Men's soccer team defeats Mt. St. Mary's 2-0

Box score

Freshman forward Bryan Arnault (Clay, N.Y./ Cicero-North Syracuse) and freshman midfielder Joey Neilson (Boothwyn, Pa./ Strath Haven) each netted a goal, leading Binghamton (1-0) to a 2-0 win over Mt. St. Mary's (1-1) on Sunday at the Rider Bronc Fall Classic. With the victory, the Bearcats are 1-0 for the first time since 1999.

"It was a very good effort by our team, particularly in the first half," head coach Paul Marco said. "We came right out and got our first goal five minutes into the game and we had great intensity throughout the entire match."

Just 5:09 into the game, Arnault got the rebound off of a shot by sophomore back Darius Ravangard (Utica, N.Y./ New Hartford) to give the Bearcats the early lead. Neilson extended the lead to 2-0 when he took a pass from Ravangard and fired it in the net at the 60:30 mark.

In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Gonet (Refrewshire, Scotland/ Trinity) recorded his first career solo shutout, going the entire 90 minutes and making four saves. Even though Saturday's 0-0 tie against Monmouth did not count in the standings, Gonet also had a shutout for 45 minutes, at which time play was halted due to lightening

"Stefan looked very sharp this weekend," Marco said. "He really organized the defense and was able to anticipate shots before they happened."

Binghamton outshot Mt. St. Mary's 17-9 for the game.

Up next, the Bearcats head to Colgate for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday, Sept. 6.

"It should be a great game against Colgate," Marco said. "We are already starting to prepare for them. We lost a close game last season to them (1-0 at home on Oct. 19). This past weekend was great but we are looking forward to next weekend right now."