On Friday, both the men's and women's soccer teams pushed it to the limit in their matches versus Bucknell and George Washington. In the end, neither efforts were worthy of a win, as the men earned a tie versus Bucknell, and the women lost in double overtime versus the George Washington Colonials.
The men's team (5-2-1, 0-0 MAC) stretched its unbeaten streak to six matches in its match versus the Bucknell Bison (1-3-3). Sophomores Dan Bulley and Alex Marrello each played an important role in the outcome of the game.
After the first half of the match was scoreless, Marello scored within the first minute of the second half to put the Bulls on top 1-0. The goal was made possible thanks to a beautiful pass from junior forward Dominic Oppong. In the 72nd minute, Bison Conor O'Brien scored on a free kick to tie the game at 1. O'brien scored his second goal of the match in the 81st minute to put Bucknell up 2-1.
With six minutes left in the match, junior Dezi Lara sent a pass to Bulley who put the ball in the back of the net to tie the game at 2.
In a situation all too familiar to the Bulls, the match went into overtime. However neither team could capitalize in the extra periods, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. This was Buffalo's fourth overtime match in its last five games. Junior goalie Robert Shuttleworth made five saves including a game saving stop in overtime, while Bucknell goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach made four stops in the entire match.
While the men were fighting Bisons at Bucknell, the women's soccer team (3-4-1, 0-0 MAC) took on the George Washington Colonials (5-3-0) in Washington DC. This game also went to double overtime, except the Colonials were able to pull the win out in double overtime for a 2-1 victory.
George Washington scored first in the match at the 37th minute thanks to Kerry Philbin's headed-in corner kick from Lauren Kelly. Bulls junior Andrea Vescio had an opportunity to tie the game on a penalty kick in the 40th minute, but failed to convert. However, Vescio gathered her own rebound and kicked the ball past George Washington goalkeeper Amie Kern.
The second half was a scoreless match, with great goaltending coming from both Kern and Bulls junior goaltender Amy Coron. The same occurred during the initial overtime, with no goals being scored. Two minutes into the second overtime, George Washington's Keara Mehlert netted the game winner right over Coron's right shoulder. Junior Brooke McCalla finished the match with four shots, while Seinor Ashley Turner and Sophomore Jocelyn Cibiniskas each finished with one shot on goal.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
