Coming in to their Mid-American Conference opener against the Western Michigan Broncos (2-2-1, 1-0-0 MAC) on Friday night, UB women's soccer head coach, Jean-A-Tassy felt that his team was ready for the aggressive match up against Western Michigan.
"Every game up to this point was preparation for the MAC, the four wins we have had were only a preliminary route for future games," said Tassy. "I feel that as of right now, all the teams are evenly matched in the MAC."
But after Friday night's game, the Buffalo Bulls were left with a fractured four-game winning streak, as Western Michigan scored two first half goals and pushed passed the Bulls 2-1.
The Broncos gained their lead in the 24th minute of the game, when Western Michigan senior Jessica Pattison kicked a shot over the head of UB goalkeeper Anna-Lesa Calvert.
Western Michigan added an insurance goal with merely nine seconds left in the first half, when freshman Amy Letzgus scored off a corner kick made by her teammate, Chantal Robinson. Pattison and Letzgus' scores were their first goals for the season.
The team's preparation for their first MAC game did not go unnoticed, as their defense and strong offense kept them in the game and allowed them to make a brief comeback.
UB senior Emily Russell scored the team's only goal, which came in the 72nd minute and rejuvenated the team. Freshman Jessica Roesch passed Russell the ball and Russell shot it from the 30-yard line. It was Russell's conference leading sixth goal of the season.
After the loss, the team has a 4-2 overall record, and a 0-1 standing in the MAC.
Buffalo was victorious on Sunday in a match at home against Northern Illinois, as they ended up winning 4-1. The game story will be in Wednesday's edition of The Spectrum.
