Men's Soccer Opens America East Slate at Binghamton on Saturday Evening

The Retrievers gave unbeaten Cornell all they could handle but came up just short against the Big Red last Saturday night at Berman Field.
UMBC held a 21-16 advantage in shots and had several terrific scoring opportunities but could not get one past Cornell goalkeeper Ryan Friedburg. In addition, they attempted seven of the 10 corner kicks in the match.
After a scoreless first half, the Big Red (4-0-2) struck just 2:43 into the second stanza on a free kick from the right sideline. UMBC sophomore defender Jojo Ocran took down Sam Latana at the 25-yard line, and then Aidan Martin left-footed a perfect delivery along the back post to Andrew Johnson. Johnson was all alone and managed to tap the cross past UMBC junior goalie Emigdio Tormo Lopez (nine saves) while sliding to the ground. Tormo Lopez had little chance on the play as Johnson put the ball past him into the lower left corner of the net from point-blank range.
UMBC (3-3-2) had a golden opportunity to answer back in the 56th minute after senior midfielder Ismailcan Usta snuck a gorgeous through ball to the foot of graduate student defender Giuseppe Indelicato, who was free inside the box. Indelicato sent a blast on target to the right corner of the goal, but Friedberg made the save of the night and managed to deflect the shot off the post after diving to his right.
The Retrievers dodged a bullet when Cornell's Westin Carnivale hit the upper right corner of the crossbar with 22:15 left from 15-yards out, allowing the visitors to remain within striking distance.
UMBC's final dangerous scoring threat came with 18:32 left in the contest as fifth-year senior striker Alek Wroblewski (team-high five shots)made a hard push into the box, but the forward had two consecutive shots blocked by the stingy Big Red back line.
The Retrievers also had the first two chances of the game as graduate student defender Hans Nesheim misfired from the right side after taking another great feed by Usta in the 13th minute. Just seven minutes later, senior midfielder Ty Stroud delivered a perfect service into the box for defender Lasse Kelp, but the junior's header from seven yards out was just high over the center of the crossbar.
UMBC is seeking their first road win of the season as they are 0-2-1.
The Retrievers are second in the league in scoring (2.00 goals per game).
The Dawgs have attempted a league-high 45 corner kicks.
Emigdio Tormo Lopez leads the conference with 5.25 saves per game and a .808 save percentage.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS

Binghamton defeated CCSU 2-1 on Family Weekend last Saturday. Sophomore forward Anthony Randazzo and graduate student forward Tom Cohen scored the Bearcats' goal while sophomore midfielder Marcus Nahim recorded a career-high two assists.
The Bearcats' four-game winning streak is its longest since they won five straight matches to start the 2007 season. In addition, Binghamton's current five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) is its longest since that 5-0-0 start in 2007.
Binghamton has broken into the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Northeast Region Poll for the first time since 2021. The Bearcats were ranked No. 10 in the Sept. 17 poll before moving up to seventh in the current Sept. 24 poll.
Freshman back Ryan Gillon is the current America East Rookie of the Week. He made the first two starts of his career last week and assisted on the game-winning goal against Saint Peters on Sept. 17. Gillon is one of six Binghamton newcomers to have made the starting team so far this season.
Randazzo leads the Bearcats and is tied for first in the America East with four goals and is eighth in overall points (with eight). Senior midfielder Billy Clark and Nahim are tied for third in the America East with three assists each. Senior back Luke Yates is second in the America East with game-winning goals.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Binghamton leads the all-time series against UMBC 13-9-5. This includes victories at UMBC in each of the last two America East quarterfinals. In the most recent match at the Bearcats Sports Complex, Binghamton won 4-2 back on Nov. 1, 2022.

UP NEXT

The Retrievers will host Drexel to open a four-game home stand on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Lasse Kelp: Defender; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#27 Alek Wroblewski: Striker; 5' 9"; Senior

#4 Hans Nesheim: Defender; 6' 2"; Senior

#10 Ismailcan Usta: Midfielder; 5' 8"; Junior

#1 Emigdio Tormo Lopez: Goalkeeper; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#2 Giuseppe Indelicato: Defender; 6' 0"; Senior

#13 Ty Stroud: Midfielder; 5' 10"; Junior

#20 Jojo Ocran: Defender; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#21 Lasse Kelp
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: Defender

#27 Alek Wroblewski
: 5' 9"; Senior
: Striker

#4 Hans Nesheim
: 6' 2"; Senior
: Defender

#10 Ismailcan Usta
: 5' 8"; Junior
: Midfielder

#1 Emigdio Tormo Lopez
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: Goalkeeper

#2 Giuseppe Indelicato
: 6' 0"; Senior
: Defender

#13 Ty Stroud
: 5' 10"; Junior
: Midfielder

#20 Jojo Ocran
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: Defender