Soccer had its final two away games this season against the Miami (OH) Redhawks and the Ball State Cardinals. Coming off two-straight losses, the Bulls needed to rebound to remain close in the Mid-American Conference playoff race.
The Bulls (10-5, 4-4 MAC) opened up with a 1-0 win against the Redhawks (3-11-1, 1-7 MAC) but lost 1-0 Sunday to the Cardinals (9-3-2, 5-2-1 MAC). Only eight teams will make the MAC women’s soccer playoffs with the Bulls are currently sitting in the eighth position. The Bulls will need to win or tie two of their last three games to secure their spot.
Buffalo’s defense shined in the game against the Redhawks Friday. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Walsh scored the sole goal in the first 13 minutes off an assist from freshman defender Tess Ford. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Kelly had five saves on the day while the defense held on to the early 1-0 lead. Despite the Bulls being outshot 10-9, Buffalo was able to earn the win and snap a two-game losing streak.
The offense was poor on both sides Sunday. The only score of the game was an own goal by Buffalo in the 22nd minute. Kelly made 6 saves on 7 shots while the Bulls were able to get 10 shots with just 3 on net. It was a strong defensive performance by the Bulls again but they lacked offensive pressure without senior forward Carissima Cutrona.
Buffalo has its next game on Thursday against the Toledo Rockets (8-6-2, 4-3-1 MAC). The game will be at UB Stadium with a start time of 7 p.m.
Sports Desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrm.com
