In the second-to-last match before the start of Northeast Conference play, the Central Connecticut State men’s soccer team lost 2-1 to the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the CCSU Soccer Field.
Central head coach David Kelly believed that they should have won the game.
“Great effort,” he said. “I thought we were the better team. We bested them in every single category except one. But we got to find a way to take the effort we’re putting into games and get the result.”
Junior forward Anthony Catanzaro scored the Blue Devils’ lone goal in the 63rd minute, assisted by senior midfielder Alvaro Moros. The goal tied the game 1-1, but Binghamton responded less than 10 minutes later to tie the game.
Despite the loss, Central dominated in several statistical categories. The Blue Devils outshot the Bearcats 14 to nine, with six shots on target while Binghamton had only three on target. Central also had 10 corner kicks to the Bearcats’ two. Binghamton had a slight advantage in total possession, 52% to the Blue Devils’ 48%.
The game started with both sides trading possessions but neither able to gain an advantage over the other. That was until the 16th minute when a foul by the Blue Devils awarded the Bearcats with a free kick in a dangerous position. Binghamton defender Ryan Gillon scored the kick from 25 yards out, opening the game’s scoring and giving the Bearcats a 1-0 advantage with 29 minutes left in the first half.
Going into the second half, the Blue Devils had a new game plan, controlling possession for as long as possible and playing it back to the keeper often. The new strategy paid off in the 63rd minute when a slip pass by Moros set Catanzaro up on the right wing to drive towards the Binghamton keeper and score, leveling the game at 1-1.
While Catanzaro’s goal kept the Blue Devils in the game, it seemed to have the unintended consequence of allowing the team to take its foot off the gas. The Bearcats responded to the goal by dominating possession and denying Central the ball. Less than 10 minutes after Catanzaro scored, Binghamton bagged their second goal, making it 2-1 with 18 minutes left in the game.
The Blue Devils would do everything they could to equalize, but with limited time and an impenetrable Binghamton defense, they came up just short.
Although the Blue Devils created several goal-scoring opportunities, outshooting the Bearcats 14 to nine, they were unable to capitalize on those chances. Kelly said that it’s only a matter of time.
“We have the players that can score,” Kelly said. “We have the players that can finish. I think it’s just a matter of time before we put everything right and the results go our way.”
Kelly also pointed to Central’s challenging non-conference schedule as valuable preparation for conference play.
“We play a very difficult schedule,” he said. “We play four America East teams, we play a MAC team, we play a Big East team, we play an Atlantic 10 team — all in preparation for the conference. The margins are so close in these games that despite not getting the results that maybe we deserve, I think we’re right on track for preparation for the conference. My boys are buzzing. Can’t wait to get to conference [play].”
The Blue Devils find themselves on a three-game losing streak following their loss to UMass Lowell on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in their final non-conference matchup.
Central will now turn their focus to the Northeast Conference and will start fresh with a 0-0 conference record. Their first NEC test will be against Fairleigh Dickinson University on Sunday, Sept. 28, at CCSU’s Soccer Field.
