The UB men's soccer team put their unbeaten record on the line Wednesday night against a tough Canisius team, and they were able to come away with a hard fought 1-0 win.
Jeff Martinko would provide the only offense needed as he netted his third goal of the season. Goalkeeper Daniel Bell only needed to make one save to earn his fourth shutout of the season.
After a sluggish 20 minutes in which both teams came out flat the Bulls (4-0-1) finally took control of the game. A yellow card resulting from a hard slide-tackle by the Griffins' Adam Reekie seemed to provide the spark needed for a UB team not too familiar with playing on turf.
"We came out and practiced here a couple days before and we tried playing at the north Amherst recreational center too," said Bell. "We just needed to get the team used to turf before we came out here to play."
In the 32nd minute, defender Cheick Diarra showed a flash of brilliance as he stripped the ball and maneuvered past the opposing Canisius forward. Diarra then threaded a perfect pass along the sideline. Erik Jaanimangi raced down into the corner and launched a perfect pass to a streaking Martinko who buried a shot into the right corner to give UB the lead.
"We always encourage Cheick to go forward. I think the team was still adjusting to the turf and I was misjudging a few balls too," said Bell. "The goal helped us get really settled and to get everybody's confidence up."
The second half featured both teams trading chances, but both goalkeepers were able to make key saves at key times, especially late in the game when the Griffins appeared to tie the game.
With just over 12 minutes left in the match Canisius defender Fabien Lewis sent a shot from midfield that Brian Brehm headed right into Bell. The rebound immediately came back to Brehm who sent a shot soaring into the top corner. The play, however, was ruled offside.
Even though Canisius carried a 1-4 record entering the match, Bell knew this would not be an easy win, as UB had not won in three years versus their cross-town rivals.
"They are always going to be up for us. This is a big local rivalry. We know a lot of their players, we know their coach and we knew they would be up for it," said Bell. "We hadn't beaten them in three years, so we knew it would be a tough game."
UB's defense continued to look stellar. The Bulls have surrendered just one goal through five games. Up front on offense, head coach John Astudillo continues to give young players like Shyle Braithwaite and Braden Byler a lot of playing time, which may be the reason UB has already surpassed the goal total for the entire 2003 season-a season in which the Bulls only managed to score eight goals.
Bell says he likes the way this year's team is looking, but if there is one thing that UB can improve on before opening up conference play it is talking.
"One thing I think we need to work on is communication," said Bell. "If I am calling for a ball or someone else is calling for a ball everyone else should back off. It's always good to tell people their options."
The Bulls will resume their five game road trip when they travel to Rider on Friday. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
