On Friday night, the Bulls women's soccer team faced off against local rival Canisius, fighting through the rain and wind to keep each of its undefeated seasons alive.
The Bulls (4-0-1) and the Golden Griffins (3-0-2) gave the fans a grueling contest that lasted 110 minutes, ending in a 1-1 tie.
The first half belonged to the Golden Griffins, as Canisius exploded from the opening kick, controlling possession for most of the half. With the wind on their side, Canisius struck in the 24th minute off a shot from junior midfielder Meagan Jones to give the Golden Griffins a 1-0 lead.
With that goal, the Bulls trailed for the first time this year and senior goalkeeper Amy Coron's perfect season was snapped after 384 minutes of shutout play.
Canisius maintained possession through timely passing and controlled play for the rest of the first half, going into halftime with the lead.
In the second half, sophomore midfielder Lindsey Bailey applied continuous pressure on the left wing and created many scoring opportunities, wreaking havoc for the Golden Griffin's defense. Just as the crowd was getting restless, freshman forward Aubrey Stahl passed to Bailey, who ripped a shot into the back of the net. Bailey recorded her fifth goal and Stahl tallied her fourth assist.
"It's been a team effort," Bailey said. "We've worked hard in practice all the time and just hope to make the playoffs."
For the remainder of the half, possession went back and forth between the two teams and neither side was able to string together enough passes to create an opportune scoring chance.
With five minutes left in the contest, Stahl was pulled down right outside of the box, but did not get the benefit of a whistle. The questionable no-call led the game to extra time where the heaviest rain came down. Both teams weathered the storm and fought hard until the end.
The Golden Griffins were unable to find a golden goal, but the Bulls came up short as well. Buffalo challenged Canisius goalkeeper Caroline Robert twice during overtime but could not get the ball in the net. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, keeping both undefeated seasons at bay.
"We came out a little flat and they punished us for it," said head coach Michael Thomas. "If we could take away the first 15 minutes, it might have been a different game."
Thomas also felt that consistency must be worked on in the future.
"We have to know you can't take any breaks off in this game whether it's in the first 15 minutes or the last five," he said.
With the tie, Buffalo drops to second place in the MAC Conference, behind the Akron Zips, the only other team who remains undefeated. Canisius continues its best start to date in school history and has already matched its win total from last season. The all-time series between the cross-town rivals now stands at 18-8-3, in favor of the Bulls.
The Bulls will look to continue their undefeated season Friday as they take on Cornell College in Cornell. Game time is 7 p.m.
