University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 30, 2003

Football

UB 26, Ohio 17

UB used a gritty, second-half performance and a dominating defensive effort to put to rest the nation's longest Division I-A losing streak.

The Bulls rallied from a 14-0 first-half deficit to defeat Ohio University, 26-17, in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday in UB Stadium. With the win, the Bulls snapped an 18-game losing streak.

"(The win) is meaningful to the kids," said head coach Jim Hofher. "It probably gives just a little bit more reinforcement and verification for those things that coaches have to preach to the players. Perseverance, get better, play hard, low pads win…all those things (a victory) helps to verify it. At no point this season did our guys not play to win. Obviously, we didn't play well enough to win, but at no point did we not play to win, and today was no different."

To win, however, the Bulls had to overcome a 14-0 first-half deficit and show the heart and determination that was needed to earn the first win of the season. UB, which improved to 1-8 and 1-4 in the MAC with the win, limited Ohio to 259 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers on the game.

The Bulls started the game in great fashion, pinning the Bobcats inside their 10-yard line when, on the first play from scrimmage, linebacker Rich Sanders forced a fumble that Ohio recovered at its own one-yard line.

UB did not take advantage of great field position on its first drive, which began at the Ohio 30. After three downs, the Bulls lined up for a 45-yard field goal. However, backup quarterback Randall Secky was sacked on a fake field-goal attempt and the Bobcats took over at their own 38.

The Bobcats were able to take advantage of the momentum switch by driving 62 yards in six plays, capped by a nine-yard run by quarterback Fred Ray. UB sophomore Rob Schroeder blocked his second PAT of the season—and third block overall—to keep the score 6-0.

The Bobcats capitalized on another UB mistake early in the second quarter. Junior punter Dominic Milano had the ball slip through his hands, with the Bobcats recovering at the Bulls' 22-yard line. Ohio then scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Fred Ray to Ray Huston. Again, the kick failed and Ohio led 12-0.

The Bobcats increased the score to 14-0 when sophomore quarterback P.J. Piskorik was called for intentional grounding in his own end zone, which was ruled as a safety.

The momentum looked like it might swing back to UB when the Bulls' Delando Bradford recovered a fumble by Ohio backup quarterback Austen Everson near midfield after the Bulls' free kick. However, after a promising drive inside the Ohio 30, the Bulls eventually missed a 47-yard field goal attempt by Dallas Pelz.

However, UB's defense stood tall on Ohio's next drive and the Bulls struck back quickly for their first score. Piskorik hit flanker Matt Knueven with a 58-yard streak pattern down the right sideline—the longest completion of the year for the Bulls and the longest reception of Knueven's career. Pelz hit the extra point to make it 14-7 with 4:11 remaining in the half, which was the way the teams went to intermission.

The Bulls struck first in the second half after two great defensive plays by senior captain Lamar Wilcher. Wilcher sacked Ohio quarterback Ryan Hawk on first down and on third down tipped a pass that was intercepted by defensive end Phil Jacques and returned to the Ohio seven-yard line. The Bulls, however, only were able to get a 28-yard field goal by Pelz that cut the lead to 14-10 with 8:35 left in the third quarter.

The Bobcats upped the lead back to seven points on a 28-yard field goal by Greg DiMarino with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bulls refused to quit.

UB rallied behind Piskorik, who had missed most of the third quarter with a bruised shoulder. The sophomore signal-caller engineered a 93-yard touchdown drive to knot the score at 17-17. Piskorik got it started with a 15-yard run to get the Bulls out of bad field position before tailback Dave Dawson bolted for 50 yards to take the ball to the Ohio 31. Piskorik finished the drive with a terrific six-yard run on a reverse option play in which he eluded three players to score.

On the following play, Dawson and the Bulls struck again. Dawson hit Ohio's Chris Jackson on the kickoff return, forcing a fumble that was recovered by UB's Gemara Williams at the Ohio 28-yard line. The Bulls eventually settled on a 33-yard field goal by Pelz to take their first lead of the game at 20-17 with 8:41 remaining.

UB's defense again stuffed the Bobcats with a three-and-out keyed by a sack by seniors Chris Clifton and Mark Graham. On the ensuing punt, Knueven again struck for a big play for the Bulls, returning the kick 50 yards to set up another field goal by Pelz, this time from 34 yards out.

Once again the UB defense rose to the occasion, stopping a fourth-down attempt by the Bobcats when Schroeder batted down Hawk's pass. The Bulls put the game away when Pelz hit his fourth field goal from 24 yards out to give the Bulls a 26-17 lead.

The Bulls stopped Ohio's last-ditch effort by forcing three straight incompletions by Hawk before Williams and Bradford stopped Scott Mayle five yards shy of a first down. That set off a celebration that the Bulls had been anticipating for more than a year.

UB hopes to build on the momentum when the team travels to Toledo to face the Rockets on Saturday.

Volleyball

Marshall 3, UB 0
UB 3, Kent State 2

UB split a pair of MAC matches at home over the weekend. The Bulls lost a tough match to the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd, 30-27, 30-25, 30-25. UB then rebounded to rally past Kent State in a five-game thriller, 30-24, 30-27, 29-31, 24-30, 15-10. The Bulls are now 9-14 overall and 3-6 in league play.

Against Marshall, the Bulls started the match with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity that led to as much as an eight-point lead in game one (17-9). The Thundering Herd battled back to tie the game at 21-21 and then took the lead for good at 26-25 on a Bulls' attack error. Back-to-back kills by Tracey King and Katie Stein ended the game at 30-27.

UB also came out strong in game two, jumping out to a 10-2 lead and increasing that to 20-11. The Thundering Herd again mounted a comeback, eventually tying the game at 24-24 on a kill by Nickie Sanlin. A service ace by Isabell Anderer gave Marshall a 25-24 lead and a block by Stein and Amber Sims ended the game at 30-25 to put the Thundering Herd up 2-0 in the match.

Marshall took the early lead in game three, 10-5, and it was the Bulls who came back to tie the score at 13-13 following a Marshall attack error. Consecutive kills by sophomore Katie Weekley gave UB its largest lead of the game at 18-15, but Marshall tied the score at 19-19 and held on to win the game and the match, ending it on a kill by Sanlin.

On Saturday, the Bulls snapped a three-match losing streak in come-from-behind fashion against Kent State. After UB had taken the first two games, Kent State won the next two to force the fifth game. The Golden Flashes appeared to be in control of the match with a 9-5 lead in the deciding fifth game, but the Bulls mounted a comeback with a 10-1 run to end the game and the match with a 15-10 win.

The Bulls were to host Akron last night in Alumni Arena to conclude their four-match homestand. They will travel to Central Michigan for a match tomorrow and to Northern Illinois for a match on Saturday.

Soccer

MEN'S

Kentucky 2, UB 0
Northern Illinois 2, UB 0

A pair of disappointing 2-0 road losses ended the regular season for UB, which now heads into the MAC playoffs. UB fell to both Kentucky and Northern Illinois by identical scores in last weekend's MAC matches. UB is now 1-11-3 overall and 0-6-0 in league play.

In the match against Kentucky, Riley O'Neill put the Wildcats ahead in the eighth minute with his sixth goal of the season. Then in the 24th minute, Thomas Senecal headed in a free kick to give Kentucky a 2-0 lead.

Greg Galemore led the Bulls with two shots, while Mirnes Biscevic and Erik Jaanimagi each recorded one. Senior goalkeeper Chris Vavrina made three saves on the night for UB.

In Sunday's match at Northern Illinois, Bernhard Hagevik put the Huskies up in the game's 20th minute, while Kevin Woerner added an insurance marker for Northern Illinois with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Vavrina finished with four saves in net for the Bulls—three of which came during the second half.

Dave Pidgeon and Ross Tauchert each recorded three shots to lead the Bulls.

WOMEN'S

UB 1, Kent State 0

Lauren West scored her first goal of the season 20 seconds into Friday night's contest against Kent State and it would be all the Bulls needed as they knocked off the first-place Golden Flashes, 1-0, in MAC action at UB's RAC Field. It was the Bulls' final home game of the regular season and the win secures UB a spot in the upcoming MAC playoffs.

The Bulls scoring play came as a Jennifer Rounds' shot was deflected to a wide-open West, who shot it past Kent State goalkeeper Shannon Lynn.

The Bulls played solid defense throughout, especially in the second half as Kent State knocked on the door on numerous occasions. With less than three minutes remaining, Kent State's Jenn Frey broke free and went in alone on goal. However, her chance to the tie the contest went by the wayside when UB goalkeeper Anna-Lesa Calvert made a spectacular sprawling save. Calvert made four saves to earn her third shutout of the season.

With the win, the Bulls improve to 10-7-1 overall and 6-5-1 in the MAC. The Bulls were to conclude the regular season yesterday with a road match at Cornell.

Swimming

WOMEN'S

UB 179, Siena 74

UB rolled to a 179-74 victory over Siena College Saturday morning in the Alumni Arena Natatorium in the season opener for both teams.

UB's Jennefer Brankovsky, last season's MAC Swimmer of the Year, got off to a strong start, winning the 100 backstroke in 1:00.92 and the 500 freestyle in 5:03.97. Brankovsky also was part of the Bulls' winning entry in the 200 medley relay as UB took the race in 1:52.46. Brankovsky swam the second leg of the race with Abby Delia, Jennifer Raimondi and Bethany Miller completing the foursome.

The remainder of the UB victories were balanced among eight individuals. In freestyle events, senior Jolie Pun took the 1,000-yard distance in 10:44.50. Delia, another senior, took the 100 freestyle in 54.22 and freshman Kahla Walkinshaw won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.99.

A pair of freshmen swept for the Bulls in the breaststroke races. Stefanie Nochisaki took the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.07, while Danielle Gervais won the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.89, with Nochisaki taking second in the event. Another freshman, Catherine Rowan, won her first collegiate race, taking the 200 backstroke in 2:11.91.

Butterfliers Janet Reynolds and Raimondi finished one-two in their races. Raimondi took the 100 butterfly in 1:00.26 with Reynolds following in 1:00.46. Reynolds grabbed the victory at the 200 distance in 2:11.47 with Raimondi finishing second in 2:13.66.

UB's divers earned top marks as the Bulls exhibitioned the one- and three-meter competitions. Siena had no diving entrants. Ashlee Burton scored 244.28 on the one-meter board, while Kim LaHaye totaled 222.00 points at three-meters to lead the Bulls.

UB will host Miami (Ohio) at 4 p.m. tomorrow and will face Ball State at 1 p.m. on Saturday to open the MAC schedule.