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Bulls Drop Regular-Season Finale To Akron, 2-1

Sola Abolaji

Akron (12-4-1, 4-1 MAC) took the early lead, catching the Bulls (9-6-2, 3-2 MAC) off-guard with a lightning-quick goal at the 5:08 mark. Ashley Kozicki put the Zips on the board for his sixth goal of the season. A second Zip goal at 6:20 by Sinisa Ubiparipovic would solidify the 2-0 lead for most of the first half. The Bulls were out-shot by a 7-1 count, unable to muster many scoring opportunities.

Daniel Bell

Having scored 15 of its 23 goals this season in the second half, it was no surprise that UB would stitch a valiant comeback effort in the second half. With 17 minutes remaining in the game, junior Dan Stevens (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) rifled a shot that would be deflected by Zips goalkeeper Evan Bush, only to be hammered home by senior Sola Abolaji (Denver, Colorado/Eagle Crest) for his second goal of the year. The score gave the Bulls an opportunity to tie up the game, but fell short in the end. The Zips held control for most of the game, winning the corner kick battle 9-1 and making the most of its chances to keep the lead.

Dan Stevens

Senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame) made six saves in the match, setting a new personal career-high for saves in a single season with 60. Akron's Evan Bush turned away two shots for the win.

Buffalo fell one game short of claiming its first-ever MAC title. At 3-2 in conference play, the Bulls will be seeded fourth in the upcoming MAC Tournament, and will host a quarterfinal game against fifth-seeded IPFW on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at UB Stadium. The MAC semifinals and championship game will be played at Northern Illinois' home field on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5.