The women's soccer team traveled to Colgate on Wednesday afternoon in search of its first three-game winning streak since 2008. The Bulls (3-0) weathered an early storm to win the game, 2-0.
The Raiders (1-2) had control in the beginning of the affair as they took 16 shots, with four on net in the first half. However, the Bulls raised their intensity and kept the game scoreless. After a few substitutions by head coach Michael Thomas, the Bulls gained the upper hand on Colgate.
"The strength of our team all year has been our depth," Thomas said. "We're not a team that goes 11 players deep; we really feel we go 26 players deep."
Thomas capitalized on his deep bench, as 20 players saw action in the match.
The Bulls started off the scoring in the 38th minute when sophomore midfielder Megan Abman put pressure on her opponent and caused a turnover. Abman then dished it over to sophomore forward Stephanie Velez who put it past Colgate goalkeeper Ashley Walsh. Both Abman and Velez were fresh off the bench.
It turned out that goal was all the Bulls would need, as sophomore goalkeeper Ainsley Wheldon continued the level of play that garnered Mid-American Conference co-defensive player of the week honors. Wheldon posted her third straight shutout. The Waterloo, Ontario native made seven saves, bringing her total to 17 on the season.
"Right now you really have to give credit to the whole backline," Thomas said. "And I think [Wheldon] would be the first one to tell you that she's benefitted off of the continuity in the backline, but every time we've needed her to be there, she's been there with a big save."
The Bulls would add a late goal to put the game out of reach at 2-0 when freshman forward Katie Roberts went down the left side of the penalty box, faked a shot, and passed to Abman, who nailed the net.
Wheldon had her hands full with Colgate forward Jillian Kinter, who has led the Raiders in scoring the past two years. Kinter took seven shots, including five on goal, but she couldn't beat Wheldon. Thomas admitted that Kinter was not the focus of the Buffalo defense, and he wanted to keep everything in their gameplan the same because it has led the Bulls to success this season.
"Colgate has so much talent that we couldn't key on one player," Thomas said. "We talked more about our defensive concepts as a whole, rather than [trying] to take one player away."
After a dismal one-win season last year, Thomas is ready to move forward. He's taking last year as a learning experience and he feels that the players have also learned a lot.
"We're reaping the benefits of having such a young team last year," Thomas said. "Just having that extra year of experience has been great."
The team continues to show it can play strong defense for the entire game while adding a late goal when necessary.
Sophomores are shining for Buffalo, as the squad's star goalkeeper and goal-scorers in this affair are second-year players.
Notably, Colgate outshot the Bulls 23-6 in the match, including seven on net to the Bulls' four. With the win, the Bulls improve to 3-9-1 all time against Colgate.
The women's soccer team returns to Buffalo for its home opener against St. Bonaventure on Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
