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Bulls and Broncos Battle To 1-1 Tie

Braden Byler

Western Michigan forward Nashir Caraballi set the pace early, as he blasted a header off a short corner kick that made its way past junior goalkeeper Daniel Bell (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame) at the 4:02 mark in the first half. Bell would finish the half in net, only to relinquish net patrol over to freshman Teddy Ritter (Belford, NJ/Middletown North), who saw time in only one game previous.

Teddy Ritter

The second half would be Buffalo's time for payback, as it took key opportunities to wear down the Broncos defense. Four corner kicks and a 12-6 shot differential would give reigning MAC Player of the Week Braden Byler (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) a chance to play hero and continue his great play in his second start of the season. The junior forward netted the Bulls' only goal with 2:12 left in the game with a shot from eight yards out, to tie the score. As time wound down in the game, the Bulls would enter their first overtime period of the season, only to finish unscathed and without defeat.

Juniors Andrae Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica/DeWitt Clinton) and Brian Knapp (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had six shots to lead the Bulls offense. Ritter picked up four saves in 65:00 minutes of play, the most he has been in net as a Bull. The Broncos were led by Caraballi with three shots, while goalkeeper Brent Miller managed eight saves on one goal allowed.

The Bulls are now 2-1-1 in MAC play entering Sunday's heated matchup with Northern Illinois, who is currently 2-0-0. The Huskies were ranked 22nd in the NSCAA/adidas top 25 poll last week as each team looks to gain momentum entering the MAC Tournament which starts on Nov. 8. The game kicks off at 1 pm and will conclude the Bulls' regular season.