One team played much better than the other on Friday night when the men's soccer team battled the 17th-nationally ranked Akron Zips, with first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) on the line; the Bulls were the latter.
On a rainy day in Buffalo, the Bulls (9-4-2, 3-1-0 MAC) entered the game in first place and could have clinched the regular season MAC title. By the end of the night, their lack off offense would cause their demise.
The first half started off slow, as neither team mounted much of an offensive attack except for a couple near misses for Akron (11-3-2, 3-0-1) in the last 10 minutes of the first half. The Bulls were out-shot seven to three in the first 45 minutes.
When the second half rolled around, it didn't take Akron long to get on the board. Five minutes into the half, Steve Zakuani took a shot from inside the 18-yard box on the left side of the field. Senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell bobbled the shot and Akron's Matt Tutich was there to put rebound in the back of the net from six yards out.
The Bulls' offense struggled against a very aggressive Akron team and did not generate enough offense to scare the Zips. Buffalo could not find the back of the net as they went on to lose 1-0.
The Bulls were out-shot in the game 12-5, and Akron had seven corner kicks to Buffalo's one.
The game was very physical. Akron committed 18 fouls, while Buffalo had 15. The Zips pressured the Bulls every time they touched the ball; Buffalo did not have any time to look up the field and make a play to spark the offense.
Bell made five saves to keep Buffalo in the game, but the rest of the Bulls didn't seem to play up to head coach John Astudillo's expectations.
"It obviously was not the result that we wanted," Astudillo said. "We didn't really play as well as we should have played in the second half, we were giving up a lot of possession."
Throughout the entire game and especially in the last five minutes, Akron seemed to control the possession, which is another reason for the Bulls' minimal offensive chances.
"They are a very good possession team, they can spread you out quite a bit," Astudillo said. "They're a quality team without a doubt."
Anything that the Bulls tried to do against the Zips did not seem to be working. One way they wanted to attack the Zips defense was by getting the ball to junior midfielder Dominic Oppong, who had been a key player in setting up Buffalo's offense over the past games but failed to ignite attack against Akron.
"Sometimes, you know the game just doesn't go your way," Oppong said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball, but if I get it and beat two guys and there is about four more guys I've got to beat, it doesn't help."
Oppong believes that a lack of teamwork was a major reason that the Bulls failed to score against one of the toughest defenses in the nation.
"It's a team game and if one player can't do it. 11 got to do it because there is 11 players on the field," Oppong said. "I don't think we played as 11 today, that's why we didn't get the win."
Buffalo has not beaten Akron since 2000, which is its only victory over the Zips since their first meeting in 1996.
The Bulls cannot dwell upon this loss as they finish their MAC schedule next week and prepare for the playoffs in a couple of weeks. The Bulls will host Hartwick in their last MAC game on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
