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Men's Soccer Set to Face IPFW on Halloween

Brian Knapp

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo men's soccer team (9-6-2, 3-2 MAC) will be out in full force on Halloween, causing chaos and striking fear into each person they encounter. However, the team will not be terrorizing on the streets, but instead on the pitch, as it hosts fifth-seed IPFW on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students.

The quarterfinal game will be broadcast on WLVL 1340 AM, as part of UB's expanded radio broadcast schedule. For fans not in the Buffalo area, all matches are available free of charge on Teamline, which can be accessed from the UB men's soccer main page.

The Bulls, a fourth-seed, will look to repeat last year's results, as they came up with a 4-0 shutout win over the Mastodons at home in the quarterfinals to advance to eventually face top-seed Akron in the MAC Championship game.

This season, the teams have faced off only once, on Sept. 29, as UB defeated IPFW for its first Mid-American Conference win of the year, 1-0. The lone goal in the match boosted the Bulls to their fifth shutout win of the season, as the team has now shutout the Mastodons in each of their three all-time meetings. The game remained scoreless heading into the 85th minute, when senior Brian Knapp (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) hammered home the game-winner to earn the Bulls their fourth straight road win.

UB is led by senior Andrae Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica/DeWitt Clinton), who has scored eight goals and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Daniel Bell (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame) boasts a 0.81 GAA and has contributed to the team's .818 save percentage, which is 28th in the nation.

In two years since joining the MAC, IPFW has won only one conference match, with the lone win coming this season against Bowling Green in a 2-1 decision. The Mastodons are led by forward Chas Perry with three goals and two assists. Goalkeepers Joshua Howell and Michael Knitter both currently lead the MAC in saves per game with 6.43 and 5.00, respectively. Knitter ranks 23rd in the nation in saves, having played in more than 50% of games this season.

The winner of Tuesday night's game will advance to the conference semifinals to be played at DeKalb, Illinois. Top-seed Northern Illinois and the second-seed Akron await the outcome of the two quarterfinal match-ups, as the UB-IPFW winner will face off against the Huskies and the Bowling Green-Western Michigan winner will face off against the Zips.

For more information regarding the 2006 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament, visit the Tournament Central website at the MAC Homepage.