EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's soccer team fell to Binghamton in a 1-0 on a late goal in the 84
th minute by the Bearcats.
Lafayette came out of the gate on the front foot. In the second minute, sophomore forward
Roy Biegon stood over a free kick 25 yards away from Binghamton goalkeeper Dylan McDermott's goal. Biegon's curled effort looked like it was about to nestle into the top-left corner but his strike struck the left post and veered away from goal.
Senior goalkeeper
Griffin Huff made a pair of saves in the 19
th and 26
th minute as the Bearcats began to grow more into the game. Lafayette held a lot of the ball in the first 15 minutes, but Binghamton found more and more momentum as the half wore on. Binghamton's direct play style kept the majority of play in midfield, leading to a 0-0 tie at the intermission.
The Bearcats seemed to flip the script in the second half, by launching balls forward and causing overloads in the Leopards' defensive third.
Lafayette found its footing around the 70
th minute, but lacked quality in its attacking third of the pitch. The best chance of the half for the Maroon and White came in the 73
rd minute. Freshman midfielder
Cade Maglione drove with pace down the right flank prior to serving a low-driven cross into the box. Biegon made a darting run into the box, but the ball whizzed past his diving-headed effort and Binghamton eventually cleared.
Sophomore defender
Cole Duschang made a great sliding clearance in the 82
nd minute to keep the Bearcats at bay, but Binghamton won a corner. Billy Clark whipped the ensuing corner into the box, aiming for the head of a fellow Bearcat. Clark's cross found the head of Chris Comber but the ball dropped kindly to Comber's feet and he lashed home the winning goal with six minutes to play.
The Leopards threw everything they had at Binghamton in the final minutes, but they weren't able to find the final key pass that would unlock the Bearcats' defense. At the final whistle, Binghamton advanced to 3-3-1 on the season.
Lafayette returns to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. for its first Patriot League matchup against Colgate in Hamilton.
To keep up with the Lafayette men's soccer team, follow its social media pages.
X/@LafayetteMSOC | Instagram/@lafayette_msoc | Facebook/GoLeopards
