After losing its home opener last Friday, the men's soccer team was hoping to rebound with two road games over the weekend. Although the Bulls' first attempt was unsuccessful on Friday night against the Loyola-Chicago, it managed to defeat Valparaiso the next afternoon.
The first game was a back and forth battle that ended with the Ramblers holding on for a 2-1 victory. With the loss, Buffalo's record fell to 1-2-1. Loyola-Chicago improved its record to 2-3 with the win.
Freshmen goalkeeper Robert Shuttleworth got his first start of the season. He ended up with four saves in the game.
"Robert played a solid game and kept us in the game with some key saves in the first half," said head coach John Astudillo. "I am very pleased with his performance tonight."
However, the Ramblers finally broke through in the second half. Freshman Michael Ferguson scored the first of his two goals in the 49th minute off a pass from the sideline by junior Keum Sung Kim. Kim crossed the ball into the box where Ferguson headed the ball past Shuttleworth. Ferguson scored his second goal of the match in the 60th minute. This helped give the Ramblers a 2-0 lead.
The Bulls scored in the 73rd minute with a goal from senior Sola Abolaji. Junior Lee Catchpole crossed the ball into the middle of the field and Abolaji finished with a header in the back of the net. However, this turned out to be too little too late for the Bulls.
Buffalo was outshot 10-7 in the game. The Ramblers had a decisive edge in corner kicks, as Loyola-Chicago won that battle 5-0.
"The effort was there but the result wasn't," Astudillo said. "The defense played very well, but Loyola-Chicago was able to capitalize on some of our mistakes."
Sunday was a different story for the Bulls. Buffalo traveled to the University of Valparaiso and came away with a 5-1 victory. This win helped boost the Bulls record to 2-2-1. Valparaiso is now 4-2 with the loss.
The star of this game was senior Andrae Clarke, who netted the first hat trick for the team since Steve Butcher accomplished the feat in 1998. Clarke's performance was special as all three goals were scored in a different manner. His first goal came on a header off of a corner kick from senior Brian Knapp. Clarke's second goal was deflected off a Valparaiso defender before the ball ended up in the back of the net and the final goal he scored was taken on a penalty kick.
"I'm glad he scored a hat trick today," Astudillo said. "It's a hard goal to accomplish in this sport."
Senior Braden Byler and Catchpole also contributed to the five goals put up by Buffalo. The five goals scored in this game were a season high for the Bulls.
Buffalo's offense came out strong and managed to get off 18 shots. The Bulls defense surrendered 11 shots, while only five of them were on goal. Buffalo also had the edge in corner kicks, 7-5.
"Today, we matched the effort from Friday's game," Astudillo said. "The passes were crisper and we were able to take advantage of the opportunities that were given to us. The boys worked hard and never let up for the entire game."
Senior Daniel Bell was back in goal for the game. He came up with five saves that helped solidify the victory for Buffalo.
"Daniel Bell played great today," Astudillo said. "Dan Gwyther helped organize the defense that is playing at a very high-level right now and the midfield is contributing and doing their part in helping the team be successful."
Even though the score was so lopsided, Astudillo thought Valparaiso played well. He was impressed with the effort put forth by Buffalo's opponent.
"Valparaiso is a good, solid team. They are one of the best teams in the past five years that I have seen," Astudillo said.
The Bulls will look to see if they can carry their momentum into the final game of a three-game road trip. Buffalo will travel to Cornell on Wednesday, September 13. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
