Bearcats stun Hartford 1-0 on late goal by Bruce

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y.--Junior forward Stephen Bruce (Buckie, Scotland/ Buckie Community) netted an unassisted goal with just 1:37 remaining in regulation, leading Binghamton (8-2-3, 2-1-1 AE) to a 1-0 win at Hartford (8-6-1, 3-2-0 AE) in a critical America East Conference men' soccer game on Wednesday night. The win extends the Bearcats' unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2) and marked the ninth time this season that they have shutout an opponent.

"We were very sharp tonight right from our warmups," head coach Paul Marco said. "We had our chances in the first half and were finally able to get it done late in the game. This is a very big win for us."

Bruce took a pass at midfield from sophomore back Darius Ravangard (Utica, N.Y./ New Hartford), he then went in on a breakway and fired the ball past the Hartford keeper to give the Bearcats the win. It was his fifth goal of the season.

"I got a great pass," Bruce said. "I was able to slip it by the keeper and we all went crazy afater that. I am so happy for the team and the way we are playing right now."

In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Gonet (Refrewshire, Scotland/ Trinity) made two saves in posting his ninth solo shutout of the season. He is now one shutout away from tying Adan Napell's 1987 school record of 10 solo shutouts in a season. In addition, the backline of sophomore Graham Munro (Inverness, Scotland/ Invergordon), seniors Pat Skinner (Conklin, N.Y./ Susquehanna Valley) and James Clancy (Walden, N.Y./ Pine Bush) and junior Ross Campbell (Aberdeenshire, Scotland/Westhill) limited the Hawks to just two shots on goal.

"Stefan and the backline were superb tonight," Marco said. "They kept Hartford from getting many chances to score."

For the game, Binghamton outshot Hartford 11-9.

Binghamton hosts Boston on Saturday at 1 p.m.