Last year’s top seed is this year’s sixth and final

There’s no better time for the Boston University men’s soccer team to show its character than now.

Saturday’s America East first-round game between No. 3 Binghamton University and No. 6 Boston University represents a lot for the Terrier team. Though the all-time series is tilted toward the Terriers, 2-1-2, the Bearcats proved in Wednesday’s 1-0 overtime victory – one that clinched the No. 3 spot and a home game for Binghamton – that they’re catching up.

“They’re good defensively,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “They attack well, so there’s no one guy [to look out for].”

Last year, the Bearcats took the Terriers into overtime in the conference championship game, losing 5-3 in penalty kicks. In this year’s regular-season matchup, the Bearcats found their first-ever win over the Terriers (when the Terriers needed it most) off the foot of junior forward Peter Sgueglia.

Now the Terriers will have the chance to be the comeback kids in Saturday’s rematch. But to do it – and advance to the semifinal round – the Terriers must do something they haven’t done much of all season. Score.

“We gotta find a way to score some goals. We haven’t been doing that lately,” Roberts said. “It’s gotta come from anybody and everybody.”

Both the Bearcats and the Terriers notched just seven goals in October, though the Bearcats hold the 24-16 goal advantage on the season.

But maybe the 1-0 defeat will turn out to be just what the Terriers, still full of the men who made the run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, needed to jump start a successful run in the America East Tournament.

“I think that they now realize what they need to do. They’re a different team to play against,” Roberts said of his team’s Saturday contest against the Bearcats. “[But we] know what we’re capable of doing.”

The Terriers must remain strong defensively against the Bearcat attack, a task that should be eased by the return of senior captain Matt Cross to the back line. But it may not be the defense the Terriers really need to come through most on Saturday, as they send out hopes for an offensive attack that has been absent almost all year.

Still, the Terriers are thankful to be able to continue their season.

“I think they’re happy that they’re still playing,” Roberts said. “And I think they were tired from yesterday. It was a physical game.”

Now, the No. 6 Terriers look to pull off an upset and get just their third in-conference win of the season.

“They don’t have any big goal-scorers,” Roberts said of the Binghamton squad. “You just can’t make any mistakes against them.”