Men's Soccer Weekly Release

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Edged in Close Battle by Falcons 4-3

Lucas Bassan

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.

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 sophomore 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. With Schoettley facing a tough angle to cover, UB’s leading scorer ripped the shot into the net to give the Bulls a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.

Facing a 3-2 deficit, the Bulls fought right back to tie the contest once again. In the 79th minute, Alex Marrello scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at 3-3. Marrello ripped a shot from 40 yards out that took an odd bounce to beat Schoettely.

Alex Marrello

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.

Up Next: #1 Akron

The Bulls will remain at home for their next two contests. The first contest will come against MAC opponent #1 Akron (13-0, 4-0 MAC) on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 pm at UB Stadium.

Friday’s contest will mark the 20th matchup between the two teams on the pitch. In the all-time series, the Bulls hold a 1-17-1 overall record against the Zips. In 19 previous matchups, Akron has outscored UB, 44-9.

Heading into Friday’s contest, Akron has outscored their opponents 36-2 while not allowing a goal in the first half. For the season, the Zips have held their opponents to 54 total shots in 13 contests,  an average of 4.2 shots per contest.