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KALAMAZOO, MI - The Buffalo men's soccer team saw its season come to an end on Sunday with a 4-1 loss to the second-seeded Akron Zips. The Bulls were not able to keep their momentum from their 2-1 quarterfinal win and will end the year with a 8-8-2 record. The Bulls were trying to reach the MAC Championship game for the first time in their history.

Jeff Martinko

Akron got on the board early in the first half and would keep the lead for good. Down 2-0, the Bulls got their only goal of the game from freshman Lee Catchpole (Norwich, England/Bungay), who scored his third goal of the tournament. Catchpole received a pass from senior Jeff Martinko (Shelby Township, MI/DeLaSalle Collegiate) at the corner and put it past the Akron goaltender.

Although he let up four goals, sophomore goalkeeper Dan Bell (Brampton, Ontario/Notre Dame) made five saves for the Bulls in the loss.

The Bulls managed to get five yellow cards in the contest, as well as a red card in the 72nd minute to senior Andrew Butler (Yorkshire, England/Mirfield). Prior to receiving the red card, Butler led the team with three shots in the game.

With the victory, Akron improves to 12-4-3 on the year and will host the 2004 MAC Championship game next weekend against Western Michigan. The Broncos upset the number one seeded Kentucky Wildcats earlier in the day when Kentucky scored in their own net for a 1-0 Western Michigan win.

The Bulls finish the season with their most wins since 2001 and a seven game improvement in the win column from last season.