The men's soccer team notched only two shots on goal in perhaps its toughest test of the season over the weekend.
Those two shots were all it needed.
The Bulls (6-5-1, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) stunned the No. 18 Northern Illinois Huskies (7-2, 0-1 MAC) at the NIU Soccer Complex in both teams' conference opener on Saturday afternoon, 2-1 in double overtime.
"We had a plan and stuck to it," said interim head coach David Hesch about the upset victory, according to buffalobulls.com. "NIU is a very good team and the boys played very composed."
The game-winning goal came in the second overtime off the foot of freshman defender Lukas Fedler. His header in the 108th minute was set up off a free kick by junior defender Matthew Chereson. The assist was Chereson's first since the 2009 season.
The game started out well for the Bulls, as they picked up the first goal of the match in the 17th minute. Junior forward Maksym Kowal received a pass from senior defender Nate Woods on the left side of the field to get his second of the season.
"Max [Kowal] scored a great goal to put us on the board early and Lukas [Fedler] found himself open off a set play for the game-winner," Hesch said. "It was a total team effort and we deserved to win."
After the Bulls' first tally, they knew the heavily favored Huskies weren't just going to roll over. NIU forward James Stevenson took a pass from NIU midfielder Isaac Kannah and beat junior goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi for the score with just over 18 minutes remaining in regulation.
The game remained knotted at one for the rest of regulation and throughout the first overtime.
There were two prominent chances for Northern Illinois to win the game in overtime. NIU's Houston Hoffman was left all alone on the left side close to the penalty box in the 104th minute, and sent a shot that just went wide of the back post.
Less than a minute later, NIU midfielder Brad Horton crossed the ball in from the right side, and defender Mike Mascitti rose to head the ball toward the goal. Mascitti's header was on a clear path to the back of the net, but Viscosi made a spectacular diving stop to deny the shot for one of his four saves on the night, resulting in his sixth win of the season.
The game was a physical one overall, especially in the second half. The Bulls committed 23 penalties to the Huskies' 19, and both teams received a total of eight yellow cards. The Bulls were docked with five, with the bench getting booked with two of them in the second half and overtime.
The Huskies had the advantage for most of the game, as they received nine corners to the Bulls' one, and out-shot the Bulls, 19-6 overall.
Hesch was happy that his team was able to stay focused despite playing against such a highly ranked team.
The Bulls come back home to host conference opponent Bowling Green (6-2-1) in the Falcons' first MAC matchup on Sunday at UB Stadium. The Bulls will look to stop the Falcons' lethal offense. BGSU has scored 16 goals in nine games on the season, and are led by BGSU midfielder Brandon Silva and BGSU forward Rodcliff Hall's three goals apiece. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
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