The women's soccer team won their first match of the season 3-1 against Binghamton University on Friday. However, Buffalo could not ride the wave of momentum and fell in the final game of the Niagara University Fall Classic by a score of 3-0 to American University.
The Bulls (1-2-1) started the game off against the Binghamton Bearcats (0-3-1) with a spark from senior Ashley Turner. Turner got the Bulls on the board at the 1:37 mark when she knocked a pass from junior Andrea Vescio past Bearcat goaltender Erin Iman. Turner's goal was her first goal of the 2007 season.
The Bearcats kept the pressure on the Bulls and, at the 11:26 mark, tied the game thanks to an unassisted goal from Danielle White. After White's second goal of the season, the Bulls answered back with an offensive attack of their own.
With about 13 minutes left in the first half, junior Brooke McCalla connected on a pass from Andrea Vescio, putting the Bulls ahead 2-1. The Bulls took that one goal lead into halftime and added to their total in the second half. McCalla scored her second goal of the game on an unassisted goal that pushed the Bulls lead to 3-1. This was the final goal of the game, with the Bulls coming out victorious. Junior goalkeeper Amy Coron finished the game with eight saves for the Bulls, while Iman finished with three saves. In addition, Vescio finished with two assists.
The Bulls, however, could not follow their winning ways on Sunday as they lost their match against American University (4-0-0) in a 3-0 blowout. The cold and rainy weather conditions only added to Buffalo's misery.
The Eagles scored their first goal of the game at the 13:51 mark thanks to an unassisted goal by Krystn Hodge from the right side of the box. From there, they never looked back, and less than one minute later, Jess Cole put the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal from 30 yards out. Nearly eight minutes later, Kelsey Brasher scored the final goal of the game from the top of the box.
Coron made four saves on seven shots on goal, while Bearcats goalkeeping duo Hannah Radley and Kelsey Wiggins combined for a five save shutout. McCalla, senior Kathleen Fage, junior Melissa Klein, and sophomore Jennifer Mihok were the four Bulls who managed to put a shot on goal.
The Bulls played a disciplined style in both tournament games receiving neither a yellow nor a red card. They were also aggressive on offense recording 33 shots compared to their opponents 30. However of Buffalo's 33 shots only 14 of them were on goal, and only three of those found the back of the net.
Buffalo will have a few days off until they play in the University at Buffalo Fall Classic on Friday versus Maine. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
