Women's Soccer Playoff Preview

Three wins.

That's all that stands between the University at Buffalo women's soccer team and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

But first, the Bulls (11-7-1 overall, 6-5-1 Mid-American Conference) need to win three games in the MAC Tournament, the first of which will be played when they travel to face off against the Western Michigan Broncos (9-7-1 overall, 8-4-0 MAC) at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

These two teams last met at RAC Field on Friday, September 12. In that game, WMU scored two first-half goals en route to a 2-1 victory over Buffalo.

According to UB head coach Jean-A Tassy, there will be no change in strategy:

"We know that we have a solid defense - unfortunately, the last time we faced (WMU), they scored a couple of early goals off of us," said Tassy. "They play an intense, high-pressure style, which we have to counter by penetrating their defense and scoring a couple of early goals."

One of the many weapons UB has at its disposal is fifteen-goal scorer and co-captain Emily Russell. However, Russell has become the focal point of opponents' defenses, as she has not scored a goal in the last three regular season games, tying her longest scoring drought of the season.

"It doesn't matter who scores the goals, so I'll be trying to draw the attention of the defenders and open up the field for my teammates to get into scoring position," said Russell.

She will be looking to feed the ball to fellow goal-scorers Natalia Crofut and Nicole Olszewski, who each notched six and five goals, respectively.

"With all the extra pressure on Emily, other players need to step up and get involved with the offense," added Tassy.

If Buffalo wants to win the match, they'll have to show up on the defensive end as well.

"We've been checking out scouting reports so we can see what other teams have faced and make adjustments accordingly," said defensive mainstay Devon Russell. "We have to move the ball up to our forwards quickly so they don't have a chance to counter us. Also, our forwards need to pressure their backs, because a big part of their offense involves them serving up the long balls."

Buffalo, with the many weapons at its disposal, has a legitimate shot at winning the tournament. Western Michigan head coach Mike Haines agrees.

"I think that the match on Tuesday will be a great one," said Haines. "Buffalo's a great team, only three years removed from winning the championship. You have to have respect for one of the best offenses in the league."

The Broncos are known for their defense, backed by streaky goalkeeper Kate Perz. Perz had six shutouts during the regular season, to go along with a solid 1.26 GAA.

If the Bulls want to get on the board with some early goals past Perz, they need to maintain their focus, according to co-captain Zita McKenna.

"The focus of our team always remains the same - each playoff game could be the last of our season," said McKenna. "We try to keep in mind that it's just like any other game. As long as we can stay focused, we'll have no trouble extending our season."