University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 7, 2006

Football

UB 9, Temple 3

It wasn't pretty, but it certainly was a sweet way for head coach Turner Gill to get his first college football victory.

Redshirt freshman James Starks scored on an 18-yard run in overtime to lift the Bulls to a 9-3 win over Temple to christen the 2006 season and the Turner Gill era in front of a raucous crowd in UB Stadium.

The game, which was scoreless for more than 52 minutes, featured a wild ending, punctuated by a gritty goal-line stand that allowed UB to send the game into overtime. With UB holding a 3-0 lead, the Owls drove the ball to a third and goal at the Bulls' one-yard line with less than three minutes to play.

However, senior linebacker Jeff Bublavi threw tailback Tim Brown for a two-yard loss to force Temple into a 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 1:44 left.

In overtime, the Bulls won the toss and chose to go on defense. After another two-yard tackle for loss by Bublavi, junior Jesse Imes made a huge play by intercepting Adam DiMichele's pass-the Owls' only turnover in the game-to end the Temple drive and set up Starks' heroics.

Senior Ramon Guzman was honored as the Mid-American Conference's East Division Defensive Player of the Week. Guzman, a captain, earned MAC honors for the first time in his career. His 14 tackles were the second most in the conference in the first week of action. He spearheaded a defense that allowed just three points, the fewest in an opener by the Bulls since 1988.

The Bulls will travel to Bowling Green for their first Mid-American Conference game of the season on Saturday.

Soccer

MEN'S

Detroit 1, UB 0

UB lost its first match of the 2006 season Friday night, falling at home to Detroit, 1-0, in the first game of the UB Fall Classic. The Bulls fought with the Titans for most of the game, but allowed the lone goal in the second half in the defeat.

Detroit, the Horizon League regular-season champion in 2005, matched up well with the Bulls physically. Each team pressed hard in the opponent's end of the field, looking to score that first goal of the game. UB goalkeeper Daniel Bell made four key saves in the first half to halt a charging Titan offense and keep the Bulls in contention.

Titan forward Mark Djurovski netted the lone goal of the game, finishing off a send from Vahid Assadpour down the right side of the pitch. Djurovski let loose a rocket from 15 yards out, landing past Bell and in the back left corner of the net. With the sense of urgency upon them, the Bulls attacked with a barrage of shots, outshooting UDM 8-2 in the second half, including two shots on goal from junior captain Lee Catchpole. Titan goalkeeper Sasha Boskovic managed to save those two shots in the later half, locking up the shutout win.

The Bulls (1-1-1) will travel to take on Loyola-Chicago tomorrow in the first of three straight road games.

WOMEN'S

UB 2, Vermont 0
Brown 6, UB 0

Using two first-half goals to its advantage, UB collected its second win of the season, blanking winless Vermont 2-0 on Friday afternoon in Burlington.

Junior Heidi Griffiths continued an offensive hot streak for the Bulls, scoring UB's first goal 10:54 into the contest. Griffiths settled a long pass from junior Ashley Turner and found the back of the net when she beat Vermont goalkeeper Elizabeth Bradley in a one-on-one situation. The goal was Griffiths' third in two games, while the assist was Turner's first of the season and second of her career.

UB struck again in the 17th minute of the first half when junior Kelley Vander Mallie connected with sophomore Jenessa Banwell to give the Bulls a 2-0 edge. Banwell's one-touch volley into the goal was her first goal of the season and the second of her career, while Vander Mallie's assist stands as her first of the season and the second of her career.

Bulls' goalkeeper Amy Coron chalked her second consecutive shutout in as many games, stopping six shots on the afternoon.

On Sunday, the Bulls suffered a tough 6-0 setback, falling to Brown University in Providence.

The Bulls were able to hold the Bears scoreless until midway through the first half, when Susie Keller put Brown on the scoreboard 30:15 into the game. Melissa Kim struck again five minutes later to give the Bears a 2-0 advantage heading into halftime.

Brown continued its scoring barrage in the second half of play, recording four more goals.

UB used a total of 21 players, as well as two goalkeepers. Coron grabbed nine saves while allowing four Brown goals in 73:40 minutes in goal. Freshman Rachel Cavosie made her career debut between the pipes, recording one save and allowing two goals in 16:20 of game time. UB's offense fired seven shots in the contest, while the Bears collectively unleashed 28 shots.

UB (2-2-0) will return to action tomorrow when they face University of California-Riverside in the UC-Irvine Nike Invitational. The Bulls will face host UC-Irvine on Sunday.

Volleyball

UB 3, Quinnipiac 0
UB 3, Youngstown State 0
UB 3, Coastal Carolina 2

UB took all three of its matches at the 2006 Western New York Invitational, running its winning streak to five.

In Friday's opener against Quinnipiac, the Bulls (5-2) dominated the first two games, winning 30-16 and 30-15, respectively. The third game was a little more of a battle, but UB prevailed, 30-23. The Bulls hit the ball well in the contest, outhitting its opponent .324 to .043.

UB won two matches on Saturday, opening with a 3-0 win over Youngstown State and rallying for a 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina in the nightcap.

In what was the game of the tournament, UB was down to Coastal Carolina 2-0, but took the final three games to win, 29-31, 26-30, 30-25, 30-19, 15-10. UB used two strong serving performances, including one by freshman Lauren Fensten, who came in with Buffalo ahead 21-18 in the fourth game and scored eight straight points, putting UB ahead 29-18. UB took the game on a Coastal Carolina attack error. In the fifth and deciding game, senior Brandie Clark began serving with the game tied 9-9 and served the Bulls to five straight points and a 14-9 lead in the game. Alyssa Fichette sealed the deal for UB with a kill to end the match.

Opening the day, the Bulls took a 30-20, 30-23, 30-28 decision against Youngstown State, using a strong first game to set the tone in the match. In the opening game, UB out-hit its opponent .448 to .000. The Bulls were slightly outhit the rest of the contest, but used their ability to block to their advantage. Buffalo recorded eight total team blocks.

The Bulls will participate in the Holy Cross Invitational this weekend at Holy Cross College. UB will take on Rhode Island tomorrow and Holy Cross and Army on Saturday.

The Bulls' match against cross-town rival Canisius College on Tuesday is one of four matches this season to be broadcast on WLVL 1340-AM. The volleyball matches are part of an expanded radio broadcast schedule the Bulls have announced for the 2006-07 season, which includes live broadcasts of all women's basketball games on WLVL-both home and away. WLVL also will be the home for up to eight broadcasts of other UB athletic events throughout the year. Those events will be announced at a later date.