The women's soccer team has been priding itself on defense all season long. It currently ranks No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference in goals allowed, while sophomore goalkeeper Ainsley Wheldon leads the conference in saves.
The Bulls' offense hasn't had the same success as their defense, and it showed over the weekend.
Buffalo (9-4-3, 2-3-3 MAC) went on the road to face two conference rivals. On Friday, it fought Ball State (9-4-3, 4-1-2 MAC) to a scoreless tie. The Bulls failed to find the back of net again against Toledo (9-5-2, 7-0-1 MAC) on Sunday, and lost 2-0 against the conference leaders. Wheldon totaled 15 saves against the weekend opponents, including 11 saves against Ball State. Her performance makes her the ninth goalkeeper in UB history to go past the 200 saves mark. Her 108 saves this season is the 12th most in UB history.
However, the Bulls' most important save of the weekend didn't come from Wheldon. In the closing minutes of the game, Ball State took advantage of a Buffalo miscue to get the most threatening scoring opportunity of the game. But the Bulls defenders stepped in at just the right time to knock the ball out of harm's way to keep the game scoreless.
The offense couldn't capitalize on the defense's play in either game. Buffalo made 14 shots against Ball State, while the Cardinals attempted 33.
Head coach Michael Thomas believes his team would've had a better shot at winning had the pressure remained consistent throughout the match.
"We are struggling to put a full 90 minutes together," Thomas said. "I was proud of the girls for coming out on the road and getting a result against a team that's playing well in conference, but we need to play a full 90 minutes."
Buffalo's biggest scoring opportunity of the weekend came against Ball State in the 98th
minute. Freshman defender Sophie Therien blasted a free kick 18 yards away from the goal. But junior forward Paige Stroinski stepped up to block the shot and save the game for the Cardinals.
The Bulls had no such opportunity against Toledo. The Bulls only shot four balls against Toledo's 12, with none of them on goal. Toledo's goalkeeper Vicki Traven didn't have to make a single save for her MAC record 32nd shutout.
Toledo took the lead early. Toledo's midfielder Alexis Tice scored a header off of a corner kick in the 15th minute. The Rockets struck again with forward Nicole Gyurgyik's goal in the 48th minute. Gyurgyik took a perfect pass from her teammate to send a low shot that was out of Wheldon's reach.
While Thomas is still disappointed with the loss, he expected nothing less from Toledo.
"There's a reason Toledo is at the top of the conference," Thomas said. "They came out and played a great game, but you can't make mistakes against Toledo because they'll punish you for it."
The weekend's results put the Bulls at a crucial position. Buffalo's seeding in the MAC tournament depends on if the Bulls can come away with victories in the final three games. If they manage to make the playoffs, it will mark their first tournament berth since 2003.
"It matters [to us] whether we are home or away in the playoffs," Thomas said. "We have to be aware of what's around us. But we have to fall back on the old cliché of taking it one game at a time. Just make sure how important every minute of every game is and that we need a result from every game."
Buffalo will face Ohio (6-8-1, 3-3-1 MAC) on Friday at 3 p.m. before heading back to UB Stadium to face Akron (6-5-2, 3-2-2 MAC) on Sunday. The home game will start at noon.
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Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
