University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 17, 2002

Football

Marshall 66, UB 21

Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich may not win the Heisman Trophy as college football's best player, but it would be hard to convince UB that there's a better player in the nation after what the Bulls saw Saturday afternoon in Marshall Stadium.

Leftwich completed 28-of-35 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone to lead Marshall to a 66-21 victory over UB. The Bulls, who were a "+7" in the turnover category coming into the game, had two interceptions and two fumbles returned for touchdowns in a game where very little went right in the face of a tremendous team.

Despite the lopsided loss, Bulls' coach Jim Hofher challenged his team at halftime, trailing 52-0. The Bulls responded, running for a season-high 239 yards—185 of them after intermission—and putting together scoring drives of both 87 and 83 yards in the second half. Freshmen tailbacks Aaron Leeper and Dave Dawson each topped the 100-yard barrier, becoming the first UB duo to accomplish that feat since 1996. Leeper finished with 145 yards on 21 carries—including a 65-yard touchdown jaunt in the fourth quarter—while Dawson set a career high with 103 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Leftwich's first-half performance was way too much to overcome.

For the third straight road game, the Bulls gave up a touchdown on the opponent's first drive of the game as Leftwich hit Josh Davis on a 63-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline. The score came just 52 seconds into the game and capped a 76-yard drive in three plays.

After the Bulls picked up two first downs, one via a roughing-the-punter penalty, they were forced to kick. Leftwich went to work again on a seven-play, 72-yard drive that he capped with a 12-yard touchdown toss to Darius Watts to make it 14-0 with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter.

Marshall led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter after Brandon Carey scored from one yard following a Bulls' punt that was tipped. The drive was 57 yards on eight plays at the 3:00 minute mark. Leftwich was near-perfect in the first quarter, hitting 13-of-14 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bulls drove to the Marshall 10-yard line early in the second quarter, but Leeper was stopped on a fourth-and-one play. That was UB's best chance to make this game competitive.

UB (1-6, 0-3 in the MAC) didn't get on the board until 45 seconds remained in the third quarter by completing a workmanlike, 11-play, 87-yard drive with Leeper scoring the touchdown from 17 yards out. Quarterback Randall Secky kept the drive alive with a fourth-down completion of nine yards to redshirt freshman Tim Dance.

Another freshman scored the Bulls' second touchdown as Dawson scored for the second straight week, racing in from 14 yards out to cap a five-play drive that started when senior Dahnel Singfield fell on a muffed punt by Roberto Terrell at the Marshall 35.

Leeper scored two touchdowns in the game for UB, the first multiple touchdown game of his career. Defensively, the Bulls were led by senior Ryan Buttles with eight tackles, while senior corner Mike Lambert had six stops, including a tackle for a loss.

UB will host Miami (OH) in Saturday's homecoming game. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

Volleyball

Miami 3, UB 0
Ball State 3, UB 0

UB dropped a 30-24, 30-18, 30-18 decision at Miami (OH) to open the weekend. The Bulls was led by junior Lindsay Matikosh, who saw her streak of double-doubles in kills and digs end at nine matches. She finished with team highs of nine kills and nine digs. Juniors Alexis Bouie and Emily Dills added six and five kills, respectively, and sophomore Kathryn Henry finished with seven digs. Freshman Amy Brown and sophomore Molly Schrantz shared the setting duties and recorded 14 and 11 assists, respectively.

On Saturday, the Bulls fell to the Ball State Cardinals in Muncie, Ind., 30-17, 30-20, 30-16. The loss dropped UB's record to 8-13 overall and 0-7 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls were led by Henry, who recorded a team-high 11 kills and eight digs. Bouie added nine kills, and Matikosh finished with six kills and a team-high nine digs. Schrantz recorded 25 assists and six digs.

The Bulls will return home to host Toledo at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Central Michigan at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be in Alumni Arena.

Soccer

MEN'S

UB 3, Western Michigan 0

UB won a spirited game against Western Michigan, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at RAC Field. It was the Bulls' second consecutive conference victory and improved UB to 5-5-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the MAC.

The Bulls' opening goal was scored by junior forward Patrick Beckley, who took a pass from Michael Battiste and outraced a Western Michigan defender to score on a breakway. It was Beckley's first goal of the season.

Geoff Thompson scored the Bulls' second goal of the game when he headed in a centering pass from teammate Dave Pidgeon in the 66th minute. It was Thompson's team-best fifth goal of the season and Pidgeon's team-best fourth assist of the season. Greg Galemore added some insurance in the 78th minute when he notched his second goal of the year. Vinny Rundo fed Galemore with a perfect pass and was credited with an assist on the play.

Brian Wozniak needed to make only two saves to earn his second shutout of the season.

The game was marred with cards and ejections, including the dismissal of a frustrated Bronco defender, Pat Wilson, who was assessed his second yellow card in the 82nd minute.

UB will host Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Kentucky at 2 p.m. on Sunday at RAC Field.

WOMEN'S

UB 3, Canisius 0
Akron 2, UB 1
UB 2, Marshall 1

The Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak in a big way on Oct. 8 as they beat Canisius, 3-0, at RAC Field. The Bulls dominated the contest from the opening whistle and never looked back, outshooting the Golden Griffins, 37-3.

Jenny Dannecker notched the Bulls' first goal when she scored off of a centering pass from Nicole Olszewski at the 30:58 mark. Meaghan Maul followed with her second goal of the season in the 38th minute. Erica Mincher provided the assist on the play. The final goal was scored by Elizabeth Pfeffer, who made some pretty individual moves to work free and crank a shot past the Canisius goalkeeper.

The Bulls put pressure on Canisius all night. The score may have been even greater if not for the stellar play of Canisius goalkeeper Christine Moran, who made 16 saves, many in spectacular fashion, to keep the Griffs in the game.

At the Bulls end of the field, Anna-Lesa Calvert needed to make only one save to earn her second shutout of the season.

The Bulls fell to Akron, 2-1, on Friday night at Akron's Lee Jackson Field.

Akron wasted little time getting on the board as Abby Holzworth scored just 2:30 into the contest. It was Holzworth's team-leading fifth goal of the year. The eventual gamewinner came at 23:34 by way of Jeannie Stuckey on a breakaway. A late offensive push by the Bulls kept things interesting. Pfeffer scored her team-leading third goal of the season at the 66:06 mark and UB threatened to tie things in the remaining minutes. However, the Zips were able to hold on for the 2-1 victory.

The Bulls returned home to beat Marshall, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at RAC Field. It was the Bulls' third conference victory of the season as they improved to 3-4-1 in the MAC and 4-6-4 overall.

The Bulls got on the board first courtesy of a Natalia Crofut goal in the 35th minute. The freshman attacker took a pass from Megan Hosey, chipped it over the Marshall goalkeeper and got a friendly bounce off the far post to tally her second goal of the season. Emily Russell converted on a penalty kick, in the 51st minute, for the Bulls' second goal of the game. It was Russell's first goal of the year. UB played solid defense throughout the game but was unable to preserve the shutout as Marshall's Lindsey Jayjack scored on a penalty kick, just off the fingertips of Calvert, at the 83:52 mark.

UB will take on Toledo at 4 p.m. tomorrow and Bowling Green at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, both matches at RAC Field.

Cross Country

Bulls easily win UB Open

The men's and women's cross-country teams cruised to easy victories Saturday afternoon at the UB Open. Both squads scored a perfect 15 points each to take team honors. Daemen College finished second in the men's meet with 59 points, followed by Erie Community College (76) and Pittsburgh-Bradford (94).

In the women's meet, Pittsburgh-Bradford finished second to the Bulls with 50 points. Women's teams from Daemen, Erie Community College and Medaille also were in the field but did not race enough runners to score.

In the men's race, the Bulls posted the top 12 finishes overall and 14 of the top 15. Senior Jerimie Slick was the first to cross the finish line, completing the 8K course around Lake LaSalle in 25:50 for a new course record. Slick was followed by Todd Ludden and Rick Stewart in 25:51 and 25:52, respectively. Joel Beatty raced to fourth in 26:15 and Onile White rounded out the Bulls' point-scorers with his fifth-place finish in 26:53.

The women's race turned into a cakewalk as well, with UB runners taking the first 12 spots across the finish line. Senior Christina Keck took the individual title in 18:49 for the 5K distance. Melissa Burrows finished second in 18:50 and Jessica Moldovan was third in 18:51. Kate Kohout and Jenny Koeppel rounded out UB's scorers in 18:57 and 18:58, respectively.

UB's top runners will head to the Pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute, Ind., for Saturday's race that will feature some of the top teams from around the country. The remainder of the Bulls will travel to Rochester to race in the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational.

Tennis

MEN'S

UB 5, Vermont 2
Binghamton 4, UB 3

UB scored a 5-2 victory at the University of Vermont on Friday afternoon to give the team its first win of the fall season.

The Bulls won the top four singles matches and all three doubles matches to collect five points. Number-one player Fery Kasiman faced a challenge in his match, downing Zeljko Knezevic in a tiebreaker. Kasiman dropped the first set, 7-6, but rallied to take the second set, 7-5, and scored a 10-2 win in the tiebreaker. UB's next three players, Nick Zieziula, Randy Rocchio and Josh Liederman rolled to straight set victories. The Bulls also swept the doubles competition, with Rocchio and Zieziula posting an 8-5 win at number one over Knezevic and Jon Cooper.

The Bulls then suffered their first loss of the fall season on Saturday with a 4-3 decision at Binghamton. The loss evens the Bulls' mark to 1-1 in dual meets for the 2002-03 campaign.

UB picked up the doubles point by scoring a pair of victories. Zieziula and Rocchio defeated Akshay Rao and Brad Sherwood, 9-7, at first doubles. Rohan Raiker and Joe Popielarczyk earned an 8-6 win over Brian O'Connor and Ryan Rosenthal at third doubles.

The Bulls only were able to capture two singles matches on the afternoon. Three of the matches went to third sets, with the Bulls winning two. Rocchio rallied to defeat Sherwood at number three, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0. Liederman also rallied from a set down to defeat O'Connor at number four, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

WOMEN'S

UB 7, Cleveland State 0

The Bulls swept to an easy, 7-0, win at Cleveland State on Saturday to improve to 4-1 in the fall season. The Bulls did not lose a set, with number four singles player Helen Lynch cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 win in her singles match and teaming with Michelle Kollarova to win the number two doubles match, 8-1.

UB's match at Youngstown State scheduled for Sunday was cancelled due to the weather.

The Bulls will host California (Pa.) in the fall-season finale at 2 p.m. on Friday at the UB Tennis Center. If inclement weather forces the match to be played indoors, it will be held at the Village Glen Tennis Club in Amherst.

Basketball

WOMEN'S

Kochendorfer Named to Preseason All-MAC East Division Team

Junior Jessica Kochendorfer has been named to the 2002-03 Preseason All-Mid-American Conference East Division Team. The conference's East and West division preseason teams are selected by the MAC News Media Association.

Kochendorfer was an Honorable Mention All-MAC selection and an Honorable Mention All-America selection by womenscollegehoops.com in 2001-02 after leading the Bulls with 14.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.36 blocks per game. She ranked in the top 15 in the conference in six different categories last season, including 10th in scoring and fourth in rebounding.

Her 401 points on the year are the 10th highest in UB history, and her 38 blocks are sixth on UB's single-season record list. With 607 points and 361 rebounds entering her junior season, Kochendorfer is on pace to become just the second player in UB history to score 1,200 points and grab 700 rebounds in her career.