PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Binghamton (0-1-0) nearly overcome an early three-goal deficit but fell short in a 3-2 loss at Drexel (1-0-0) on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. The loss snapped the Bearcats' two-game winning streak in opening day games.
Drexel blew the game open with three goals in the first 11 minutes. Kwesi Allen scored twice during that stretch while the other goal was netted by Griffin Mallas.
As quickly as the Dragons took control of the match, however, the Bearcats responded with two goals in the ensuing seven minutes. Junior forward
Haris Brkovic finished off a free kick by sophomore midfielder
Noah Luescher in the 14th minute. Senior midifielder
Connor McKnight then trimmed the deficit to 3-2 three minutes later.
From there, play settled down during the remainder of the first half. The Bearcats however, controlled possession and had majority of the scoring chances. Through 45 minutes, the shot count was 11-7 Binghamton and the shots on goal were 8-4.
In the second half, the Bearcats' best chance to deadlock the game came in the 88th minute with a pair of shots from close range. One shot was blocked and the other was saved by Drexel goalkeeper Cameron Sanders.
"We have better soccer to play than what we showed the first 13 minutes of the match," head coach
Paul Marco said. "Our guys were ready for the match but it wasn't like us to start the way we did. I thought we did a decent job to get back into the game. It was a very hard-fought match but again, we did not start well at all."
Drexel ended the game with a 22-17 advantage in shots but Binghamton had an 11-10 edge in shot on goal. Sanders finished with seven saves while redshirt junior goalkeeper
Chris Shutler recovered from the shaky start to record seven saves.
The Dragons held a 12-4 cushion in corner kicks.
Binghamton returns home for its home opener on Tuesday against Iona at 7 p.m.
NOTES: McKnight's goal was the first of his collegiate career … Luescher, who was the 2017 America East Rookie of the Year, had five assists last season. Brkovic ranked second on the team last year with five goals.
