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Sports Recap
Football
Season opens tonight at Eastern Michigan
The 2004 football season will open tonight against Mid-American Conference West Division opponent Eastern Michigan at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Head coach Jim Hofher's Bulls return 16 starters, including nine on offense, giving the squad plenty of experience.
UB will open the home slate at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 in UB Stadium against Syracuse.
The Bulls will receive plenty of exposure in 2004-05 on local radio and television. Empire Sports Network will be the home of "Bulls-eye: Inside UB Athletics," hosted by Empire's Bob Trimble and Paul Vecchio, UB assistant athletic director for communication. The show will air 20 times from September through March—weekly during football season and biweekly during basketball season. The premiere showing each week will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning Sept. 7.
On the radio, Bulls' football games will be broadcast for the fifth consecutive season on WGR-550 AM, with Kevin Sylvester, part of WGR's highly rated morning show, providing play-by-play for the second straight season. In addition, Bulls' football games also will air in Rochester on WHTK, "Hot Talk" 1280 AM.
For UB home games, WGR weekend host Brian Koziol will provide color commentary, while Vecchio will do so for the Bulls' road games. The football broadcasts also will feature a 30-minute pre-game show, hosted by WGR's Brendan McDaniels, with analysis by Hofher, player features and interviews and an opponent scouting report. After the game, listeners can hear the post-game comments of Hofher and players as well as the highlights from the game.
UB basketball will have a new home on the airwaves in 2004-05, with all of the Bulls' men's basketball games, both home and away, and a select number of women's basketball games being aired on 1340 WLVL AM.
Volleyball
Bulls to open season with WNY Tournament at Niagara and Canisius
UB will participate in the annual Western New York Tournament this weekend. The Bulls will face Binghamton University at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow in Niagara University's Gallagher Center. On Saturday, head coach Sally Kus' squad will meet Texas-Arlington at 10 a.m. and the University at Stony Brook at 4:30 p.m. Both Saturday matches will be in the Koessler Center at Canisius College. The Bulls will host Canisius at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Alumni Arena.
Soccer
MEN'S
Bulls to open season with three home matches
Head coach John Astudillo's team will enjoy the benefits of home turf with three matches this week at RAC Field. The Bulls opened the 2004 season last night against Colgate. The UB Fall Classic then will kick into action over the Labor Day weekend. UB will host Hartford at 7:30 pm. on Saturday. The three-match homestand will conclude with a1:30 pm. Labor Day match against Binghamton.
WOMEN'S
St. Bonaventure 4, UB 0
Syracuse 1, UB 0 (2 OT)
The Bulls opened the 2004 season with a pair of shutout losses, including a heartbreaking, 1-0 loss in the second overtime to Syracuse in the home opener on Sunday.
In Friday's opening match of the season, St. Bonaventure's Karry O'Malley and Heather MacDougall each scored twice as the Bonnies topped The Bulls, 4-0, at McGraw-Jennings Field in Olean.
O'Malley, a sophomore, scored unassisted in the 15th minute to give the Bonnies the early lead. That was all the offense they vould muster in the first half, though, as the Bulls' defense limited the Bonnies to two shots in the period.
St. Bonaventure turned the jets on in the second half, with O'Malley scoring on an assist from McDougall in the 64th minute. McDougall, a junior, added a goal in the 87th minute on a dish from senior Cheryl Benacci and another goal a minute and a half later on a pass from freshman Jacquee Parmiter.
The Bulls took just one shot in the loss and the Bonnies fired nine.
On Sunday, Syracuse's Jenna Richter scored from 10 yards out after a UB defender headed a corner kick away from the goal in the 108th minute to give the Orange a 1-0 double-overtime win in non-conference action at RAC Field.
Richter waited for the ball to land, then deposited a low kick to the left of UB goalie Anna-Lesa Calvert, handing the Bulls their first loss in a home-opener since St. Bonaventure beat UB, 2-0, on Sept. 10, 1993.
The Bulls had their own shot to win in the 103rd minute when a clearing pass found junior Erica Mincher with only the goalie between her and the goal. Mincher's shot was deflected off Syracuse goalkeeper Shannon Myers and rolled to the left of the net.
In the first half, Syracuse took four shots, but didn't force Calvert to make a save. UB took three shots in the period, forcing Myers to stop just one.
In the second half, the Orange fired 13 shots, but Calvert stopped six shots in the frame to keep it scoreless. Calvert made a diving save to the right off a header from Shana Thomas in the 71st minute. The Bulls countered in the 77th minute, as freshman Courtney MacVie took a shot that Myers saved with a dive to the left.
In the first overtime, Syracuse's Stephanie Sybert had a chance to win it, but her shot on a breakaway sailed over the net.
Calvert stopped eight shots between the pipes. Myers stopped five to earn the shutout.
The Bulls will return to action tomorrow against Fairleigh Dickinson at the Arizona Invitational in Tucson. They also will face UC Irvine in Sunday's tournament finale.
Basketball
Bulls announce 2004-05 schedule
Both the UB men's and women's basketball teams will open their seasons against defending NCAA champions Connecticut.
The UB men will play Connecticut on Nov. 20, while the women will take on the Huskies on Nov. 19.
The men's schedule also will include a nationally televised game against Ball State on Feb. 12 in Alumni Arena and a Feb. 19 appearance in the ESPN Bracket Buster. The home opener will be on Nov. 23 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The women's schedule will feature five doubleheaders with the UB men's basketball team, including the women's home opener on Nov. 27 against Lafayette College-the men will play Indiana State in a rematch of last year's ESPN Bracket Buster-and a clash with local rival Niagara on Dec. 11.
The Bulls will face six teams in 2004-05 that advanced to the postseason last year, including Connecticut (NCAA), Maine (NCAA), Eastern Michigan (NCAA), Kent State (WNIT), Miami (OH) (WNIT) and Western Michigan (WNIT).