Final Stats

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Brian Wright scored in the 33rd minute, lifting Vermont (11-6-3) to a 1-0 win over Binghamton (10-8-2) in the America East men's soccer championship game on Sunday afternoon at Virtue Field. The loss brought an end to the Bearcats' best season since 2008, when it last advanced to the conference title game.

Wright, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, took a pass from Jamie Miralles and slid it inside the right post in the 33rd minute. It was his 10th goal of the season and second in as many conference tournament games.

Binghamton controlled play for much of the second half and ended the game with a 16-9 shot advantage. Only three of the shots were on goal, however, and Catamount goalkeeper Greg Walton saved all three attempts. On the other end of the field, junior goalkeeper Robert Moewes had four saves for the Bearcats.

"I thought we played extremely well but Brian Wright was the difference today," head coach Paul Marco said. "He is a special player who scored a great goal. We were on top of the match for long stretches of the game but just couldn't find the back of the net."

The Bearcats were making their seventh appearance in the America East championship game, having advanced to a conference record six straight finals from 2003-08. Binghamton has won the championship twice (2003 and 2006). Vermont, meanwhile, won its fifth America East crown, with the last one also coming against the Bearcats in 2007 (when it won 1-0).

Moewes, graduate student midfielder Pascal Trappe and junior forward Logan Roberts were named to the America East All-Tournament Team. Trappe netted the game winner in double overtime against Stony Brook in the quarterfinals while Roberts won the semifinal game against Albany with his goal in the 80th minute. Moewes, meanwhile, allowed just one goal in the final 212 minutes he played.

When the season started, Binghamton was not expected advance as far as it did. The Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the America East preseason poll and had 15 freshmen on their roster.

Instead, they finished with their highest win total since 2008 (when they went 12-6-3), defeated then No. 28 Ohio State 1-0 back on Aug. 30. The Bearcats also recorded road wins over Vermont and New Hampshire during the regular season as well as their two road win in the America East Tournament.

"We had such a young team this year but I though the start of the season was filled with possibilities," Marco said. "We weren't sure just how far we'd progress. To be playing this late in the season shows that we progressed quite a bit."