Bulls run circles around Bonnies

Two scores in the first 10 minutes against St. Bonaventure sent the UB men's soccer team en route to notching its first road win and continuing its unbeaten season.

"We were really off to a fast start," said John Astudillo, head coach of the regionally ranked team. "We were really running."

At the 9:24 mark of the first half, junior Andrae Clark - with no assistance - tallied his second goal of the season. A minute later, junior Brian Knapp netted the team's second unassisted score on his only shot of the game, putting the Bulls up 2-0.

St. Bonaventure (1-3-1) cut the lead in half with 11 minutes left in the first half when Andy Garcia scored on a free kick and put the Bonnies on the board as the first period came to a close.

The story of the second half, though, was defense, as Buffalo's team defense dominated, allowing only one shot for the Bonnies.

The game continued at the score of 2-1 until senior Greg Galemore blasted an unassisted effort into the back of the net to give him a team-leading fourth goal on the season. Galemore finished the day with four shots, constantly pushing the Bonnies' defense to its limits.

Astudillo was happy with the progression of the game.

"We were able to pretty well dominate the game's first half until Garcia put the goal in and took the edge off," Astudillo said. Astudillo added that he felt the Bulls (5-0-0) are a second-half team and were able to keep the rhythm going in the second half and not let the rapid pace slow.

The only detraction Astudillo could mention was a desire to perhaps finish a little better, saying that he would love for the team to "finish more cleanly."

However, Astudillo mentioned that expectation might be a bit greedy and that the game was "a good effort with a fair result."

The story of the game, though, as it has been with most every game this season, has been the attacking and unrelenting brand of team play that the Bulls bring to the table. With an up-tempo style that uses all angles, Buffalo can often overwhelm an opponent with its speed, creativity and wealth of options.

"Lee (Catchpole) takes a lot of attention, so that allows us to attack from every angle," Astudillo said. "When they shut down Catchpole, we bring in Galemore, and when they stop Galemore, B.K. (Brian Knapp) steps up."

With so many options and a multitude of ways to undress an opponent, it is often a different group of players that anchors the team. In this particular instance, Astudillo noted that he was impressed by the performance of his defensive backs, noting that they "did a very good job," and that the Bulls "attacked with our backs a lot."

With an unbeaten record of 5-0-0, this year's Bulls team looks eerily similar to the squad that began last year 6-0-1 and stumbled to an 8-8-2 final showing before advancing to the Mid-American Conference Finals.

What can this year's team do differently to avoid a similar slump?

"Not have Lee Catchpole break his leg," Astudillo said jokingly. "That's something you can't control."

Astudillo then added that the best way to avoid that decline is to simply take it one game at a time. Astudillo just wants the team to concentrate on the next game.

"What we have on Saturday at 11 is the only thing that's important to me," Astudillo said. "Not looking back, just looking forward."

The Bulls now look to test their undefeated status Saturday at 11 a.m. against Centenary and then Sunday at 12 p.m. against Western Illinois at the Georgia Southern tournament.