For Immediate Release: November 10, 2004
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton men's soccer roars past Albany 3-1, advances to title game
Bearcats will defend America East crown on Sunday at Boston

Box score
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ALBANY, N.Y.-- Binghamton's all-stars came to play on Wednesday, leading the third-seeded men's soccer team to a come-from-behind 3-1 win over host Albany (12-5-2) in the America East semifinals. Binghamton (11-2-7) now advances to the America East championship game for the second straight year, where the Bearcats will look to defend their 2003 conference title and return to the NCAA tournament. Binghamton will now head to Boston for Sunday's 1 p.m. championship game against the top-seeded Terriers.

Junior defender Graham Munro (Inverness, Scotland), the conference defender of the year, and senior striker Charles Darkwah (Toronto, Ontario), the league's striker of the year, scored goals in a 88-second span of the second half, rallying the Bearcats past the second-seeded Great Danes, who had opened the scoring in the 30th minute.

Junior central midfielder Danilo (Sao Paulo, Brazil), another first team all-conference player, assisted on Munro's goal and displayed his usual high-level game.

"Today was a fanstatic soccer game," head coach Paul Marco said. "Stef (Gonet) and our back four played great - and Danilo was unbelievable. "Our first goal was a great goal and the celebration after it was just as good. We didn't let up from there."

Trailing 1-0, sophomore midfielder Bryan Arnault (Clay, N.Y.) took a pass from classmate Joey Neilson (Boothwyn, Pa.) and knotted the score at the 43:15 mark. It was his eighth goal of the season and allowed the Bearcats to enter halftime deadlocked at 1-1.

Just 5:17 into the second half, Munro took a touch from Danilo on a free kick, and sent a screened shot past Albany's keeper to give the Bearcats the lead. Then just 1:28 later, Darkwah dribbled past a collection of Great Dane defenders before planting his league-leading 12th goal into the back of the net.

That was more than enough for junior keeper Stef Gonet (Refrewshire, Scotland) and BU's back line, which limited Albany to seven shots for the game. Gonet was called on to make two saves.

NOTES
Albany had allowed just seven goals all season long (2nd in nation) and never more than two in a game ... The Bearcats scored twice on the Great Danes in a 3-2 loss just one week earlier ... Binghamton ranked 31st in the country in goals per game (2.05) entering the contest ... Comparing results against the two possible championship game opponents, the Bearcats toppled Stony Brook at home on October 16, 4-0 - three weeks after losing at Boston 2-0.