Although a string of five straight away games over the course of almost two weeks has been good to the UB men's soccer team, it's safe to say that unlike Willie Nelson, the Bulls can wait to get on the road again.
Despite a difficult 3-1 loss Wednesday night at cross-town rival Niagara (1-6-0), a loss that broke a seven-game unbeaten streak, UB (6-1-1) enters Friday night's 7 p.m. kickoff at RAC Field against Oneonta (3-4-0) with a head of steam and a desire to perform in front of their own student body.
"We're looking forward to playing at home obviously," Bulls' Head Coach John Astudillo said. "We're hoping to put on a show."
UB has done a lot of that so far this season, as their 6-1-1 record attests, but Coach Astudillo points out that there's no room for complacency at the Division I level.
"Right now we're working in practice to refine things defensively," Astudillo said. "Last week we gave up too many goals late in the game. We just can't do that."
A refined defense will be vital against an offensively aggressive Oneonta team that features two-time Junior College player of the year, senior forward Ricky Quest and high-scoring freshman forward and Atlantic Soccer Conference Rookie of the Week, Daniel Stevens.
The Red Dragons have played a tough early schedule, with losses to the likes of Syracuse, Ohio State, and nationally ranked Binghamton, a team UB tied earlier in the season. But Astudillo points out the fact that from a pure talent standpoint, Oneonta may trump Buffalo.
"Their 11 are probably better than our 11." Astudillo said. "As a team, our 11 are just going to have to outplay them."
The Bulls intend to offset Oneonta's firepower by giving the Red Dragons a taste of their own medicine.
"We're going to defend them just long enough to let ourselves attack them," Astudillo said.
Critical to this strategy, according to Astudillo, will be midfielders Ross Tauchert, a junior, and Erik Jaanimagi, a sophomore. The two will be relied upon to both disrupt Oneonta's offense as well as initiate the UB counterattack, which will likely be led by high scorers Braden Byler and MAC Player of the Week, Lee Catchpole.
Of course the onus of containing Oneonta's offense, according to Astudillo, will likely fall heavily on defensemen Matt Stuczynski, Andrew Butler, and Mbwana Johnson. Astudillo hopes for big outings from all three, but ultimately he will rely on a true team effort from a squad that has shown notable growth and maturation this season.
"One thing that's very pleasing for me is how much the sophomores on the team have grown and how much the juniors have grown together," Astudillo said.
The products of that growth will be put to the test against the Red Devils, and in the weeks following as well, as the Oneonta match marks the end of the Bulls' non-conference schedule.
The Bulls will attempt to build upon the momentum brought about by a sterling start to the 2004 season within the friendly confines of RAC Field on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
