This weekend the men's soccer team successfully kicked its way into two Big East competitors at the West Virginia University Shootout in Morgantown, West Virginia.
In its season opening tournament, the Bulls defeated the University of Pittsburgh in a shootout, played to a 0-0 draw against West Virginia, and were crowned WVU Shootout champions.
The tournament started on Friday when the Bulls (1-0-1 overall) took on Pittsburgh (0-2-0) in the first round and defeated the Panthers 2-1. The contest was the season opener for both squads, and was the Bulls first match up with a Big East opponent since 1997.
Buffalo opened up the scoring in the sixth minute when senior Brandon Byler finished a crossing pass from junior Dan Stevens. The assist was Stevens' first point in his career at Buffalo. The game saw no more action until the 74th minute when sophomore Dan Gwyther scored a goal on a header from senior Erik Jaanimagi.
"I was happy with the win," said Bulls head coach John Astudillo. "But I think there is more that this team can improve on."
Defensively, the Bulls were nearly flawless as they allowed only one shot on senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell. The shot resulted in the only goal for Pittsburgh during the 81st minute when Panthers junior Chris Bastidas beat Bell on a 12-yard chip shot from midfield. Bell recorded his 24th career victory and holds the record for wins at Buffalo.
"Bell has been playing dominant in the backfield," said Astudillo. "I thought our weakness would be defense this year but it has not looked like that so far."
The championship match of the weekend saw the Bulls facing off against the West Virginia Mountaineers who the Bulls had never beaten in the only two meetings the schools have had.
"We knew West Virginia was going to be an athletic team and great competition," said Astudillo.
West Virginia was a participant in the NCAA college cup tournament, the same tournament the Bulls failed to receive a bid for last year. The game was a defensive battle as West Virginia combined for three shots while the Bulls faltered combining for ten first half fouls.
The second half was led again by Bell who made eight saves between the pipes. Offensively, Buffalo was lead by sophomore Jon Martin and senior Andre Clark who each recorded a shot on goal. The Mountaineers were lead by goaltender Nick Noble. Noble recorded his second straight shutout.
The game ended in a tie and thus the tournament championship was decided by point differential. Since the Bulls out scored West Virginia during the whole tournament Buffalo was crowned champions
"I think the result was fair, I would have liked to have seen more offense but we will take the win," said Astudillo.
After the game, juniors Dave Chojnowski and Dan Stevens, Gwyther, and Jaanimagi were all named to the WVU Shootout All-Tournament team with Gwyther being named tournament MVP.
"Dan is an excellent player and hopefully he remains healthy" said Astudillo.
The Bulls will be hosting their own tournament this weekend, the UB Fall Classic. It will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bulls face off against Detroit.
"We are not thinking about the past, only the future," said Astudillo.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
