By Joe Ruby

Writer

The men’s soccer team dropped two difficult road games this week, losing 2-1 in overtime to Lafayette (7-7-3, 2-3-1) and 3-2 against Binghamton (6-6-4). Tommy McCabe ’11, Luke Joyner ’12 and Andrew Powell ’12 scored for the Bison, who now need help to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament.

Against Lafayette, the Bison trailed 1-0 at halftime but struck late to force overtime. McCabe, assisted by Brendan Burgdorf ’13, cleaned up a loose ball in the box 73:06 into the match to equalize the score at 1-1. The goal answered the Leopards’ 20th minute strike off the foot of Jeff McLaughlin.

Lafayette finished the game 2:13 into the first overtime when B.J. Glenn fired the game-winning shot past Marc Hartmann ’12, who could not manage to save either of the shots on goal he faced in the contest. Leopard goalie Andrew Pianko made three saves on four shots on goal. Overall, Lafayette held a 12-7 advantage in shots.

The game against Binghamton started with four goals scored in the first 23 minutes. The Bearcats got on the board just 2:22 into the game. Austin Hughes missed a shot, but Kyle Manscuk put in the rebound. The Bison answered at the 10:42 mark, when Joyner headed in a McCabe corner kick. Five minutes later, Binghamton reclaimed the lead on an Adam Whitehead penalty kick, but the Bison battled back. At the 22:39 mark, Powell converted a 20-yard free kick into his second goal of the year, and the score remained tied at two until halftime.

Binghamton took the lead for a third and final time in the 57th minute when Tommy Klim crossed the ball into the zone to Jake Keegan, who headed the ball past Tommy Caso ’12, who had relieved Hartmann at the half. Overall, the Bearcats put seven of their 12 shots on goal, whereas the Bison could only manage six of 13.

The Bison’s loss to Lafayette leaves them needing a win against Lehigh (8-6-2, 4-1-1) on Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Bison (7-8-2, 2-2-2) would also need Lafayette to defeat or tie Navy (7-4-4, 2-1-3) on the same day. The Midshipmen qualify with a win or with a draw and a Bison draw or loss, while Lafayette qualifies if it defeats Navy and the Bison lose to Lehigh.