STORY LINES
- Binghamton (5-2-3) begins conference play having recorded two straight shutout victories. Most recently, the Bearcats beat Bucknell 1-0 on Tuesday behind a first-half goal by junior forward
Ben Ovetsky. Sophomore forward
Nikkos Psarras tallied the assist. Both Ovetsky and Psarras lead the team with three goals and seven total points.
- UMass Lowell (7-0-1) enters the match ranked in all three national polls. Its highest ranking is No. 19 by the NSCAA. Wuilito Fernandes, who has been named All-Region the past two seasons, leads the River Hawks with six goals and 12 total points. UMass Lowell's most recent outing was a 1-0 win at Bryant on Sept. 21.
- Since UMass Lowell joined the America East in 2013, the River Hawks hold a 2-1-0 advantage in the series against the Bearcats. Binghamton won 3-0 on Oct. 12, 2013 at home as
Logan Roberts had a goal and an assist. The River Hawks, however, got even with a 2-1 win over the visiting Bearcats on Oct. 25, 2014 and then won 1-0 at Binghamton last Oct. 10. Fernandes has scored in each of the past two games against the Bearcats. Saturday marks the fourth straight year that the two squads will play on the host team's Homecoming Weekend.
- Binghamton has won its past two America East openers. The Bearcats beat Hartford 1-0 in 2014 on a first-half goal by Steven Celeste. Last season, Binghamton won 2-1 at Vermont on first-half goals by
Logan Roberts and
Pascal Trappe.
- In its first 10 games this season, Binghamton has had seven different players score at least one goal. In addition to Psarras and Ovetsky, sophomore midfielder
Miles Burbank has scored twice. Redshirt junior back
Charlie Novoth and sophomore midfielder
Harrison Weilbacher, meanwhile, each have a team-high three assists.
- With five shutouts so far this year, the Bearcat defense has lowered its GAA to just 0.94. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper
Alejandro Cubillo has four solo shutouts while follow redshirt freshman
Chris Shutler got the clean sheet against Bucknell on Tuesday. Both goalkeepers have been aided by the starting backline of Novoth, senior
Zach Galluzzo, sophomore
Kevin Flesch and redshirt freshman
Stephen McKenna.
-The America East currently has the fourth-highest conference RPI in the nation, trailing only the ACC, Pac 12 and Big East. Three teams (UMass Lowell, Vermont and New Hampshire) are ranked in at least one of the national polls and seven teams---including Binghamton--- have an RPI of at least No. 84 (out of 204 programs). There are 24 NCAA Division I men's soccer conferences.
