Both the men's and women's soccer teams began their seasons on a low note this weekend, with neither team able to pick up a win. Combining for a 0-3-1 record through four games, the Bulls were outscored 8-4, with all of the Buffalo goals coming from the women's side. While the women were able to muster a tie in the weekend matches, the men's team fell short in both of its contests.
The women's team opened their season at home against Niagara on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-3. In a game that featured a combined 23 shots on goal, the Bulls (0-2) rallied against the Purple Eagles (1-1), coming back from a two-goal deficit on a game-tying goal by senior Heidi Griffiths in the 75th minute.
Buffalo opened the scoring as freshman Lindsey Bailey connected on a pass from Griffiths, but Niagara evened the score just minutes later. The teams went into the half tied at one but the Purple Eagles scored two goals early in the second to take the 3-1 lead.
Junior Andrea Vescio started the rally for the Bulls, opening the door for Bailey's game-tying kick. Niagara came right back, however to regain the lead in the 77th minute with a one touch blast to the upper right corner of the net by Chiara Greco and never relinquished that lead.
The Bulls made the short trip to Canisius on Sunday to battle their cross-town rivals and left with a 1-1 tie. Griffiths scored her second goal of the season as she beat the Golden Griffins' goalkeeper Daniella Pettinari in the 28th minute.
Canisius (0-1-1) bombarded Bulls' keeper Amy Coron with 31 shots, 13 of them on goal, and finally broke through to tie the game in the 79th minute on a goal by Amanda Janosky. Griffiths led the Bulls with five shots through two overtimes but neither team was again able to find the back of the net, and the game ended in a deadlock.
The men's team lost both of its games on the road and was shut out in both matches. The Bulls' first loss came at the hands of Fairfield (2-0) by a 1-0 decision. With six players making their debuts for Buffalo, including three new starters, the Bulls were only able to put one shot on goal the entire game.
The officials handed out six yellow cards, with sophomore Steffen Thorsesen receiving a double-yellow card ejection in the 89th minute. Sam Bailey finally put one past sophomore goalkeeper Robert Shuttleworth in the 70th minute to give the Stags the lead. Shuttleworth made two saves in the game, taking the place of injured starter Daniel Bell.
Bell, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA, saw his first action of the year as he started in net on Sunday against Farleigh-Dickinson (1-1) in the St. John's Nike Classic. While Bell made three saves, the Bulls lost to the Knights 2-0 and again were only able to put two shots on net.
The Bulls were done in by two second-half goals, both coming off the boot of Samson Malijani. The first came off of a rebound in the 50th minute, while the second beat Bell low in the 85th minute. The loss marks the first time the Bulls have dropped their first two matches of the season since 2003.
The men open their home schedule on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at UB Stadium against Niagara. The women's team next plays Binghamton for a 1 p.m. match on Friday afternoon at the Niagara Tournament.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
