MEN'S SOCCER DAILY UPDATE

November 14, 2008

Five Years Later

Since the fall of 2003, much has changed within the Binghamton athletic program. Back then, the Events Center was still under construction and the Bearcats Sports Complex was nearly four years away from being built. Kevin Broadus was still an assistant coach at George Washington University and Rory Quiller had yet to compete in a college pole vault competition.

Much has changed since that time and all for the better. One thing, however, has remained the same: the men's soccer team advancing to the America East Championship game. It all started five years ago.

The Binghamton athletic department always believed it would be successful on the championship level in the America East Conference. Few people, however, believed a program could ascend as quickly as the men's soccer team did.

The Binghamton men's soccer program enjoyed great success at the Division III level but struggled during the transition to the Division I level. At the start of the 2003 season, the Bearcats had won just eight times in the previous two years. When the preseason began, no one expected a championship campaign.

On November 15, 2003, however, the Bearcats capped a Cinderella season by winning the America East title against defending champion Northeastern at the West Gym Field. The post game celebration would always be remembered by those in attendance.

For me personally, I had circled the date November 15, 2003 months beforehand--but not for an athletic event. My mother was having her 60th birthday celebration down in Maryland, where I grew up. My wife and three stepchildren would join me in making the trip down there. There would also be many relatives I hadn't seen in a few years.

It was a no-brainer for me as to where I would be that weekend. Along with my mother turning 60 came the realization that life was moving into a new stage. It's easy to take for granted that your parents will always be in their 40s and 50s like when they were when you were growing up. My mother turning 60 probably hit me more than it hit her. My prayer heading down to Maryland was that I'd be heading to another big birthday celebration 10 years later.

When I told my friends and colleagues I wouldn't be working men's soccer championship game they agreed with my decision, but they also asked a legitimate question:

"Do you think the men's soccer team will ever go this far again?"

Good point. As with all Cinderella teams, the question was whether the Bearcats would turn into a one-hit wonder or whether they would start a sustained run of excellence. If any team had overlooked Binghamton in 2003, that would not be the case the following year. I was hopeful that someday I would get another chance to be at a championship game. Little did I know how many more chances would come along in the years ahead.

As I write this update in a hotel in Boston, the Bearcats are at Nickerson Field training for their sixth consecutive championship game. Tomorrow, Binghamton will seek to win its third conference title since 2003. The Bearcats' sustained run of excellence has gone unmatched in the 20-year history of the America East Conference. Simply put, the Binghamton men's soccer team is doing better than ever.

So too is my mother, who turns 65 this week. She is now retired and enjoying life as a wife, mother and grandmother. On the bus ride home from Albany on Wednesday, I called her and my stepfather to give them the update. The excitement in their voices was very apparent. Since they came to a regular season game in 2005, they have become fans of the men's soccer program. After the Bearcats beat Vermont in the 2006 title game, the first call I got back in my office was from my mother and stepfather.

Five years from now, things will change even more within the Binghamton athletic department. That is a good thing. If the past five years are any indication, the university will be in for many more exciting times ahead.

As for me, I hope five years from now that the Bearcats will once again be in the America East title game. More important, however, I pray that I will once again be in Maryland celebrating another milestone birthday.

Posted November 14, 2008. 2 p.m.
Feedback should be sent to dobrian@binghamton.edu.