Men’s Soccer Stopped at Binghamton

BINGHAMTON — The men’s soccer team came up short against Binghamton on Saturday, losing to the Bearcats, 3-0. Binghamton (7-2) came into the match ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA Northeast Region, two spots above Cornell (5-2), and made the most of its opportunities.
Sophomore forward Cameron Keith scored three goals for Binghamton, and four different players had assists in the rout.
The Bearcats struck first after 20 minutes of play, and Cornell couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities. The goal was scored by Keith, his first of the season.
The game remained 1-0 until late in the second half, when Keith tallied his second goal of the game. The Scotland nativ e added his and his team’s third just two minutes later to put the game well out of reach. It was the first hat trick for a Bearcats player since the school joined Division I.
Cornell faced a constant flood of cheers and taunts as Binghamton boasted a record attendance of 1,862 fans in their debut game in a new stadium.
Despite the score of 3-0, the Cornell players held their heads up.
Shots on goal could not have predicted or explained the disparate score as Cornell and Binghamton recorded 11 and 12 shots, respectively. Fouls, on the other hand, seem to have a more prescient nature. Binghamton recorded 19, while Cornell mustered only five whistles.
Binghamton had done its homework and was prepared for the Red. The Bearcats individually marked both Brian Kuritzky and sophomore Matt Bouraee in an attempt to shut down the goal-scoring pair. This kind of defense opened up the field for junior Dana Flanders and other attackers to get a few chances in front of the net. None of these chances, however, were finished by the Red.
“It was especially tough to score with the constant pressure, but eventually we adapted to the style of defending. On the bright side, with a defender always on Matt [Bouraee] and me, there was more space in the field that we could manipulate,” Kuritzky said.
As for game strategy, the Red was intentionally cautious and careful. With the Ivy League opener against Harvard quickly approaching, Cornell wanted to ensure that it was well rested, healthy, and ready to go. With that in mind, some players who were in less-than- ideal condition took this game off.