Bulls Edged in Close Battle by Falcons 4-3

Unwin tallies seventh goal of the season, adds an assist

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men's soccer team continually battled against Mid-American Conference opponent Bowling Green throughout the contest, following a one-goal deficit to start the second half. The Bulls erupted for three goals in the second half as did the Falcons to eventually capture a 4-3 victory over Buffalo at UB Stadium on Friday evening.

Lucas Bassan

To start the contest, the Bulls came out on the attack with three straight shots. Bowling Green began to create their own offensive presence with four consecutive shots. With pressure placed on the Buffalo end, the Bulls shut down Bowling Green's first corner kick opportunity. On the Falcons' next corner kick on the opposite side, Bowling Green's Hunter Van Houten dropped the ball into the scrum in front of the net with Jacob Lawrence hitting the ball in, breaking the scoreless contest to give BG a 1-0 lead.

At the start of the second half, the Bulls came out how they started the contest on the attack. In the 47th minute, Mike Unwin set up Lucas Bassan with a well-executed pass. As Bassan barreled towards the net, he sent a blast from 20 yards out beating the Falcons' goalkeeper Dylan Schoettley to tie the contest at 1-1.

Mike Unwin

The Bulls continued their attack in the second half as Akil Howard walked through the middle of the Falcons' defense. With Unwin to his right, Howard dished a pass out to Unwin on the attack. Unwin dribbled the ball to the right side of the 18-yard box, pulling the Falcons' Schoettley out of place. On a tough angle to cover, UB's leading scorer ripped the angled shot into the net to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.

In the 70th minute, the Falcons managed to tie the contest at 2-2. The Falcons' Van Houten sent a low pass inside the 18-yard box to Cameron Hepple, who buried the shot to tie the contest.

Akil Howard

Seven minutes later, Bowling Green captured a 3-2 lead off an unassisted goal by Heppel, who came up the middle uncontested.

The Bulls fought right back to tie the contest. In the 79th minute, Tom Beckvermit fed a pass to Alex Marrello, who ripped a shot from 40 yards out that took an odd bounce to beat Schoettely. Marrello's goal was his first of the season, tying the contest at 3-3. Beckvermit's assist on the tally was his first career point.

As the teams continually battled for possession, the Falcons would receive a penalty kick in the 86th minute off a foul in the top of the Bulls' 18-yard box. The game's opening goal scorer, Lawrence, lined up to take the penalty kick for the Falcons and converted on the penalty kick to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead with under five minutes remaining in the contest.

Alex Marrello

In the contest, the Bulls held a 16-11 shot advantage after trailing 7-5 following the first half.

"We played well. We continually fought throughout the contest. Ultimately, our lack of discipline and mistakes hurt us," said associate head coach David Hesch.

"The second half was a great effort. It showed the fight inside our young men. I am confident that we will bounce back. It will no doubt take hard work and preparation but we can do it," added head coach John Astudillo.

The Bulls (5-8, 0-3 MAC) will return to action next week when they host Akron, the first-place team in the MAC on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 pm.