Stony Brook men's soccer team juniors Leonardo Fernandes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Berian Gobeil Cruz (Montreal, Quebec) each scored a goal to lead the Seawolves to a 2-1 win over Binghamton Saturday evening at LaValle Stadium. The win clinches the Seawolves a spot in the America East Championship and moves them closer to home field advantage in at least the quarterfinals.

"It's all about chances, and we made the most of them today," head coach Ryan Anatol said. "I'm happy that we competed hard. It's all about getting better, and now we'll focus on training tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, leading up to our next game on Wednesday."

The first half was scoreless, although the Seawolves had the better of the chances. Binghamton had just one shot on goal in the first half, while SBU had four. Stony Brook's best opportunity to score came in the 29th minute when a flurry of activity in the box resulted in Gobeil Cruz taking a shot that was stopped by Binghamton's Chris Hayen, but the ball got away from him and went to junior Charlie Jones (Birmingham, England), who took a hard shot from about 15 yards out that Binghamton's defense stopped in front of the net for a team save.

In the second half, it didn't take long for Stony Brook to strike. The Seawolves took the ball towards the net, and freshman Keith McKenna (Great River, N.Y.) was taken down in the box for a penalty shot. Fernandes took the kick for the Seawolves and easily converted, giving Stony Brook the 1-0 advantage.

In the 70th minute, Gobeil Cruz took a pass from Fernandes and blasted a header past Hayen for his seventh goal of the year. For the game-winner, Gobeil Cruz earned America East Player of the Game honors.

The goal turned out to be the game-winner after Binghamton's Jake Keegan converted a header off a cross from Adam Whitehead. The Bearcats threatened a bit more, but did not get off another shot on goal, as the Seawolves defense tightened up.

Stony Brook outshot the Bearcats 13-12 and had seven shots on goal to BU's three. The match was physical with Binghamton drawing 16 fouls and two yellow cards.

The Seawolves will next play at UMBC Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Stony Brook is just two points behind the Retrievers in the standings. A Seawolves win or a tie or loss by Hartford and New Hampshire will secure Stony Brook home field advantage in the quarterfinals.

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