Overtime Losses Becoming a Trend for UB Soccer.

In front of a large crowd at RAC field on Friday night, the Bulls men's soccer team took on the Mid-American Conference rival Bowling Green Falcons, with both teams coming into the contest looking for their first MAC win of the season.

Despite playing one of their best games of the year, UB (1-8-3, 0-3-0 MAC) came out on the short end, suffering another heartbreaking overtime loss, falling to Bowling Green 1-0 in double OT.

BGSU's P.J. Behan scored on the Falcons' only attempt of the overtime as the ball was sent in front of Buffalo's net on a corner kick. It bounced around inside the goalie box before a shot was taken on net. An amazing initial save by UB's Chris Vavrina seemed to prolong the game, but the rebound was put in by Behan lifting the Falcons (3-5-2, 1-2-0 MAC) to a 1-0 victory.

No stranger to overtime, the Bulls were determined to come out with the win. UB dominated the first overtime period with continuous pressure on the Bowling Green defense. The pressure allowed for two attempts by Buffalo's Mirnes Biscevic to give the Bulls their first MAC victory of the year.

Two minutes into overtime, Biscevic was the recipient of a beautiful feed from midfield. The pass allowed Biscevic an uncontested drive on the goal, yet Bowling Green's goalie came out sliding and denied the attempt.

Four minutes later, Biscevic found himself with another chance to end the game. After a pass from midfielder Dave Pidgeon, Biscevic made a move in the box but was again denied by the goalie. Despite its dominating play, UB could not find the back of the net and the game went to a second overtime period.

"The team is in a rut," said Bulls head coach John Astudillo. "We are playing well but haven't been able to finish. We have been unable to make that play that eventually wins the game."

The regulation period saw no goals scored, but both teams came out of the gate with great intensity. The early play was very fast and physical and in the first ten minutes of play, UB set the pace. Buffalo controlled the midfield for the majority of the first ten minutes of play.

The outstanding play of Buffalo's Matt Stuczynski was a major contributor to this dominance. Numerous times Stuczynski defended the midline and lead the Bulls' offense towards the Falcons' net for scoring opportunities.

UB's best chance of the half came with 7:20 left in the first half. Midfielder Brian Knapp made a drive into the goalie box and ripped a shot that was denied by Bowling Green goaltender David DeGraff. The rebound came out to Buffalo's Samuel Collings who shot high. This near opportunity awakened the attending crowd as a "Let's Go Buffalo!" chant echoed throughout the crowd.

The Bulls continued their exciting play to the end of the half, out-shooting the Falcon's 6-2.

Buffalo matched the intensity they showed in the first half, opening up the second half with what seemed to be an early scoring chance. Just thirty seconds in, UB's leading scorer, Andrae Clark, seemed to have a breakaway attempt at the goal that was called off side. Bowling Green took control of the half after the call, putting a huge amount of pressure on the Bulls' defense and goalie.

Both Vavrina and the defense were up to the challenge however, as defender Cheick Diarra sacrificed his body, diving in front of a Falcon's shot at an open goal. Vavrina had come out to defend a pass in the box leaving the right side of the net open for an awaiting teammate.

Vavrina, who was making his first start in five weeks due to injury, kept Buffalo within striking distance with many dazzling saves.

Astudillo felt the senior goalie was pivotal in the second half.

"Vavrina was playing at 80-90 percent, but he gave us everything we could have wished for," said Astudillo. "His senior leadership showed through his play as he came up with the big save again and again."

At the 28:30 mark, Vavrina made two remarkable saves after a UB turnover deep in their own zone. A foul on Diarra followed the scoring attempt allowing the Falcons another chance to get on the board. The free kick however was deflected wide by the Buffalo defense and the game remained scoreless.

With 18 minutes left in the game, Vavrina came to the rescue again. Bowling Green's forward Omari Aldridge drove towards the goal, taking a shot that Vavrina blocked.

Two more rebound attempts were denied by a sprawling Vavrina before the ball was put into the net. The goal was disallowed, however, because the referee called Bowling Green for a penalty. The two teams traded scoring chances before the half ended but the game would go to overtime. Buffalo was out shot 15-3 in the half.

Bulls Fall 1-0 Once Again

The UB men's soccer team lost to Western Michigan (8-2-0, 2-0-0 MAC) in overtime, by a score of 1-0, Sunday afternoon during Western Michigan's home opener.

The loss to the Broncos dropped UB's record further by making Sunday's game their second straight overtime loss, and the third-straight game they've been shut out in.

Even though Buffalo did not prevail over the Broncos on Sunday, the Bulls played solid defense, and kept as much pressure on Western Michigan as they could, forcing the game into overtime.

"This was a very hard fought game," said Astudillo. "The first half was a back and forth affair between the two teams, with a lot of close calls. It was a real exciting game to watch."

Modifications to UB's line-up were also made to help put more pressure on Western Michigan's defense, according to Astudillo.

But the rearranged line-up was not enough to keep the Broncos from charging ahead in overtime. It was just over three minutes into the first extra session, when Western Michigan's midfielder, senior Giusseppi Ianni took an assist from teammate Guiliano Teixeira, and blasted the ball over the end line, scoring the only goal of the game.

"We played very well on the field," said Astudillo. "Our team was defending well, and doing everything we needed to do to stay in the game. We just keep catching bad breaks when it comes to scoring."

Vavrina was very reliable in goal, as he made three saves, and only allowed one goal in the loss.

The backs, junior Andrew Butler, senior Michael Gellar, and Diarra were playing solid on the field, and senior, Patrick Beckley, also did well as he led the Bulls with three shots.

UB will continue their MAC season at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, when they play against Marshall, in RAC field.