TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

One of the things the men’s soccer team has been very sincere about has been its efforts to raise money for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. What are some things you have done to raise money for the victims of the disaster?
We organized a table to be set up in the Student Union where we were selling UB Pride bands and we were taking the proceeds of that and donating that to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. We’re also taking donations from t-shirt sales at games and we plan to donate the money to the Second Harvest Food Drive down in New Orleans.

The men’s soccer team has come out on quite a roll this season, winning its first eight games, averaging 3.63 goals per game and allowing only five total goals. What do you attribute the fast start to?
The team’s hard work that we put in before the season and everyone’s desire to just win this year. Everyone is on the same page as a team. We’re all just looking to do the same thing and that’s just win.

Conditioning seems to have been a major factor in your start. Of your 29 goals, 22 of them have come in the second half. Opponents have scored once in the second half. How much of an emphasis has the team placed on playing all 90 minutes?
We didn’t really put much emphasis on coming out as a second-half team. Our team as a unit just seems to turn it up in the second half when we know the pressure is on. When the game is tied 0-0 at the half, we come out flying in the second half because we just want to put it away. We don’t want to make it a close game. We’ve just been trying our hardest to knock the team out as quick as possible.

This Friday, you host rival Canisius. Although they haven’t won a game yet, they tied Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure and tied Cleveland State. What does UB have to do to ensure that the local rival won’t upset you?
We’ve been playing a fast-paced, very offensive style and on top of that, very tough defense. We need to play our game and not their game, which will probably be a kick-and-run. We just have to make sure we play to our game plan.

Coach Astudillo has recruited a team with players from six countries and four states on its roster. What is it like being on a team that is that diverse?
It’s great. We have a lot of different people from all over the world and a lot of different cultures. We all come from different places, but at the same time, we are all fighting to achieve the same goal. So even though we all have different pasts, we’re all doing the same thing now. We’re all coming together to reach a common goal.

In the past four years, the men’s soccer team has ridden quite the roller coaster. As a sophomore, you were on a team that won one game. What were some of the things that your team sat down and worked on to avoid that happening again?
That year, we were young; most of us were freshmen or sophomores. The thing about that was that no one left after that year. Our whole team stuck together. We went through the bad times, so we know what the worst of the worst was for a season. We knew exactly what we didn’t want to do, so we worked very hard in the offseason to get back to being a top team.

As a junior, the team went 6-0-1 to start before finishing the regular season 7-7-2. You won your first MAC playoff game and made it to the conference semifinals. So you tasted a lot of success, but also went through a lot of hardship in the middle of the year. What were some lessons you took from last year?
We learned from our mistakes and we moved on from them. We got off to such a great start and we wanted to have that same great start this year, but also continue from that. We’re 7-0 right now and we want to keep the winning streak going. We don’t want it to end, because we know what it was like when it ended last year.

You’ve seen a lot of things change at UB in the past four years. We’ve installed turf on the football field, had an All-American wrestler and men’s basketball player, come a half-second away from the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball and even seen four of last year’s senior athletes sign professional contracts. How much fun has it been to be a part of UB athletics in the last four seasons?
It’s been great. Going back to when I was being recruited in high school, I wouldn’t change my decision at all. I got recruited at a bunch of other places, but with the way everything has been—even with the ups and the downs—I’ve enjoyed every minute I’ve had here at UB. It’s just been a great experience for me.

In high school at Cathedral Prep in Erie, PA, your team won the Class AAA high school state championship. What was that experience like?
It was great, because when you’re in high school, the state championship is the highest goal you can reach. Once you win the state championship, it feels like you’ve reached your goal. I want to do that here. I want to win the MAC Championship. I want to go to the NCAA Tournament. I want to go as far as we can. I want to do that here, too.

What has been your favorite moment as a student-athlete at the University at Buffalo?
I think it’s just where I am right now on the team and everything. So far, this has been my most successful year, being a captain on the team. The team, itself, is such a good group of guys. On the field and off the field, they’re my best friends around. I think just being on this team, this year, is the best moment I’ve had at UB.

- The “10 Questions with…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina.