President's Report Masthead
December 31, 2015

Team/individual accomplishments

Former soccer standout Keegan signs pro contract

Former men’s soccer standout Jake Keegan has signed a contract with FC Edmonton of the North America Soccer League (NASL). It marks the second professional team he has played with since graduating from Binghamton University in 2013.

For four seasons, Keegan was the main target up front for the Bearcats. He scored 11 goals as a senior in 2012 and was named first-team America East All-Conference and third-team All-Northeast Region. In the classroom, Keegan was named to the America East’s All-Academic Team his final season and was honored as a Scholar All-Region player by the NSCAA.

After being drafted by the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2013 Supplemental Draft, Keegan played for Galway United of the Irish Premier Division in 2014 and 2015. In those two seasons, Keegan scored 35 goals and led Galway United to a runner-up finish for the League Cup in 2015.

“I really learned a lot by myself as both a player and person while playing overseas,” Keegan said. “But its great to be back in North America. Hopefully I can keep improving my game and I hope someday to be playing in MLS.” 

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Soccer goalie Moewes repeats as all-region selection

Junior goalkeeper Robert Moewes has been named first-team All-East Region for the second year in a row by the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA).

Moewes began the 2015 campaign by being included on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. He ended the year being named the America East Goalkeeper of the Year for the second straight season. In addition, he was a repeat first-team all-conference selection and was named to the America East All-Tournament Team, also for the second consecutive year.

With Moewes playing every minute in goal this season, the Bearcats finished 10-8-2 and advanced to the America East finals for the first time since 2008. Along the way, he recorded six shutouts, including a 1-0 win over then No. 28 Ohio State back on Aug. 30th.

In the classroom, Moewes was named to the America East All-Academic Team for the first time in his career. He was previously inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society back in 2014.

“We are very proud of Robert,” head coach Paul Marco said. “This is a terrific honor and it is well deserved. This year, he had a very young group in front of him and he was great when he needed to be. He is such a fantastic competitor.”

Moewes is just the third Binghamton player to earn first-team All-Region honors twice in his career since the program elevated to the NCAA Division I level in 2001. Graham Munro was selected in 2003-05 and Danilo was tabbed in 2004 and 2005.

Since 2003, Binghamton has posted 15 NSCAA All-Region selections. Eleven of them have been first-team picks.

Men’s soccer postseason run ends with runner-up finish

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 Marcosaid. “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.”

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Men’s cross country ranked No. 13 in Northeast

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) has released its final Northeast Region poll of the 2015 season and the Binghamton men’s cross country team is No. 13 for the second year in a row. This marks the fifth time in seven seasons that the Bearcats have been listed in the final regional poll.

Binghamton finished a close third this past weekend at the America East championship meet. Senior Collin Frost earned first-team all-conference honors with a fourth-place finish. Fellow senior Ethan Hausamann was named second-team all-conference with a ninth-place performance.

The Bearcats are one of three America East teams ranked in the final USTFCCCA Northeast Region Poll. UMass Lowell, which won the conference meet on Saturday, is ranked ninth. Stony Brook, which edged out Binghamton for second at the America East championship race, checks in at No. 12 in the poll.

In 2009, Binghamton finished the season a program-best eighth in the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Poll. The Bearcats were also No 10 in both 2010 and 2013.

The NCAA Northeast Regional Meet will be held on Nov. 13 at Franklin Park in Boston. The Bearcats were a program-best eighth in the meet in 2009.

Men’s basketball will appear on ESPN platforms Binghamton men’s basketball will make at least four appearances on ESPN’s family of networks during the 2015-16 season, the America East announced. The Bearcats will have one game on ESPNU and three more scheduled games on ESPN3. ESPN platforms will be the conference’s exclusive home for basketball action for the fifth-straight year in 2015-16.

Binghamton’s game at reigning NCAA Final Four participant Michigan State will be shown on ESPNU at noon on December 5. It will mark the first time the men will appear on ESPNU, ESPN’s network primarily dedicated to college athletics. ESPNU reaches more than 73 million households in the United States.

The Bearcats will then host a pair of games on ESPN3 against longtime SUNY rivals. The America East opener on January 6 against Stony Brook will kick off the conference’s slate of 33 games on ESPN platforms. One month later, BU will welcome Albany to the Events Center for a February 8 game on ESPN3.

In the postseason, BU will have its quarterfinal game shown on ESPN3 on March 2. The platform will also broadcast the conference semifinals. The America East championship game will be shown live on ESPN2 - the 29th straight year that the title game has been broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

The Events Center will be showcased six more times on ESPN3 when Binghamton hosts the America East Women’s Basketball Championship on March 5-6. All four quarterfinals and two semifinal games will be carried live.

ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually. It is available at no additional cost to fans with subscriptions to participating high speed internet service providers.

Additionally, four Olympic sport title are planned for ESPN networks, the most in conference history, including field hockey and men’s soccer for the first time and men’s and women’s lacrosse for the fifth-consecutive year.

Soccer coach Marco honored by national association

Binghamton head men’s soccer coach Paul Marco has been named the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA) recipient of the Mike Berticelli Excellence in Teaching Award. The award is named in memory of the Notre Dame coach who was serving as NSCAA’s Vice President of Education when he passed away in January 2000. It is presented each year to a member of the NSCAA Academy staff in recognition of their positive contributions to the game of soccer and excellence in coaching education.

“The Berticelli Award is determined by the Association’s Coaching Academy Staff and the respect and admiration of one’s peers is always special,” NSCAA Director of Coaching Education, Ian Barker said. “Paul Marco’s selection is well deserved. On a personal note, he has been one of my strongest supporters, collaborators and friends in trying to deliver quality coaching education and am very pleased to see him honored with this award.”

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