After a poor start to the 2011 Mid-American Conference campaign, the women's soccer team was determined not to relive its abysmal 2010 season.
Senior forward Aubrey Stahl rose to the challenge. She capped off her weekend with a game-winning goal in extra time as Buffalo (8-2-0, 1-1-0 MAC) defeated Miami (Ohio) (6-3-0, 1-1-0 MAC) by a score of 1-0.
The Bulls have already bested their conference mark from last year, when they went winless. In fact, the 1-0 victory was the first MAC win for the Bulls since they defeated Northern Illinois, 2-0 on October 11, 2009. The eight wins so far have matched their win total from the last three seasons combined. Their 8-2-0 record is also the best since the 1999 season, when they started off the season 13-1-1.
Stahl was commended for her heroics in the game.
"Aubrey has it in her to be one of the most prolific scorers in the conference," said head coach Michael Thomas. "We always felt that it was just getting that first goal [on Friday] and then Aubrey was going to do big things."
Stahl's goal in the second minute of extra time came off a turnover by the RedHawks at midfield. Junior forward Taylor Thompson took control of the ball and immediately passed it to a streaking Stahl, who took advantage of the sleeping RedHawks ‘D' for the goal.
"Taylor made a great play making that tackle, and I really had the easy part," Stahl said. "I had a bit of a slow start [on the season] but I'm really starting to get my feet under me."
Stahl's goal was her second of the season.
The defense picked the perfect time to flex its muscles, shutting down a potent Miami (OH) team that's leading the MAC in goals this year with 20. The RedHawks had only one shot on goal in the first half and four total shots in the game.
The Bulls held the Hawks' Kelsey Dinges, Jess Kodiak and Kayla Zakrzewski – three of the top 10 goal scorers in the MAC – to only two shots on goal during the game. This also marks the first time all season that the RedHawks have been shut out.
Thomas remarked on how his team was motivated by its loss in the conference opener.
"Miami's one of the best teams in the conference and they're just a class act," Thomas said. "The kids were very up for this game after the way Friday ended and knowing that they were facing one of the best teams. This game was reflective of that."
The hero of the game at goalkeeper was a surprising one. Sophomore goalie Ainsley Wheldon had to come out of the game after 70 minutes because of an undisclosed illness. Freshman goalkeeper McKenzie White took her spot despite having only 5 minutes of NCAA experience under her belt.
She was challenged immediately. A shot in the 76th minute by Miami midfielder Sydney Busch went wide to the left side of the goal.
Then, in the 80th minute, Kodiak lined up what looked to be an easy header off a pass from about five feet out of goal. McKenzie, reacting quickly, made the save of the game as she moved to her left to snag the ball out of the air. McKenzie picked up two saves, a team shutout, and the first win of her young career.
"McKenzie has been training at an extremely high level; she just has the misfortune of playing behind somebody who is nationally ranked in shutouts right now," Thomas said. "We had all the confidence in the world that she would come in and do great, and she did."
Offensively, the Bulls were much better on Sunday than they were on Friday night in a loss to Bowling Green (4-7, 1-1 MAC), 2-1. Buffalo put up 16 shots on Sunday, with six on goal. To put that in perspective, the shots on goal equaled the total shots they took during Friday's loss.
The Bulls' play in the midfield was spectacular and made pass after pass, to keep Miami's defense constantly confused. As a result, there were many easy opportunities to score, but goals were hard to find during regulation thanks to missed shots and the play of Miami goalkeeper Allison Norenberg, who finished with five saves.
Thompson, who was given the assist on Stahl's goal, found ways to snake through the RedHawks' defense. She retrieved balls off of headers time after time, despite her undersized frame.
"Taylor's physicality is tremendous," Thomas said. "Her ability to battle between the big trees and hold the ball really was one of the difference makers in the game."
The Bulls face their first conference road tests this weekend as they visit the defending conference champions Central Michigan (7-1-1, 1-0-1 MAC) on Friday and Eastern Michigan (0-8-1, 0-2 MAC) on Sunday. The Central Michigan Chippewas are tough on defense. They have only allowed five goals on the year, but the Bulls believe that they're up to the task.
"We have been really good at keeping focused and we need to take it one game at a time," Stahl said. "Everybody needs to step up and do what they need to do, whether it's coming off the bench or starting. We've done really well at that so far in the season so we'll just have to keep it up."
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Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
