Coming off a powerful and important 3-0 victory against IPFW in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals, the men's soccer team was looking to advance to its second consecutive MAC Championship game. To get there, the Bulls would have to defeat the top seeded Huskies of Northern Illinois Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the Huskies became a roadblock in their run to the Championship as they defeated Buffalo 3-0.
Things didn't start off as planned for the Bulls as senior midfielder Sola Abolaji was yellow carded twice within the first 20 minutes of play on hard foul calls. Sophomore defenseman Dan Gwyther was also carded twice during the game, which put the Bulls down two men for the majority of the match.
"I think the intensity on both sides was going to be very high, the tempo was very high," said Bulls' head coach John Astudillo. "A game like that needs to be officiated better and it is unfortunate that something like that can influence the outcome of a game, especially this one."
Despite being down a man, the Bulls had the first opportunity to score. Freshman midfielder Villa Wahlsten took a crossing ball in the middle of the field and redirected a bullet off his head towards the goal from about 15-yards out. The header hit the cross bar just inches shy of finding the net. The game remained scoreless midway through the first half.
Realizing the Bulls (10-6-2, MAC 3-2) potential to remain competitive in the game, even shorthanded, the Huskies (12-5-1, MAC 4-1) stepped up their attack and scored their first goal three minutes later. The goal came in the 32nd minute, as Huskies' striker Steve Algonzino floated a shot up and over Bulls senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell. The goal came off a free kick and put Northern Illinois up 1-0.
The Bulls stayed with the Huskies physically, as they fought off the Huskies' advantage. The Bulls were able to rack up three shots on goal and earn two corner kicks in the first half. The Huskies had nine shots and two corner kicks.
Halftime rolled around with the game at the score of 1-0. The Bulls still had a pulse and their pressure and intensity remained high while being shorthanded.
"Our boys fought hard even when they were down one man," Astudillo said. "We did go one behind, but we did put pressure on them by keeping possession, getting some quality shots, and doing a lot of running."
Buffalo was even stronger in the second half as they came together to chalk up seven shots with just nine men. The Huskies put up only one more shot than the Bulls in the second half despite having a full lineup on the field.
"Even after that (player ejections) we were still pressing, there were boundaries with numbers but we were still pressing," Astudillo said. "The boys were into a good rhythm and they are a team who never says die, and just plays until the end. Unfortunately those calls decided the game."
With exhaustion and aggravation setting in for the Bulls, the Huskies were able to capitalize on their two-man advantage and knock home two more goals in the 80th and 85th minute of play, to put the game and the championship out of the Bulls' reach. The Huskies' goals were scored by Luis De La Cerda and Marcus McCarty respectively.
"Ten minutes left in the game and being down two men and you are still taking shots on a team like this says a lot about the courage and fight that our guys have," Astudillo said. "We fought hard and battled back and stayed in this game as best we could."
Bell had five total saves in his final game as a Bull. Northern Illinois goalie Joe Zimka recorded his ninth shutout of the year and recorded seven saves for the Huskies.
Northern Illinois will meet Akron for the MAC Championship Sunday.
"The team certainly got better this season," Astudillo said. "The quality of opposition was on a higher level and the boys responded well. Overall I think we played hard and reached the best level of play. This team has a lot of hope for the future and we were able to defeat a top 25 team this season, just too bad it wasn't tonight."
The Bulls finished the season tied for sixth best record in school history.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
