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Bulls Fall 1-0 To Akron In MAC Final

Robert Shuttleworth

Both the Bulls and the Zips came out looking to set a physical tone early in the first half. As a result of that physical play, the game was stopped three times within the first eight minutes due to injuries. Dan Stevens (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) picked up the first yellow card of the match in the 19th minute for a late tackle as the physical play continued. The only good chance of the half came for Akron in the 25th minute when Matt Tutich, the lone goalscorer when Akron and Buffalo met in the regular season, tested UB goalkeeper Robert Shuttleworth (Tonawanda, NY/Nichols) from 20 yards out. But Shuttleworth was up to the task, making a terrific diving save to keep the match scoreless. At the halftime break, Akron held a 4-3 edge in shots.

Dan Gwyther

Akron came out strong at the beginning of the second half, holding a significant edge in the possession early in the second 45 minutes. Steffen Thoresen (Trondhiem, Norway/Kristen Tronderlag) picked up the second yellow card of the match in the 51st minute as he clipped an Akron player trying to run past him. On the ensuing free kick, Dan Gwyther (London, England/Woodcote) saved a goal for the Bulls when he made a goal line clearance of a shot by Tutich. Dan Bulley (Exeter, England/St. Peter’s) drew a free kick in the 74th minute for the Bulls. But following the free kick, Buffalo was nearly caught on the counter-attack as Akron raced the other way and the ball again fell to Tutich who was all alone 15 yards from goal. Tutich’s shot was fired well high of the net and the match remained scoreless. In the 86th minute, Akron had another opportunity as Steven Kalan fired a shot at Shuttleworth from 12 yards out, but again Shuttleworth was up to the task.

Neither team was able to score in the 90 minutes of regulation time and, just like they did in the 2005 MAC Final, Buffalo and Akron went to overtime scoreless. This was the eighth overtime match of the season for Buffalo, the Bulls were 5-0-2 in overtime matches going into today.

The Bulls created the first chance of the overtime period when they earned a corner kick in the second minute of the extra session. Alex Marrello (Burnaby, British Columbia/Alpha Secondary) took the corner for the Bulls but nothing came of the opportunity. Bulley picked up the third yellow card of the match for UB in the 99th minute when trying to track down a loose ball in the offensive third of the field. As the match went beyond the 100 minute mark, both the Bulls and the Zips struggled with their footing on the soft pitch at Lee Jackson Field.

Early in the second ten minutes of overtime, Akron finally broke through the Buffalo defense to score the game-winning goal. Kalan crossed the ball from Shuttleworth’s left-hand side and Anthony Ampaipitakwong got on the end of the cross near the six-yard box. Ampaipitakwong headed the ball under Shuttleworth into the net, giving the Zips the victory and the MAC Championship.

Shuttleworth made five saves during the match for the Bulls and suffered his first loss in goal for UB since the season-opener on August 31. Buffalo forced Akron goalkeeper Evan Bush into making two saves.

Buffalo finishes the season with a record of 10-7-2.