WOMEN'S SOCCER

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Anna-Lesa Calvert

BUFFALO, NY - Staring down elimination from the Mid-American Conference playoffs during the final week of the season, senior goaltender Anna-Lesa Calvert (Dallas, TX/Bryan Adams) made 19 saves and allowed just one goal in two huge league wins to earn MAC Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 18-24.

Calvert made six saves in Friday's 2-1 win over Marshall to become just the 10th goalkeeper in UB history to make 100 saves in a season. She almost pitched a shutout if not for a yellow card that was thrown in the 88th minute that gave Marshall a direct kick from 15 yards out. The win helped keep Buffalo (6-11-1 overall, 5-6-1 MAC) in the hunt for a playoff slot.

On Sunday, Calvert kicked up her play a notch, making a career-high 13 saves, including three diving stops, as Buffalo turned away league co-champions Ohio, 2-0. The best shot for Ohio to score in the first half came in the 22nd minute when Tiffany Horvath crossed the ball to Natalie Grein in the left side of the goalbox, but Calvert made a diving stop on the play.

In the second half of the game, Ohio controlled possession, firing 15 shots to Buffalo's six, but a stellar eight-save effort from Calvert helped preserve Buffalo's shutout. In the 55th minute, Ohio's leading goal-scorer Horvath got an open look from 10 yards out on the right side, but Calvert came up on the ball to make a diving stop.

With the win Sunday, Calvert tied Jennifer Wicher (1990-92) with 21 career wins, the second-best total in school history, while she places fourth in UB history with 234 career saves. Her 116 saves in 2004 is the eighth-best total in school history, just one less than Jaime Adams' total of 117 in 1997.

Right now, the Bulls are clinging to the eighth and final playoff slot, but two teams (Bowling Green and Toledo) with 14 points have a game remaining against each other. If the teams tie (a tie is worth one point, a win worth three), Buffalo will earn the eighth playoff slot and face No. 1 seed Kent State on the road on Nov. 2. Bowling Green plays at Toledo on Thursday at 3:00 pm.

Buffalo closes its regular-season schedule with a 5:00 pm contest Tuesday against the Ivy League's Cornell.