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Sports Recap
Mike Geller of the men's soccer team scored the game-winning goal with less than 15 minutes to play in UB's 2-1 victory over Central Connecticut State in the opening round of the UB Fall Classic on Friday. The senior defender headed in a direct free kick from Dave Pidgeon to break a 1-1 tie and give the Bulls their first victory of the season. Geller's goal also was the first of his career with the Bulls.
Emily Russell of the women's soccer team tallied five goals and one assist as the Bulls picked up victories over Niagara, Texas-El Paso and Grambling State. Russell netted both goals in UB's 2-1 win over the host UTEP Miners in the opening round of the Border Shootout on Friday. She followed that performance with a three-goal hat trick and assisted on the other score as the Bulls defeated the Grambling Tigers, 4-1, to complete the two-match sweep in Texas.
Football
Iowa 56, UB 7
When UB took the field in Iowa's Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, it did so in front of the largest crowd ever to view a UB sporting event. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the 54,471 black-and-gold-clad fans had a lot to cheer about as the Hawkeyes rolled past the Bulls, 56-7.
A powerful ground attack mixed with a timely passing game proved to be too much for the Bulls' defense. Iowa rolled up 442 yards of total offense, including 292 yards rushing. The Hawkeye running game was led by the shifty Fred Russell who, in only one half of play, amassed 98 yards on the ground.
Iowa scored on its first five possessions and mixed in a fumble recovery for a touchdown to capture a 42-0 halftime lead. The Hawkeyes opening score resulted from a 10-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard pass from Nathan Chandler to Ed Hinkle.
The Bulls finally got on the board with 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter when backup quarterback P.J. Piskorik engineered a 17-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a two-yard run by Aaron Leeper. It was the first touchdown of the season of the 2002 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year.
Despite the lopsided result on the scoreboard, the Bulls did manage to gain 227 yards on the ground. It marked the second straight week UB surpassed 200 yards in rushing.
The Bulls will open the home portion of the schedule on Saturday against Colgate, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
Volleyball
UB 3, Southern Illinois 1
Duke 3, UB 0
UB 3, Charlotte 0
UB came from behind to earn a 3-1 win over Southern Illinois in the opening match of the four-team Duke Classic, held on Friday and Saturday in Durham, N.C. The Bulls dropped game one of the match by a 30-27 score, but stormed back with 30-27, 34-32 and 30-28 wins in games two through four.
Freshman Nikki Morzenti led the Bulls with 20 kills, 17 digs and five blocks. Buffalo had three other players in double digits in kills—senior Lindsay Matikosh and junior Molly Schrantz with 15 apiece and senior Alexis Bouie with 12. Schrantz also posted a double-double with 19 digs. Sophomore Amy Brown added 52 assists and 15 digs, and sophomore Katie Weekley finished with six kills, seven digs, eight blocks and a career-high seven service aces. Two of Weekley's six kills on the night were game-winners, accounting for the final point in games three and four.
The Bulls earned a split in its final two matches of the tournament on Saturday, falling to Duke by a 3-0 score (30-18, 30-23, 30-18) before rebounding for a 3-0 win over Charlotte (30-28, 33-31, 30-27). The split gave the Bulls a 2-1 record in the tournament and improved their season record to 4-3 overall. Morzenti and Schrantz were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Morzenti and Matikosh reached double figures in kills against the Blue Devils with 11 and 10, respectively, and Brown recorded a match-high 11 digs in the loss. Against the 49ers, Matikosh posted 12 kills and a match-high 16 digs, while Bouie and Weekley added 10 kills apiece. The Bulls recorded 14 blocks in the match as a team, led by Weekley with seven, including four solos, Bouie with six (two solos, four assists) and Brown with four (all assists). Brown also added 40 setter assists and 11 digs in the victory.
The Bulls (4-3) will participate in the University of Central Florida Fall Invitational next weekend, playing host UCF on Friday and Georgia Southern and fellow Mid-American Conference member Central Michigan on Saturday.
Soccer
MEN'S
UB 2, Central Connecticut State 1
Wright State 3, UB 1
UB, hosting the UB Fall Classic last weekend, posted a 1-1 record, defeating Central Connecticut State, 2-1, on Friday but dropping the championship match, 3-1, to Wright State on Sunday.
The tightly contested UB-Central Connecticut State match wasn't decided until late in the second half. Senior defender Mike Geller headed in Dave Pidgeon's direct free kick past CCSU keeper Andrew Sierman at the 75:52 mark to lift the Bulls past the Blue Devils.
Freshman midfielder Erik Jaanimagi had pushed across a pass from Patrick Beckley to knot the contest at 1-1 at the 25:40 for UB's first goal of the match.
After Geller's tiebreaker, the UB defense took over, stopping several Blue Devil attempts in the final 10 minutes. Freshman keeper Daniel Bell picked up the win in goal for the Bulls as he turned aside eight shots.
In Sunday's match against Wright State, the visiting Raiders tallied a pair of first-half goals and then tacked on another in the second half before freshman Andrae Clarke put UB on the board with his first collegiate goal. Clarke's goal, which came during the 90th minute, was from 25 yards out.
Aside from winning the weekend tournament, Wright State also mopped up the remaining hardware. Forward Ricky Strong earned offensive most valuable player honors, while teammate Trent Corbin garnered defensive most valuable player recognition.
UB will remain at home for its next two contests, including Saturday's 11 a.m. match with cross-town rival Canisius.
WOMEN'S
UB 3, Niagara 0
UB 2, Texas-El Paso 1
UB 4, Grambling State 1
UB swept all three matches for the week, including picking up a pair of victories in the Border Shootout.
UB began the week at home with a 3-0 win over Niagara as sophomore Natalia Crofut netted all three goals in the home opener for the Bulls. Crofut's hat trick was the first by a Bull since Elizabeth Pfeffer accomplished the feat in 1999.
A pair of wins in the Lone Star state highlighted the Bulls' participation in the University of Texas-El Paso's Border Shootout. Two first-half goals by Emily Russell was all that the Buffalo women's soccer team needed as it beat host UTEP, 2-1, in the opening game of the tournament on Friday night.
Russell scored her first goal in the 18th minute as she took a pass from sister Devon Russell and slipped it past Miners' goalkeeper Katie Gilmore. It was Russell's first goal of the season. The senior forward struck again nine minutes later on a long pass from Erin McGarry to make the score 2-0.
The Bulls kept UTEP off of the scoreboard until the 85th minute when Sarah Graef scored for the Miners. However, UTEP could get no closer and UB held on for the 2-1 victory. Texas-native Anna-Lesa Calvert earned the victory for UB after allowing only one goal and making five saves.
On Sunday, Emily Russell's big weekend continued as she scored three goals to help lift the Bulls (4-1) to a 4-1 win over Grambling State. She finished the weekend with five goals and one assist in the two games. It the second hat trick by a UB player in less than a week.
Cross Country
Bulls Open Season With Second-Place Finishes at Tommy Evans Invitational
The men's and women's cross-country teams opened the 2003 season at Akron's Tommy Evans Invitational on Saturday. The races were held on the Indigo Lake Course on Howe Meadow at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Both squads finished second to MAC opponents, with the UB men scoring 52 points to finish behind Kent State's perfect score of 15 in the three-team race. The UB women scored 43 points to place behind the host Zips' 29 points among four squads.
The UB women picked up a strong performance from junior Jenny Koeppel, who placed second in the women's 5K race in 18:26, 13 seconds behind the individual winner, Morgan Sulzener of Akron (18:13). Joining Koeppel among the top 10 finishers for the Bulls were junior Peg Melonic with a fifth-place showing of 18:58, and sophomore Jen Jezorski, who placed seventh in 19:15.
The UB men were led by sophomore Andy Wigton and freshman Dan McKenna, who placed sixth and seventh, respectively, behind Kent State's top five runners. Wigton turned in a 20:47 clocking along the four-mile course, while McKenna was right behind at 20:48. Kent State's Ofer Barniv and James Sjostrom both crossed the finish line in 20:27 to lead the Golden Flashes to the team title.
Both UB squads will be back in Ohio next week racing in the Miami Fall Classic in Oxford. Among the other squads in the field will be MAC rivals Akron, Ball State and the host RedHawks.