Oct. 21, 2010
Stony Brook Seawolves (7-5-3) at Binghamton Bearcats (4-4-4)
Saturday, Oct. 23 | Bearcats Sports Complex | Vestal, N.Y. | 7 p.m.
Binghamton Bearcats (4-4-4, 2-0-2 America East)
Head Coach: Paul Marco, ninth season
Career Record: 136-119-37
Record at Binghamton: 89-57-33
Stony Brook Seawolves (7-5-3, 1-1-2 America East)
Head Coach: Cesar Markovic, seventh season
Career Record: 151-124-34
Record at SBU: 55-57-22
The Matchup
Stony Brook and Binghamton face off as the regular season is drawing to a close. With just three matches remaining, the two teams are jockeying for position in the America East Tournament. The Bearcats are in second place with eight points, and the Seawolves are in a tie for fourth place with five points. The top six teams in the eight-team conference make the tournament. The Seawolves are 6-1-3 in their last 10 matches, while the Bearcats are unbeaten over their last eight matches (4-0-4). This is the 31st all-time meeting between the two clubs, and Binghamton holds a 21-7-2 series lead, but the Seawolves won last season's matchup at home 1-0.
Scouting the Opponent
Binghamton is sporting a 4-4-4 overall record, but the mark is very deceiving as the Bearcats have played one of the toughest schedules in the country. To open the season, the team played five consecutive matches against nationally ranked opponents and only won one of them. After losing to No. 11 Penn State on Sept. 12, the Bearcats have been unbeaten over their last eight matches, including wins over Lafayette, Niagara, Vermont and Hartford. The team is sporting a top 100 RPI, coming at No. 93. Binghamton has gotten a strong performance in net from Chris Hayen, who has a 1.00 GAA and three shutouts this season. Kyle Manscuk is the team's leading goal scorer with three, but Adam Whitehead is the top point-getter with a 2-4-8 line. Eight different Bearcats have put the ball in the net this season.
Last Time Out
Stony Brook and Vermont played a very competitive match, but had to settle for a 0-0 tie as both teams' keepers made big saves. Stefan Manz had a career-high nine saves to record his sixth shutout of the season and extend his scoreless streak to 331 consecutive minutes. Leonardo Fernandes led the Seawolves in shots, but was unable to put any past Vermont keeper David Ramada.
In the Rankings
Stony Brook is No. 4 in this week's BigAppleSoccer.com top 10 poll, down two spots from No. 2 last week. The Seawolves are also knocking on the door of the NSCAA/hendrickcars.com Northeast Region poll. Three weeks ago, they were ranked No. 10, but fell out after a loss to BU. They are currently receiving votes in the poll.
Fernandes Rules the Conference Once More
On Oct. 11, Leonardo Fernandes was named America East Player of the Week for the second time this season after scoring the game-winning goal to lift Stony Brook to a 2-0 win at Albany. Fernandes is tied for second in the conference in goals and game-winning goals. He is also fifth in overall points.
Learning on the Road
Stony Brook's 2-0 win at Albany on Oct. 9 was the program's first America East road victory since Oct. 27, 2007, a 2-0 win at Maine. The Seawolves had gone 0-4-3 away from LaValle Stadium since.
A Late Bloomer
Leonardo Fernandes leads Stony Brook in goals, and all of them have been timely. All six of his goals this season have come in the 60th minute or later and three of them have been game-winners.
Timely Keeping
Stefan Manz has had a strong performance in net this season. After a shaky start, he has won six of his last nine matches (6-1-1) and has allowed only eight goals in that span. His 0-0 tie vs. Vermont on Oct. 16 was his sixth shutout of the season, tying him for first in America East. He is also second in saves and fourth in GAA.
Most Valuable Player
When Leonardo Fernandes scores, Stony Brook is usually in good shape. The Seawolves are 4-1-0 this season and 8-2-1 all-time when he scores a goal in a match.
Gobeil Cruz earns an accolade
Berian Gobeil Cruz was named BigAppleSoccer.com's Men's College Player of the Week on Sept. 27 after scoring a pair of goals to lead Stony Brook to a tie against Harvard and a win over Quinnipiac.
Fernandes Earns Multiple Honors
Leonardo Fernandes scored seven points the weekend of Sept. 17-19 and has been recognized for his efforts. He was named the America East Player of the Week and the SimplexGrinnell Stony Brook Athlete of the Week and was selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
Four Goals A Plenty
Stony Brook had an offensive outburst against Central Connecticut State Sept. 17, beating the Blue Devils 4-2. The four goals were the most by a Stony Brook team since putting five on the board on Sept. 11, 2005.
Beating One of the Best
On Sept. 12, the Seawolves knocked off Dartmouth 1-0 on its home field in the Dartmouth Classic Tournament. Stony Brook got a goal from Berian Gobeil Cruz in the 34th minute and keeper Stefan Manz made four saves to preserve the shutout. The victory was big for SBU considering that Dartmouth was receiving votes in last week's NSCAA/hendrickcars.com National Rankings and was fourth in the Northeast Region poll.
Looking For Two Straight
Last season was a magical one for Stony Brook as the Seawolves finished the regular season with a five-match unbeaten streak to get into the America East Tournament, where they dispatched Hartford and UMBC to win the conference title, just the second in program history. This season's squad will look to replicate that success and bring the Seawolves back to the NCAA Tournament.
