At first it seemed the weather would dominate the women’s soccer game Friday, as dark, heavy clouds lingered.
Rather than let the rain get the best of them, the Bulls (4-2-1) used it to their advantage.
The Bulls defeated Binghamton (1-3-1) 3-0 at a rainy UB Stadium Friday. Buffalo put the Bearcats away with two goals in the second half after already holding a one-goal lead at halftime.
“The details really came out tonight. There was total team performance all around,” said head coach Shawn Burke. “We were defending and attacking together.”
The Bulls’ offense looked poignant and organized – pulling off trick passes and a consistent effort in attacking the net and finished with 11 shots on goal. Sophomore midfielder Julia Benati got the Bulls on the board at the end first half with a goal from the left side in the 25th minute of the match.
The momentum didn’t wear off.
The next two Bulls goals came from freshman forward Carissima Cutrona and senior forward N’Dea Johnson. Both goals came with assists from senior midfielder Kassidy Kidd.
It was Johnson’s her first career goal in the 77th minute. She had not played in a match since 2012 due to a reoccurring illness and a torn ACL.
Sophomore goalie Laura Dougall continues to live up to the hype from her freshman season as she stopped all five of Binghamton’s shots on goals in the process notching her fourth shutout of the season.
This was coming off of a “rough start” to the season, according to freshman forward Rebecca Bramble, who noted a team meeting the night prior to the game that set team goals for the season. Several weeks ago, Buffalo lost to St. Bonaventure 2-0.
“[It’s an] 180 degree turn around,” Bramble said. “The entire team – everyone all performed tonight.”
The Bulls went 2-0-1 during their three-game home stand, two of which ended in double overtime. Burke is content with the effort of the team during the past week and cited that a team sometimes needs to go through “great adversity” for success.
The Bulls travel to Morgantown, West Virginia to face the Mountaineers (6-2-1) on Friday, Sept. 18. It will be the team’s last game before Mid-American Conference play begins. Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Aubrey McLaughlin is a sports desk staff writer. Sporst desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
