Cross-town rival Canisius (1-3-1) came to RAC field hoping to come away with the soccer rights of Buffalo. The Griffins left RAC field empty handed, due in part to Andrae Clarke's blast that sent the game to overtime.
With just less than six minutes to go, freshman Clarke kicked a bullet past Canisius goalie Dan Panaro from 30 yards out to tie the game at two.
Canisius controlled the action early, but the Griffins allowed Buffalo (1-3-1) to draw first blood. At the 33:10 mark, defensemen Matt Stuczynski lofted a perfect setup to the front of the net that Patrick Beckley headed into the back of the net for his first goal of the year. The shot was the only one UB could muster in the half, as numerous offside penalties prevented them from penetrating the Griffins defense.
The Griffins responded with a goal of their own with 9:34 remaining in the half. Griffins' junior Chris Robey brought the visitors back to even as he squeezed one inside the bottom left of the goalpost past diving Bulls' goalie, Brandon Foley.
Both teams played a physical second half that seemed to be favoring Buffalo, as Beckley nearly missed his second goal and Clarke headed another opportunity over the cross bar. UB dominated the first twenty minutes of the half, but it began to rain on the Bulls parade. As the drizzle began to fall, the Canisius offense put on the pressure. Al Franjoine of the Griffins shot just high after some nifty moves in the goalie's box. Matthew Waddington was denied by a spectacular save when Foley punched his shot over the cross bar.
With just over twelve minutes left in the game, Foley cracked when Franjoine found Robey for his second goal of the game. The rain stopped and UB refused to go quietly.
The two overtimes were played at an incredibly fast pace. The Bulls and Griffins exchanged numerous scoring chances. Clarke shot to the top left corner of the net and was denied by a diving Panaro.
After the game, UB head coach John Astudillo pointed out the impact Panaro had.
"Without their goaltender, the score is 5-2, at least" said Astudillo.
Not to be outdone, Foley redirected Canisius' best opportunity of the first overtime wide. In the second OT, Panaro was even more dazzling. He stood on his head to turn away a flurry of shots by Clark and Beckley. Canisius immediately charged back down the field and tested Foley, who was once again up to the challenge.
As time ran down to four minutes, Mike Geller had a breakaway chance that hit off the post to prolong the game. A minute later, Geller, who had been playing defense in the first half, again came streaking down the left side of the field on a breakaway. Panaro came out of goal and slid, taking the ball from Geller and preserving the 2-2 tie. The outstanding goaltending of both Foley and Panaro thwarted all attempts to score in the double overtime.
Astudillo was also quick to comment on the job of his own goalie, Foley, who started his first game in place of injured Daniel Bell who was out with a broken arm.
"I was impressed with Brandon Foley's ability to step in and play so well," said Astudillo.
The Bulls next game is Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m. versus the Niagara Purple Eagles at RAC field.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
