WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Graduate student midfielder Noah Luescher finished with a goal and an assist, powering Binghamton (5-2-0) to a 2-0 win over Monmouth (2-2-2) in a non-conference men's soccer game on Saturday afternoon at Hesse Field. With the victory, the Bearcats remain off to their best start since 2015, when they were also 5-2-0 through their first seven matches.

Luescher set up the first goal when a fired a cross into the box in the seventh minute. It was redirected by junior forward Matthew Cozetti toward the goal and then headed in by junior forward Ethan Homler.

For Homler, it was his team-best fourth goal of the season. Three of his goals, including the one against Monmouth, have been game winners. Homler also has a team-high nine points so far this year.

In the 20th minute, Luescher converted a free kick to put Binghamton up 2-0. It was his second goal in the past three games. In addition, it was the 18th goal of his career, which moves him into sole possession of fourth place during Binghamton's 21-year NCAA Division I era. In addition, Luescher now has 49 career points, which continues to rank second during the Bearcats' D1 era.

Defensively, redshirt junior goalkeeper P.J. Parker made four saves to record his first solo shutout of the season. He now has three solo shutouts during his career.

The Bearcat backline of juniors Kosta Nika, Michael Bush, Devin Heanue and sophomore Will Noecker limited the Hawks to just four shots on goal.

Despite Binghamton's strong start this season, it was coming off a potentially devastating 7-0 loss at Syracuse on Tuesday. Instead of unraveling from that defeat, however, the Bearcats regrouped and recorded their third road victory in the past four matches.

"Today was a great response from our guys," head coach Paul Marco said. "P.J. and our four backs were very good. We had very good performances today by a lot of our guys."

Binghamton finished with a 12-8 advantage in total shots.

The Bearcats conclude their stretch of five straight road matches with a record of 3-2-0. They now have a week to regroup before hosting Stony Brook next Saturday at 1 p.m. in its conference opener. That match will be part of Binghamton University's Family Weekend festivities.