The Stony Brook men’s soccer team was unable to find the back of the net in 110 minutes of play against the Binghamton Bearcats at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Saturday evening.
Senior forward Vince Erdei had the team’s best chance of winning the game with under 10 seconds left in the first overtime period. Senior defender Barnabas Mako took a free kick and Erdei was able to connect with the ball just behind the penalty mark in Binghamton’s box.
The forward was able to get his head on the ball, but his header sailed over the crossbar and the first overtime period came to an end. The second overtime period went scoreless as well, and for the second straight game, the Seawolves tied.
“I thought [the team] worked really hard tonight,” head coach Ryan Anatol said. “I thought we had chances to get a result, but it’s good to get a point, we got something out of it.”
The Seawolves were able to secure one point in conference play due to a 0-0 tie against the Bearcats. The team battled through two regulation and two overtime periods and was unable to score, beginning its conference play with a 0-0-1 record.
However, the Seawolves were playing shorthanded.
Several key players did not play or did not start against Binghamton. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Tom McMahon missed his third straight game because of an apparent leg injury he suffered back in a game against Bryant on Sept. 16. Fifth year defender Lars Togstad did not play for the second straight contest due to an unspecified reason.
“We do have a few guys banged up right now,” Anatol said. “To be able to have a good performance and get a point out of it, I’m proud of the guys.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Braham made his third career start for Stony Brook with McMahon out, producing his first shutout. He made a total of eight saves, including a game-saving stop with just over one minute remaining in regulation.
The Bearcats controlled possession in the Seawolves’ half of the field, were the more physical team and created several scoring chances in the first half. Even so, Stony Brook led the game 7-6 in shots at halftime due to counterattack opportunities they were unable to convert.
“I thought Binghamton did a good job in the first half,” Anatol said. “Tactically, they did some things that were working for them. But our guys competed and battled. We got into the half 0-0, and I thought the guys did a good job staying with it.”
The Seawolves started to look like their usual dominant selves from halftime to the end of regulation. The team started controlling the ball and began to resemble the team who went on a five-game unbeaten streak earlier in the season. The only issue was that they were unable to score.
Stony Brook finished the game with a 9-8 edge in shots on goal on 23 total shots while Binghamton took 14 total shots. It was the seventh time in 10 contests this season where Stony Brook took more than 20 shots. Their record in those contests before tonight was 3-1-3.
“It was a competitive game tonight,” Anatol said. “It went into overtime, and yeah, we’re a little disappointed that we were unable to get the three points. But I’m really proud of the effort from the guys.”
Ties have become a recent trend for Stony Brook, as the team has tied three of their last six contests so far this year. With a few days off, Stony Brook will look to secure another win when it takes on non-conference opponent Sacred Heart on Tuesday. Oct. 3 at LaValle Stadium at 7 p.m..
