The men's soccer team brought its undefeated streak home, where it was welcomed by a cold, wet night and 15 mph winds.
Despite the weather, the Bulls (3-0-1) seemed happy to be home. Buffalo was able to shutout The New Jersey Institute of Technology (1-3), 1-0 for its second straight shutout.
The game started off as a defensive stalemate, with both teams feeling each other out during their first ever meeting. The Highlanders boxed in the Bulls' ball carriers early on. Buffalo responded with quick, short give-and-go passes to spread out the Highlanders' defense. Interim head coach David Hesch implemented this strategy because of the weather.
"The weather definitely had something to do with it," Hesch said. "Playing on the turf is real slick, with balls and traps being misplayed, it was definitely affective."
The two teams started to open up offensively toward the end of the first half. Sophomore midfielder Richard Craven had an opportunity to put the Bulls on the board, but missed his shot wide right on a breakaway. Buffalo later missed another chance when a header off of one of its six total corner kicks hit the crossbar.
The Highlanders were the first to find the net, but a late offside call cancelled the goal and kept the game scoreless.
The Bulls came out of halftime with a more aggressive game plan. Buffalo utilized longer passes, advancing the ball up to the forwards quicker to put pressure on the Highlanders' defensemen.
"We wanted to make the passes from the defenders to forwards and then combine from there," Hesch said. "And I think it was successful, and we just got to find our scoring touch somewhere."
After 80-plus minutes of silence, junior midfielder Risto Latti sent a long through ball to senior forward Andy Tiedt, who settled the pass, ran past a Highlander defenseman and chipped it in for the game's only goal.
Buffalo hopes its late goal will bring some momentum as the team goes back on the road.
"It's great that Andy finally got a goal because he's our leading shot [taker] right now," Hesch said. "Finding the goal today before we go on the road is big for Andy."
The Bulls gave up some turnovers because of their new, aggressive game plan, but they quickly recovered with strong, physical play. Hesch gave all the credit for the win to his players. He was thoroughly impressed with sophomore defenseman Jesse Andoh and freshman defenseman Lukas Fedler. Hesch believes they've kept the Bulls in every single game.
The fans that stayed and cheered, despite the rain, were rewarded when the Bulls went into the stands to celebrate.
"[The three road games were] three totally different environments," Hesch said. "It was definitely tough. I give these guys a lot of credit for doing what we are doing right now."
Junior goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi made two saves for his third shutout this season.
The Bulls now go on the road for four games. They'll get right back after it on Friday at Siena. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
