University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 30, 2004

Football

Ohio 34, UB 0

Ill-timed turnovers spoiled a gutty defensive effort as UB fell to Ohio, 34-0, in Mid-American Conference action on Saturday night at Peden Stadium. The Bulls (0-4, 0-2 MAC) turned the ball over five times, including two for scores, to drop their fourth straight game of the season.

The game got off to an inauspicious start as Randall Secky's first pass of the game was intercepted by Tyler Russ and returned 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead just 2:40 into the game.

Early on, the Bulls' defense was a force in the red zone as it stuffed Ohio on third and fourth down at the one-yard line and, on a later drive, forced a Bobcat fumble at the UB one-yard line. The fumble was forced by James Evans and recovered by J.J. Gibson.

The very next time the Bobcats got the football, UB's Philip Jacques jumped on a fumbled snap by Ohio quarterback Ryan Hawk. The Bulls were able to mount a 67-yard drive, but a P.J. Piskorik pass intended for Matt Knueven in the end zone was intercepted. The Bobcats quickly capitalized as Hawk, on the first play from scrimmage, found a streaking Scott Mayle for an 80-yard touchdown completion to give Ohio a 13-0 lead with 6:50 left in the first half. The Ohio lead would remain 13-0 at the half.

UB was able to move the ball effectively to start the second half. However, like the first half, turnovers cost the Bulls. First, Piskorik threw an interception at the Ohio 18-yard line and later, on a third-and-goal play at the Ohio 3-yard line, Jared Patterson, looking to punch the ball in for the Bulls' initial score, was hit and fumbled, and Ohio's Matt Muncy scooped up the ball and ran 98 yards for a touchdown to put the Bobcats ahead, 19-0.

Ohio went ahead 27-0 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hawk to Rudy Sylvan early in the fourth quarter and added another score on a Kalvin McRae 1-yard touchdown run with 3:26 left in the game.

With 4:37 left in the game, Chris Moore made his first-ever appearance at quarterback for the Bulls. He went 1-for-2 for 11 yards and an interception in his debut.

The loss marked the first time in 19 games that the Bulls were shut out.

UB will return home to face Central Florida on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. in UB Stadium

Volleyball

Western Michigan 3, UB 1
Eastern Michigan 3, UB 1

It was a rough trip to Michigan for the Bulls, as they dropped a pair of 3-1 decisions to MAC rivals Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan to open the league slate.

Against Western Michigan, (30-17, 26-30, 30-22, 30-22), senior Molly Schrantz led the Bulls with a team-high 15 kills while adding nine digs and two blocks. Junior Katie Weekley and sophomore Nikki Morzenti each added seven kills and two blocks, and junior setter Amy Brown recorded a double-double with 37 assists, a team-high 10 digs, two blocks and two kills.

The Bulls then traveled to Ypsilanti and were dealt a 30-21, 30-24, 27-30, 30-26 loss by the Eagles. Freshman libero Lizaiha Garcia had a match-high 30 digs in the loss, and Weekley had a team-high eight blocks, seven of them solos. Schrantz led the Bulls (7-8 overall, 0-2 MAC) in kills for the second straight match with 17, and she also added 15 digs for her second double-double in the last three matches.

Weekley also recorded double digits in kills with 12, and freshman Tammy Jul� added nine kills. Brown had 46 assists and 10 digs, and sophomore Wendy Haskell added five kills, 10 digs and two blocks.

The Bulls will begin a six-match homestand this weekend in newly renovated Alumni Arena. UB will host Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. tomorrow and defending MAC Champion Ohio at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Soccer

MEN'S

Niagara 3, UB 1
Oneonta State 1, UB 0 (2 OT)

UB was handed its first losses of the season last week, dropping contests at Niagara (3-1) on Sept. 22 and at home against Oneonta State—a 1-0 double overtime decision—on Friday.

In the match with Niagara, UB got on the board first when Brian Knapp scored an unassisted goal at the 35:32 mark. Niagara tied the game at 1-1 less than four minutes later when Dan O'Shea headed the ball past UB goalkeeper Dan Bell.

The game remained tied until the 72nd minute when Kwame Oduro scored the gamewinner via a scissor kick from 12 yards out. Matt Stedman scored an insurance goal for the Purple Eagles in the 84th minute.

The UB loss to Oneonta State was a heartbreaker. In the 106th minute of play, Rickey Quest put in a header off the rebound of a Jerry Manneh shot for the win, dropping the Bulls to 6-2-1 overall.

Despite outshooting the Red Dragons 13-7, the Bulls could not find the back of the net as Oneonta goalkeeper Timothy Melia earned the shutout while making one save. Buffalo was kept in the game by sophomore goalkeeper Brandon Foley, who made two saves in his first start of the season.

The Bulls had their chances, especially in the second half where they took nine shots. In the 48th minute of play, off a Bulls' corner kick, Andrew Butler took a header that went just wide of the goal. In the 58th minute, Erik Jaanimagi shot a bullet that Melia was able to get his hands on for his one save. The Bulls' best chance may have come in the 74th minute when Cheick Diarra had a clear shot at the goal, but his attempt went wide.

The Bulls will begin MAC play tomorrow when they travel to Akron.

WOMEN'S

Ball State 2, UB 0
Miami (OH) 2, UB 0

A pair of 2-0 MAC road losses last weekend dropped UB to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in MAC play.

In Friday's opener, Dee Nocero scored the game-winner in the 15th minute as regionally ranked Ball State shut out the Bulls. The Cardinals, ranked 11th in SoccerBuzz.com's Great Lakes Region, added another tally in the 53rd minute.

UB took just eight shots—five in the second half—to force Ball State goalkeeper Alison Becker to make three saves to earn her fourth shutout of the year. UB senior goalkeeper Anna-Lesa Calvert stopped seven of 11 shots in the loss.

On Sunday, Megan Shapiro scored with 12:35 remaining to break a scoreless tie and lead Miami (OH) to the 2-0 win. It was the second straight shutout loss after the Bulls had won three of the previous four games.

UB will try to rebound as it moves into the second part of its three-week-long road trip tomorrow when it travels to local rival Niagara for a non-conference contest.

Cross Country

Women place sixth, men 16th at Paul Short Invitational

A sixth-place finish by the women's cross-country team against some of the best programs in the nation highlighted Saturday's efforts at the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University.

The Bulls scored 190 points among 26 Division-I schools. Southeastern Conference power Tennessee won the team title with 53 points. UB also finished behind Villanova (87), Columbia (89), William & Mary (135) and Georgetown (156). The Bulls placed ahead of Yale (223). All five of those programs, as well as Yale, are ranked in the current national top 40 poll. Villanova is the highest-ranked of the programs at number 10, according the latest poll.

UB placed four runners among the top 40 finishers. Senior Jenny Koeppel, last week's MAC Women's Runner and Scholar Athlete of the Week, placed seventh overall in the 175-runner field. Koeppel, in her first test at 6K this season, completed the Lehigh course in 20:59.05.

The UB men finished 16th among 24 Division I entries. UB scored 466 points, while Georgetown won the team title with 94 points, holding off second-place Villanova (101).

In the 8K race, Dan McKenna was UB's top finisher in 25:39.48 to place 77th in the 163-runner field.

The Bulls will return to the Keystone State on Saturday for the LaSalle Invitational in Philadelphia.

Tennis

MEN'S

Rough weekend for Bulls at Northeast Invitational

UB ran into tough competition at the 2004 Northeast Intercollegiate Tournament, held last weekend at Brown University. Only one of UB's entrants among the nine singles flights and five doubles flights advanced into the winner's bracket of the tournament, which featured top players and teams from throughout the Northeast.

Sophomore Mike Rockman opened the tournament with a victory in the second-flight singles competition. Rockman needed to rally after dropping the first set to defeat Manhattan's Filip Szymik, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. Rockman then advanced into the quarterfinals, bowing to Maryland's Tony Demers in another three-set contest, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. Rockman concluded the tournament on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Brown's Phil Charm in the consolation round.

The remainder of the Bulls dropped their first-round matches and were forced into the loser's bracket. At number one, Nick Zieziula fell to Hofstra's Nikola Djordevic, 6-2, 6-4. Zieziula then dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Artom Bagdanovich of Boston College. At number four, Matt Kennedy dropped a 6-2, 6-2 match to Luka Djordevic of Hofstra and then rebounded with a victory over Rob Stuphen of Rhode Island, 6-3, 6-3.

UB's doubles squads didn't fare much better. At number one, Zieziula and Kennedy dropped a 9-7 decision to Brown's Charm and Richard Moss in the first round and an 8-5 contest to Villanova's Aaron Kusza and Dmitri Chimerakis. At number two, Yules Hadisubroto and Albert Alant fell to Szymik and Alon Cohen of Manhattan, 8-4, in the opening round. The UB pair then knocked off Connecticut's Mason Viau and Brian Ravesloot, 8-4, but fell in the loser's bracket semifinals to Soma Kesthely and Derrick Chou of Boston College, 8-1.The number four tandem of Joe Popilarczyk and Mike Zappone lost its first-round match to a pair from Hartford, 8-6. The UB team then picked up a default victory and moved into the loser's bracket semifinals, falling to Boston College's Jason Sechrist and Chris Louis, 8-1.

Fatigue and the fact that a couple of UB's key players, Randy Rocchio and Josh Liederman, were unable to play proved to be factors in UB's showing over the weekend. This was the third consecutive large-scale tournament for the Bulls in as many weeks, following the Buffalo/Bonaventure Tournament and Dartmouth's Volkl Shootout.

The Bulls will host Rider in a dual meet on Oct. 9.

WOMEN'S

UB claims two crowns at Bowling Green Invitational

Freshman Andreea Novaceanu claimed a singles and doubles crown as UB completed play at the Bowling Green Invitational on Sunday.

Novaceanu needed three sets to defeat Bowling Green's Susie Schoenberger, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, to take the first flight singles title. Novaceanu went 3-0 in the tournament with a pair of singles victories on Saturday, defeating Ferris State's Molly Basha, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 and Xavier's Lauren Clary, 6-2, 6-1. She also combined with freshman Tina Jacob to win the number two doubles flight, 9-7, over Bowling Green's Cam Benjamin and Ashley Jakupcin. The duo knocked off Andrea Volle and Jenna Nussbaum of Bowling Green, 8-5, and Basha and Allison Halbert of Ferris State, 8-6, to advance to the title match.

Sophomore Katrin Fischer was denied a singles title in the third flight. Fischer, who scored a pair of straight-set victories on Saturday, fell in straight sets to Xavier's Emily Tuchscherer, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Fischer reached the finals after victories over Indiana State's Marie Caujolle, 6-2, 6-3, and Halbert, 6-0, 6-0. Fischer also combined with senior Onessa Williams to compete in the third-flight doubles championship. After a pair of preliminary wins, the duo fell to Bowling Green's Laura Kokinda and Andrea Meister, 8-2.

In Sunday's other matches, junior Kristen Ortman won by default over Ferris State's Marissa Muchow in the second flight. At number three, Jacob dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Halbert. At number four, Williams fell 6-1, 6-1 to Benjamin. In the fifth flight, freshman Jamie Jackson took Bowling Green's Erica Wolfe to three sets, but fell 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

The Bulls will host St. Francis (PA) at 9 a.m. on Saturday.