SB dropped their season finale at home on Saturday, Oct. 3, losing 1-0 to Binghamton. The loss dropped SB to 9-7-3 and 3-4-1 in conference. After going undefeated in their first seven home games, SB was not able to record one more victory at home to propel themselves into the playoffs.
The win for Binghamton moved them to 5-3 in conference, and 13-5 overall. With the victory they clinched the regular season America East title.
Dawid Ditrich was back in goal for SB and made six saves. But he was unable to stop a free kick by Barry Neville in the 42nd minute.
Although he picked up the loss in the final game, Head Coach Cesar Markovic was impressed with Ditrich’s body of work through the season. ‘Dawid has been an upgrade. He is a big time keeper,’ Markovic said in an e-mail correspondence.
Yahaya Musa’s attempt in the 89th minute was stopped by Binghamton goalie Jason Stenta, and SB did not get another shot on goal. Stenta made nine saves for Binghamton.
For the season SB had 132 shots of goal, and allowed their opponents only 77. But they finished with an even goal differential, 21-21.
Another telling stat was SB’s 1-3 road conference record, which played a big factor in keeping them out of the playoffs after making the last three America East tournaments. Overall the team was 6-1-2 at home, and 3-6-1 on the road.
Head Coach Cesar Markovic attributed a big reason for playing well at home to the support the team is shown.
‘We get great support at home, particularly from the local youth soccer community. Its a definite plus to play at home,’ he said in the e-mail.
On Nov. 8 the America East Conference announced that Michael Palacio and Yahaya Musa were both named to the America East first team. Defender Mahamadou Simpara was named to the second team, and Maurice Brown and Mark Secko were both named to the All-Rookie team. Petar Rakovic was named to the All-Academic team.
After a 2-1 loss to BU on Oct. 20, Markovic realized his team needed to play better to make the playoffs. ‘The team has not reached its full potential and maybe we will find it at the most crucial time of the season,’ Markovic said. From that point the team went 2-1-1, but it was not enough to get into the post season.
