Bulls teams like football this fall have produced little reason for fans to get excited. The women's soccer team will look to change all that this weekend.
Tallying a 1-2-1 record so far this season, the Bulls have suffered crushing defeats at the hands of Lehigh and Central Florida, leaving head coach Jean A. Tassy surprisingly unconcerned.
"I wanted to give the girls the opportunity to see the best possible soccer before heading to the Mid-American Conference games," Tassy said.
Tassy's team has stepped up to challenges this season, beating Army 3-2 and earning a 2-2 tie against Jacksonville. Upcoming games against Canisius and Cornell could be a sign of good things to come, since the Bulls defeated both teams last year.
The first game of the weekend will come Friday night when the Bulls face cross-town rival Canisius' Golden Griffins. So far, Canisius has gotten off to a slow start, going 0-3 this season, suffering shutouts in all three games.
"UB really shouldn't be on the same plane as Canisius. When those teams come to play us that's their Superbowl," Tassy said.
Tassy added that Canisius always steps up to play Buffalo because of their local rivalry.
The Bulls are coming off a 4-0 win last year against Canisius, backed by a big game from senior Arielle Korczykowski in which she notched two goals and one assist.
Buffalo will cap off the weekend with a game at Cornell on Sunday afternoon.
"The Cornell game is always a nice match because we're evenly matched," said Tassy, who hopes the game will help his team gain confidence for the upcoming MAC series.
Cornell has a 2-0 record so far this season and both their wins were shutouts, leaving the Bulls with a tough offensive task. In their head-to-head meeting last year, Cornell fell to UB 2-1 after the Bulls came from behind to seal the victory.
Two key players that will be on Buffalo's watch list in their match-up with the Big Red are senior co-captains Kara Ishikawa and Shannon Fraser. Both are having impressive seasons. Fraser had two goals in Cornell's last game against Robert Morris and Ishikawa has scored in each of the team's games this season.
Buffalo will look to hold the lead against both teams this weekend as they have failed to do so in four of their games this season. The Bulls have enjoyed at most a two-goal lead on an opponent only to see that lead dwindle away, costing them the victory against Jacksonville.
"I try to get the girls to be problem solvers," Tassy said, adding that he hopes the team can find a way to overcome their second half mental lapses.
The Bulls will go into this weekend's match-ups without all-MAC freshman Courtney MacVie due to back problems, and sophomore Kara Winch, who is out with a broken foot. This has not affected the team's poise as they still have some strong points that they anticipate will carry them through the season.
According to Tassy, the bright spot for the Bulls thus far has been their solid defensive play and the "senior class showing a sense of leadership." Tassy noted that these are some of the things they will need to capitalize on if they hope to reach the postseason for the fifth consecutive year.
The Bulls will kick off their weekend doubleheader Friday night against Canisius at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
