"After Tie, Men's Soccer Heads to Playoffs"

The air turns crisp, the leaves turn yellow, and once again the Bulls men's soccer team head to the playoffs.

The team ended their regular season Friday night with a 1-1 tie against Western Michigan. With the tie the Bulls improve to 7-7-2 and 1-4-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Bulls dominated the first half of play with a strong defensive effort turned in by Andrew Butler and Dave Chojnowski. Coach John Astudillo said he was pleased with the defensive effort of the team.

"The back line did outstandingly, and Daniel Bell made some incredible saves. I hope they continue to play so well," said Astudillo.

Senior Mirnes Biscevic recorded what would turn out to be the Bulls' only goal 17 minutes into the game.

"As a team we played really well, we came on strong, we kept pressure on them throughout the game. Obviously I would have preferred a win but I was happy to see the team keep it together out there," said Biscevic.

The forward lines held up strong and things seemed to be going in the Bulls' favor. Buffalo held onto the lead until late in the first half when Western Michigan converted on a direct kick of their own.

In what proved to be an exhilarating second half of play both teams came close to clinching a victory on several occasions. Sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Bell had two crucial saves for the Bulls in the second half, making sure the Bulls stayed close and that they would not lose this game.

Though neither team managed to score in the second half, it certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort. Both teams came into the second half firing on all cylinders and as the time began to run out in the game, the players' passions heated up and things started to get extremely physical. Four yellow cards and 44 fouls were credited to the two teams, but that was generous. Several fouls went uncalled or unnoticed but it was clear that there was no love lost between the two teams.

Following Friday's tie, the Bulls discovered that they will be traveling to Kalamazoo for the 2004 MAC Tournament. The Bulls are the sixth seed in the tournament and will play the Northern Illinois Huskies this Friday at 9 a.m. The team acknowledged the fact that the third-seed Huskies are one of the strongest teams in the MAC. However, they feel confident in their ability to pull off a win in the tournament.

Coach John Astudillo talked about the Bulls' keys to success in terms of the first round of the tournament and beyond.

"We can't show weakness in the mid-field or in the back. We'll have to play better than we did today, but hopefully Matt Stuczynski is going to be back and possibly Lee Catchpole will be back so we should have some help," said Astudillo.

Midfielder Mirnes Biscevic was also optimistic about the Bulls' chances of posting a victory on Friday, expressing his confidence in the team's abilities despite UB's lack of execution over the course of the year.

"I'm absolutely confident. I'm really confident in this team. Even though we don't show it at times this team has a lot of potential and I strongly believe that will show in the MAC Tournament," said Biscevic.

In their only meeting this year, the Huskies beat the Bulls by a score of 3-0. This Friday there will be more on the line. The game is in Kalamazoo on Friday, Nov. 5.