Daniel Bell is not your typical jock.
The senior goalkeeper for the men's soccer team ranks in the top 10 in the nation in both save percentage and goals against average, in addition to his six shutout victories this season. However, this is only half of the story for Bell, who was a UB Scholar-Athlete in the spring of 2006. Bell is adamant on keeping a good mix of both academics and athletics
."I'm going to try to pursue soccer at the highest level I can possibly play," Bell said. "My dream is to play professionally at some level in Europe. If that doesn't happen I'd like to go to grad school in Europe."
Bulls head coach John Astudillo describes Bell as a person who is aware of the world around him, and can carry a conversation on several topics.
"Very affable, well rounded," Astudillo said. "You can have a deep conversation with him that doesn't have to be about soccer. He knows his politics and he has sensible opinions."
Bell, who is a political science major, has never had trouble managing the student and athletic parts of his life. In fact, he says he loves both aspects.
"It's all about time management," Bell said. "I thoroughly enjoy both. I love what I study, and it's definitely a big field of interest for me. Sometimes when you're in-season the work becomes a little tough to get done when you're on the road, but I never thought it was to hard to juggle both. If soccer doesn't work out in the long run, I'd definitely like to pursue academic excellence, whether it's grad school or beyond that."
When Bell came to Buffalo, one of the biggest aspects he needed to work on was his confidence as a leader. Bell admits he was not the most assertive person, and still has a lot to work on.
"UB's definitely help me come out my shell," Bell said. "I came here a pretty timid guy, and now I don't really hesitate to take on a leadership role. I think I've definitely grown in confidence and maturity. A lot of that comes from the team, a lot of that comes from just growing as a person and going to college."
Astudillo agrees that he has seen improvement in Bell as a leader.
"There's a difference between yelling and giving loud assertive directions, and I think that's something that he needed to work on a lot in the beginning," Astudillo said. "I never thought he was the most assertive guy in the world. And now he does that when he needs to, and he directs the defense well."
Growing up in Brampton, Ontario, Bell looked up to his brother, who showed him how to handle both athletics and education.
" My brother's three years older then me, he came to the states on a soccer scholarship too," Bell said. "He went to Princeton, he's a very good student and a very good soccer player. He's a good role model. We're three years apart, so it's not like we ever got to compete with each other. He was more focused on academics at the time, and all high school I was very much into soccer. I think that the age gap prevented us from being competitive with each other."
As Bell prepares to graduate, his name is all over the University at Buffalo record book, ranking first in single-season and career wins and second in career goals against average. However, Bell still has one more goal to accomplish that will overshadow his personal accomplishments.
"I think that first we have to prove that last year wasn't a fluke, and that we are as good as our record shows," Bell said. "And second of all for all the guys who were on the team last year, it's obviously our goal, knowing that we were so close last year, it makes you want it that much more."
As Bell and the Bulls move towards the Mid-American-Conference tournament, Bell can still remember the feeling of playing in the MAC finals, and he wants that feeling again.
" Even though we didn't win, the MAC finals was just incredible to go that far and to come that close to getting to the NCAA tournament," Bell said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
