs, a New Hampshire defeat of Hartford (2-0) granted BU the No. 6 seed.
Once again the conditions played a pivotal role in the outcome of the game, as the Bearcats??? lone goal was scored midway through the first overtime after the extremely muddy field caused both a Terrier defender and goalkeeper Zach Riffett (Brenham, Texas) to lose their footing. For BU, it was the third consecutive game in which the Terriers were unable to find the back of the net.
???It was the same old inability to score goals,??? said BU Head Coach Neil Roberts. ???Hopefully it???s something we can resolve by Saturday. We need to score goals and play more dangerously.???
Following a scoreless 90 minutes, in which BU was out shot 17-8, the Bearcats put the Terriers to rest in the 93rd minute after BU???s Zach Kirby (Marietta, Ga.) slipped and lost possession of the ball in the midfield. Binghamton???s Bryan Arnault picked up the loose ball and sent a 25-yard pass to Peter Squeglia, who quickly dribbled up the field. Riffett came out of the goal to stop the breakaway opportunity, but lost his footing and managed only to get a hand on the ball in vain, as it sped to the lower left corner of the net for the game-winner at 92:21.
Riffett made five saves in net for BU, while Ryan Bertoni, the nation???s 14th-best goaltender with a .626 goals-against average as of Oct. 30, stopped two shots for Binghamton. The Bearcats held the 6-3 corner-kick advantage.
In other America East action, Albany blanked Maine, 2-0, for the No. 5 seed, and Stony Brook topped UMBC, 3-2, in double overtime for the regular-season championship.
The Terriers will again face the Bearcats on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the first round of the America East tournament.
