Men’s soccer beats Albany to extend winning streak

Senior back Austin Hughes scored in the 44th minute, leading Binghamton (6-5-0, 2-0-0 AE) to a 1-0 victory over Albany (2-9-0, 0-2-0 AE) in an America East men’s soccer game on Oct. 6, at the Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany. The victory gives the Bearcats their first three-game winning streak since 2009, as well as their first 2-0-0 start in conference play since 2007.

In addition to its fast conference start, Binghamton has now won five consecutive road games, its best such streak since moving up to the NCAA Division I level in 2001. Furthermore, the Bearcats are now over the .500 mark for the first time since Oct. 31, 2009.

“I thought our guys were up to the challenge tonight.” head coach Paul Marco said. “It was a good competitive match between two longtime rivals. We are happy with the win.”

With just under two minutes left in the first half, senior midfielder Adam Whitehead fired a corner kick into the box. Hughes finished off the play with a header into the net. It was his second goal of the season.

Whitehead now has a team-high five assists this season. It represents the highest single-season total by a Binghamton player since Kyle Kucharski finished the 2009 campaign with six assists.

Hughes’ goal was the highlight of a quiet first half, in which Binghamton held a 3-1 shot advantage.  While the second half was scoreless, scoring chances significantly increased.

In the end, the Bearcats finished with a 9-5 advantage in shots.

Freshman goalkeeper Stefano Frantellizzi made one save in recording the first solo shutout of his career. He shared a shutout with junior Chris Hayen two weeks ago in a 3-0 win at Adelphi.