On Wednesday, the Florida Atlantic Owls entered UB Stadium hoping for an easy Mid-American Conference (MAC) victory to start the season off right. Little did they know that the Bulls wouldn't let that happen.
The Bulls (5-2, 1-0 MAC) dominated play versus Florida Atlantic (2-5, 0-1 MAC), earning a 3-0 victory that head coach John Astudillo attributes to the team's quick thinking on the field.
"We set out to possess and to attack quickly," Astudillo said.
At the 21st minute, senior forward Dominic Oppong scored the first goal of the night. Soon after, in the 35th minute, junior midfielder Alex Marello scored a second goal, extending the Bulls lead over the Owls.
"Once we broke them down, we were able to penetrate deeper and deeper," Astudillo said.
The second half became a repeat of the first, with the Bulls scoring yet again. Junior midfielder/defender Steffen Thorensen scored, putting the Bulls at a 3-0 advantage.
The Bulls' shutout was due to the play of junior goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth was able to keep six shots from Florida Atlantic, earning his shutout of the season. "Shuttleworth came in with a key save when we needed it when the game was close and that's what you want a quality goalie to do," Astudillo said.
While Shuttleworth expected the game to be extremely close and tight, he felt that his defense was a great help for the win.
"The back line played very well," Shuttleworth said. "I was very pleased with everyone's performance."
During the game, Oppong was injured after tripping and taking a fall on the field. Astudillo hinted that he would not be playing this weekend at the Penn Classic in Philadelphia due to the injury.
As the weekend draws near, Astudillo and his team are looking forward to the competition between Penn, a team which has not lost a game nor has had a point scored on them through four contests.
The Penn Classic begins on Friday, with the Bulls playing Penn at 6 p.m. The classic will continue with a game versus Temple on Sunday. Game time is 1 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
