After a three-week road trip, during which the Bulls dropped five of six games, this weekend's "Homecoming" meant the comforts of playing on a home field for the struggling Bulls.
The Bulls (4-10-1, 3-5-1 MAC) were relaxed and ready to use the home field to their advantage Friday night as they beat Toledo, 5-2.
"The difference tonight was that we were at home, in front of the family and crowd," said senior forward Jenny Dannecker.
Dannecker led the Bulls' offensive charge with a hat trick, her first of the year, notching three of Buffalo's five goals and adding an assist for good measure. Her first goal came in the 17th minute of the game.
A long punt from senior goalkeeper Anna-Lesa Calvert got behind the Toledo defense, and Dannecker was able to read the surprise punt perfectly. She turned on the afterburners to beat three befuddled Toledo defenders, made a quick cut around an out of position goaltender and neatly placed the ball in the back of the net.
"We've been creating opportunities like that all year. We've just had trouble finishing. (This time) I was relaxed," said Dannecker.
The second goal of the game came from sophomore Jessica Roesch. Roesch hit what looked like a long cross that the Toledo goalie misjudged and caught about a half step into the goal.
"It was supposed to be a cross," said Roesch. "All I wanted to do was get a good cross off and it ended up working out that she fell in to the box."
The Bulls' good luck continued as Dannecker scored her second goal of the game with 1:34 left in the half. Freshman Courtney MacVie was credited with the assist.
Early in the second half Toledo's Rebecca Hollis received a red card for throwing the ball at an official over an out-of-bounds call. Hollis, Toledo's leading scorer, was ejected from the game.
Leading 3-0 and owning a one player advantage, it appeared as though the Bulls had the game wrapped up, but the Rockets hadn't run out of fuel.
Shortly after Hollis' ejection, Toledo's Kelly Langenbeck scored back-to-back goals just minutes apart. With a quarter of the game still to play, Toledo had cut the lead to one.
After being caught off guard, the Bulls' defense tightened up and fought hard in what had evolved into a very physical contest.
UB's persistence paid off with seventeen minutes left in the game, as Dannecker and junior Erica Mincher capitalized on a two-on-one with the Toledo goalie. Dannecker dribbled in towards the goal, baiting the Toledo goaltender out of position and proceeded to make a crisp pass to Mincher who assaulted the undefended net, This gave the Bulls a 4-2 lead.
"The girls knew their back was against the wall and that we needed to win," said head coach Jean Tassy.
With the pressure off, Dannecker once again took advantage of the overly aggressive Toledo goaltender. In the 80th minute Dannecker took the ball off the feet of Toledo's keeper just 25 yards from her own net. It only took Dannecker two more touches before she completed her hat trick with a well struck far post shot on the open net.
"All season long I have not downplayed the girls," said Tassy. "All season we have been playing well. It has just been our inability to finish and look at tonight."
The Bulls hope to continue to capitalize on their home-field advantage. Their last five MAC games are all scheduled to take place on UB's RAC Field.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
