The Buffalo women's soccer team looked to be invincible during their first four games of the season. Starting out 4-0, they seemed to be a contender in the Mid-American Conference.
After their fifth straight game without a win, Buffalo is looking for a way to regain that momentum.
The Bulls (4-3-2, 0-2 MAC) fought back to force overtime, but eventually fell to the Ohio Bobcats (2-6-1, 1-1 MAC), 2-1 in double-overtime.
"When you don't play a complete game, you're most likely not going to win," said Buffalo head coach Michael Thomas. "We were inconsistent throughout the game and gave them too many opportunities."
The game opened up sloppily as both teams failed to possess the ball for long periods of time. With the ball trading between teams, shots came few and far between during the half.
One rare shot did reach the back of the net as Ohio's Erika Schmitt found the back of the net off a rebound 30 minutes into the game.
"The early goal put us into a bind," Thomas said. "We felt the pressure at that point and knew we were in a battle."
Unfortunately for the Bulls, Ohio's defense made sure they had a tough time scoring. The offense only managed three shots in the first half and eight in the game. Ohio finished with 14 shots in the game.
Unable to score in the first half, Buffalo looked for more success in the final 45 minutes. They fired a couple early shots on net but were, for the most part, stifled by the Ohio defense.
The Bobcats, on the other hand, kept the heat on Buffalo senior goalie Amy Coron. She only made one save in the second half but faced eight shots from the Bobcats' attackers. Coron finished the game with five saves.
With 80 minutes gone and a goose egg still on the board, Buffalo changed their strategy. They started sending more players up on offense and taking more chances.
Luckily for the Bulls, the strategy paid off. Senior forward Brooke McCalla put a header past Ohio goalkeeper Jessica Maclean to tie the game up with four minutes left.
"Our players felt the desperation, and they worked hard to make sure the game was not over," Thomas said. "I saw some good things from the team, and that was one of them. They refused to lose."
With the game heading into overtime, the momentum seemed to be in Buffalo's advantage. They were able to prevent Ohio's offense from sustaining any significant attack, but were unable to take a shot on the Ohio net in the first overtime.
The second overtime ended in two minutes and Buffalo came up on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Ohio's Amy Lower shot a ball over the head of Coron, into the back of the net to give Ohio their first win since opening against American University in August. Fellow Bobcats ran on the field to celebrate.
After the game, Thomas voiced his disappointment about the result.
"We were unable to put much pressure on (Ohio's) defense, and if you can't keep possession, you're not going to win," he said. "They put up more of a consistent attack than we did and they won the game."
Thomas knows his team needs some work heading into the rest of their MAC schedule, but agrees that his team isn't too far off.
"We need to start coming out and playing completing games," he said. "There have been moments in recent game where we play great, but there have also been times where we were flat. If we put everything together in these next few games, our winless streak will end."
The Bulls will look to push their win total to five when they take on the Ball State Cardinals on Friday. The game will take place in Muncie, In. at 7 p.m.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
