Heading into the last two games of the season with playoff rankings up for grabs, the men's soccer team went a disappointing 0-1-1 on the road to conference opponents this weekend.
The 20th-ranked Bulls came out with a 1-1 tie in an overtime battle with Western Michigan on Friday, and then on Sunday UB fell 1-0 to the Northern Illinois Huskies, who are ranked 22nd in the country and second in the Mid-American Conference.
Before traveling to Western Michigan (6-6-2 overall, 2-1-1 MAC) and Northern Illinois, the Bulls had a realistic shot at a number-two MAC playoff ranking and an outside chance at earning the number-one spot. However, coming off a loss and a tie puts UB at an almost certain three-seat for the MAC tournament.
In Friday's game in Kalamazoo, junior Branden Byler proved once again that he is good enough to fill the shoes of the high-scoring Lee Catchpole, as he tallied his third goal in as many games. After stepping in for the injured Catchpole and scoring two goals against conference foes Bowling Green a week earlier, Byler came up big yet again as he mustered a late-game goal to save the Bulls from defeat at the hands of the Broncos.
The Bulls (12-2-1 overall, 2-1-1 in the MAC) were down by a goal with 2:12 left to play when Byler ripped a shot from eight yards out to tie the game at one. Leading up to the junior's game-tying goal, the Bulls had out shot Western Michigan by a margin of 28-15 but were unable to find the back of the net.
The Broncos' only goal of the contest came early in the first half as freshman Nashir Caraballi scored off from a corner kick on junior goalkeeper Daniel Bell at the 4:25 mark. Bell finished the rest of the first half in the net before leaving the game and turning the goaltending duties over to freshman Teddy Ridder.
Bell spent 45 minutes in the goal and tallied two saves. The freshman spent the second half, plus the overtime period in the net earning a total of 65 minutes and four saves.
Juniors Brain Knapp and Andrae Clarke each notched six shots on goal for the Bulls while for the Broncos, Caraballi had three shots and goalkeeper Brent Miller earned eight saves on the day.
Friday's conference match-up proved to be a physical game for both teams as Knapp, Clarke and junior Dave Chinojnowski were all issued yellow cards for the Bulls and the Broncos were given a team yellow card.
The Bulls first playoff game is scheduled for Nov. 8. Their opponent and the place of the contest are yet to be announced. To see the full game story of UB's match-up against Northern Illinois check out Wednesday's edition of The Spectrum.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
