"For women's soccer, playoff hopes still alive"

Desperately fighting to create a winning Mid-American Conference record, the Bulls faced two tough conference opponents this weekend, and managed success in one of their games. On Friday, Buffalo was able to balance their MAC record, proving victorious over the Akron Zips, but then fell to the Ohio Bobcats on Sunday.

Opening the weekend on Friday, the Bulls (8-9, 4-5 MAC) squeaked out a victory against the Akron Zips (10-6, 3-6 MAC) by a 2-1 score.

Buffalo Head Coach Jean-A Tassy had a feeling it was going to be a close game.

"It was a well fought game all the way through," Tassy said. "The reason it was such a close game was because Akron knew they needed to beat us for a playoff spot, and we knew we needed to beat them for a playoff spot."

The first half was a stalemate, as neither team was able to put a point on the board. Yet, when the whistle blew to start the second half, the Bulls' offense came alive.

Sophomores Andrea Vescio and Jenessa Banwell started the excitement, Banwell with the assist and Vescio with the shot to the back of the net. Vescio's goal was her sixth goal of the season, which leads the team in goals.

"Andrea Vescio has been shinning throughout the season," Tassy said. "Her work ethic has been tremendous, and she has played great."

The Bulls continued to dominate the second half until the last couple minutes. With three minutes remaining, Akron's Christine Vacha notched a point for the Zips capitalizing on a shot.

"There was a break down on the defensive side, it was a simple break down," Tassy said. "We had a drop in the level of concentration, it was a mental lapse and we all have them. We are a young team, and we need to work on that."

This weekend took a toll on the Bulls and it seemed that they began to miss their home field and its advantages.

"We will continue to fight but we have only played three home games," Tassy said. "Our whole season has been on the road. It is hard on the team but the girls keep playing their hearts out."

On Sunday, the Bulls attempted to seal a wining weekend but the Ohio Bobcats (8-8-1, 6-3-1 MAC) trumped their efforts as the Bulls fell 3-1.

The Bulls had a slow start on Sunday, and the Bobcats' Amy Lower was quick to notch a pair of goals for Ohio. She scored both within the first 30 minutes of the game.

Tassy attested the quick deficit to a "couple of breakdowns" but devised a plan to come back in the second half.

"I told the girls that I knew they were playing really hard, I knew their legs were giving up on them," Tassy said. "We are going to make some substitutions to get fresh players on the field and that we need to attack the flanks."

This is exactly what the Bulls did. Midway through the second half junior Heidi Griffiths headed in a cross that junior Katie Fage sailed across the box.

"With a couple minutes left we were pushing real hard, we were trying to equalize the game and were caught by a quick counter," Tassy said. "That is when Ohio scored their third goal, and it was lights out."

Even with their brief offensive stint, the Bulls found themselves drastically out shot by the Bobcats, 18-7.

"We are pushing to try and make a playoff spot, that is what our concentration is on now," Tassy said. "All the players know that is what we are working for and we just got to keep plugging away. We have worked really hard this season, we have met the majority of the challenges we have faced and we just got to continue to do that."

The Bulls continue to play on the road this weekend as they travel to the Buckeye state to compete in their last MAC season game against Kent State. The game will begin at 3 p.m. and will decide the Bulls' MAC post-season fate.