Defense wins championships. It's a common, underlying theme throughout most sports. Unfortunately for the Bulls, strong defensive play was not enough to shut down the Michigan State Spartans. After starting out their season perfectly through the first 360 minutes, the men's soccer team fell short of extending their winning streak on Friday. In the first game of the Michigan Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan State blanked the Bulls by a score of 1-0, improving the Spartan's record to 2-3 while sending the Bulls to 4-1. The stat lines made it apparent that it was a closely contested battle, with six shots in the first half and four in the second. Only one proved to be necessary to decide the contest. Michigan State sophomore midfielder Jeff Ricondo snuck by the Bulls' defense on a pass from senior forward Louis Stephens III. On a two-on-one break off Buffalo's right flank, Ricondo had a clear path to the net and then blasted the ball by Bulls' junior goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth in the 12th minute of play to put the Spartans up 1-0. Buffalo head coach John Astudillo felt that Michigan State caught an easy break at an uncharacteristic lapse of the Bulls' defensive awareness early in the game. "We let a goal in early that we shouldn't have but I think we rebounded well," Astudillo said. "It's difficult to predict what a team will do when playing down. We only have had to do it once so far this young season before today." In the 26th minute of play, it looked like the Bulls would bounce back and even the scoreboard. The team generated their best scoring chance of the first half as senior forward Lee Cathchpole knocked a shot off the post. In the following minutes of this rush, Buffalo looked to gain control over Michigan State until the 41st minute when Spartan senior forward Doug DeMartin directed a header off the Bulls' crossbar. Astudillo mentioned how well his defense adapted to letting the Spartans take an early lead and credited the closeness of the game to overall stellar play by his defense. "Our back four, our back line... played a very strong game," he said. "Not only did they defend well, they attacked well from the back to allow the attack to continue. I was very pleased with their efforts." The Bulls came out firing in the second half, as they appeared to maintain significant control for the majority of the final 45 minutes while holding the ball within Michigan State territory. A giveaway inside the box by the Spartan defense in the 75th minute lead to the best scoring opportunity of the day for Buffalo, but junior midfielder Mateo Escobar fired a shot wide of the net. Spartan sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage kept his composure as the Bulls upped the pressure to hold onto the lead and give him his first-ever collegiate victory. "It's a good sign when the team stays together and plays hard late in the game," Astudillo said. "It's frustrating in soccer to play behind, especially in the last 15 minutes, but I thought we did well to control the tempo and the attack as well as provide a strong defense when we had to." Astudillo said that going against a team in a power conference like the Big Ten had no force on the direction of the game or his preparation for it. "We ended up feeling it was an unfair result. I thought we had more control, especially in the second half where we had more opportunities to score," Astudillo said. "It was frustrating that we could not capitalize on these chances and turn the shots into goals. I don't know if the team feels like they could not have won. I think that if they played another team such as Michigan State they could win but that's the feeling you get when the result doesn't go your way". It is sometimes difficult to come back from a loss with a vengeance, especially for a team that has gotten used to winning so soon in a season. However, Astudillo feels that this loss will not overshadow the Bulls' 2008 campaign. "Right now we're just beginning the portion of our season that's pretty well concentrated. We've got quite a stretch coming up that will be difficult and test our fitness as well as our emotional stamina but I think we'll be fine," Astudillo said. "You hate to start on a bad note but the idea of competition is rebounding from whatever. Whether it's a hill or valley you still come back fighting and that's what we'll be doing Sunday." After finishing their play in the Michigan Tournament, the Bulls will head back home to prepare for their first Mid-American Conference matchup of the year. The game, against Florida Atlantic, takes place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at UB Stadium. Staff writer Jill Tarapacki also contributed to this article.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
