With the Mid-American Conference Tournament looming, the women's soccer team wanted to tune up their game in the season finale against Cornell University.
With a 3-2 victory over Cornell, the Bulls concluded their regular season Wednesday night at Berman Field with a seasonal record of 11-7-1 overall (6-5-1 MAC), and a secure spot in the MAC tournament playoffs, which begin Nov. 4.
The game kicked off to a sluggish start, as both teams remained scoreless after the first half of the game.
"The first 15 minutes of the game were a little lethargic for us," said UB head soccer coach Jean-A Tassy. "After we were able to settle in, we played pretty well, though."
At 46:52 minutes into the match, UB junior Jenny Dannecker made the first goal of the night, when she scored off a pass from teammate Emily Russell. The Big Red quickly retaliated, as sophomore Shannon Fraser scored the first goal for Cornell at 59:51 minutes, with an assist from senior Emily Knight. Fraser then scored again at 63:24 minutes, making the only other goal for her team.
Cornell held the lead for a short while, until Bulls' senior Nicole Olszewski scored her fifth goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Natalia Crofut in the 72nd minute. Later in the game, during the 79th minute, Olszweski passed the ball to Crofut from 20 yards out, allowing Crofut to score the game-winning goal. Buffalo freshman Jennifer Thompson also performed very well, as she made her first start of the season as goalie with four saves.
"I think winning this game was a great release for the girls," said Tassy. "This was great preparation for the MAC tournament, because Cornell is an excellent team. We were able to equalize the score of the game, and put on the finishing touches."
When looking ahead to the MAC playoffs, in which UB will play Western Michigan (9-7-1, 8-4-0 MAC) in the first round, Tassy feels that his team needs to do what they do best, as well as minimize their mistakes on the field to stay prominent contenders for the MAC championships.
"Western Michigan beat us in overtime the last time we played them. They are a very disciplined team, and we match up pretty even with them," said Tassy. "Our responsibility is to put the ball in the back of the net, and we'll do fine."
The opening round of the MAC playoffs will begin for the Bulls Tuesday, when they travel to Western Michigan to play the Broncos at 2 p.m.
