Beginning Mid-American Conference play on Friday night, Buffalo came out firing shots like bullets against Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne. The Bulls used their 19-7 advantage in shots to come away with a 1-0 victory.
"We had many opportunities on goal," said head coach John Astudillo. "We need to be able to finish these scoring chances."
Even though Buffalo (7-3-1, 1-0 MAC) held an enormous shot advantage, the Mastodons (0-10, 0-3 MAC) almost scored the first goal of the contest. At the eight minute in the game, junior forward Chas Perry fired a shot from 40-yards out that went past Buffalo's senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell. Luckily for the Bulls, the ball hit the crossbar and IPFW did not score on the play.
IPFW was aggressive in the beginning of the game. The Mastodons were dangerous on their counters, and Buffalo stopped them when they needed to with some key saves.
It took the Bulls until the 85th minute to capitalize on one of their shots. Senior Brian Knapp was able to convert his scoring opportunity to help lead Buffalo to a win. Junior Dan Stephens was surrounded by Mastodon defenders, yet was able to find Knapp in the box. Knapp was by himself and fired a shot to the back post to give Buffalo the game winning goal.
It was Knapp's third goal of the season. Stephens has recorded an assist in each of the past four games and leads the MAC with six.
Buffalo distributed the ball around the field, which allowed many players to chip in with shots on goal. Stevens led the team with two shots, while Knapp followed with one of his own. Junior Lee Catchpole, senior Andrae Clarke and freshman Mateo Escobar each had one shot on goal.
The Bulls had a decisive edge in the corner kicks, as they won the battle 5-1. Buffalo also did not commit nearly as many fouls as IPFW. The Mastodons had 22 fouls in the contest while the Bulls only had 16.
The Mastodons were led in goal by sophomore Michael Knitter. He finished the game with seven saves. His stellar performance helped IPFW stay in the game and have a chance to win.
"Conference play is tough," Astudillo said. "I have to give IPFW credit. They fought hard and wanted to win just as bad as we did."
IPFW was only able to attack Bell and the Buffalo defense with seven shots. Only one of those attempts was on goal. Bell was able to make the save and record his sixth shutout of the year, putting Bell atop of the MAC in that category.
Although the Bulls were able to keep IPFW off the scoreboard, Astudillo still feels that there are areas his team can improve upon.
"The defense is giving up too much space and possession," Astudillo said. "They need to close the space down and clear the ball sooner. It is important for our defense to anticipate the play, rather than reacting to it. On offense, we need to play smoother in the beginning final third of the game. We need a better offensive scheme and to be discipline in the attack. Our forwards need to move more often and we need supporting angles from the midfield."
Astudillo is confident that the team can improve at practice to fix these mistakes. He knows this team works hard in training sessions and has the attitude to correct the problem to get better.
The Bulls will hope that their road success continues when they travel to face their next MAC opponent Bowling Green on Friday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
