University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 19, 2006

Football

Miami (OH) 38, UB 31

Untimely penalties and turnovers ruined a spirited effort by UB as it dropped a 38-31 decision to Miami University on Sunday afternoon in UB Stadium. The game was rescheduled from Saturday after a record snowfall on Thursday and Friday closed the university.

The Bulls led Miami, 21-14, before a series of turnovers and breakdowns gave the RedHawks three short touchdown drives and control of the game. The Bulls rallied late in the game, but a final onside kick with just over one minute remaining went out of bounds, allowing the RedHawks to escape with the victory.

With the Bulls ahead, 21-14, late in the third quarter, the RedHawks intercepted a deflected pass and traveled just 22 yards to tie the score. Then, on the last play of the third quarter, UB punter Ben Woods' kick was blocked and recovered by Miami at the Bulls' five-yard line. The RedHawks wasted little time in taking the lead two plays later on a pass from quarterback Mike Kokal to Jake O'Connell.

The RedHawks extended the lead to 38-21 after two more UB interceptions, before the Bulls rallied to make things interesting. Trailing by 17 points, strong safety Kareem Byrom forced a fumble that teammate Kendric Hawkins recovered at the Miami 45.

One play later, Bulls quarterback Drew Willy connected with Naaman Roosevelt for a 45-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. After the Adam Tanalski PAT, the Bulls trailed 38-28 with 1:50 remaining. The Bulls recovered Woods' onside kick and moved into field-goal range on a 30-yard hookup from Willy to James Starks, eventually settling on a 32-yard field goal from Tanalski to make it 38-31 with 1:06 left.

However, Woods' final onside kick bounced out of bounds and the RedHawks ran out the clock to secure the win.

The Bulls were severely hampered in the game by a total of 13 penalties for 117 yards, including two calls on third and fourth downs that kept Miami touchdown drives alive.

The Bulls will travel to Athens to take on Ohio University on Saturday.

Soccer

MEN'S

Western Michigan 1, UB 0
UB 2, Niagara 2 (2OT)

UB fell to Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan, 1-0, on Saturday. UB dropped its first MAC game of the season, despite outshooting the Broncos, 21-4, in the game. It was the first time that the Bulls had dropped two straight matches since the 2004 season.

With neither team scoring in the first half, the Broncos managed to get on the scoreboard within the opening minute of the second half with a shot that slid into the bottom right corner of the net.

The Bulls then began a steady attack that pressured the Bronco defense relentlessly. Junior Lee Catchpole had a chance to tie the match up when he coasted in one-on-one with Bronco goalkeeper Casey Aubil, but Aubil managed to gobble up the shot and clear it out of harm's way. Within the closing 10 minutes of the match, the Bulls were able to tack on a few additional shots, but were unable to break one past Aubil.

On Sunday, the Bulls tied Niagara, 2-2 in double overtime. Two second-half goals by Andrae Clarke and Catchpole fueled the initial comeback attempt, but the Bulls failed to score in the two extra sessions.

Niagara took charge in the first half, outshooting the Bulls 11-2. The

Purple Eagles provided the necessary offense to capitalize on the game's first goal at the 29:39 mark from Kwame Oduro. Another goal in the 62nd minute pushed the Purple Eagle lead to 2-0.

Under pressure, the Bulls fought off fatigue and came out with a renewed focus. Clarke got the ball rolling with an unassisted goal at the 76:10 mark, his seventh of the season. UB drew even 74 seconds later, thanks to a header from Catchpole, who snapped a six-game pointless streak. While the overtime periods favored UB—which got off eight shots in the extra sessions to Niagara's two—neither team could muster the late-game heroics.

The Bulls (8-5-2) will return to action tomorrow when they take on Northern Illinois. The "Senior Day" game will begin at 7 p.m. and mark the last home game of the season.

WOMEN'S

Match vs. Toledo, cancelled
Bowling Green 2, UB 0

The weekend storm caused some changes to the women's soccer schedule last week. UB's match against Toledo at UB Stadium on Friday was cancelled and will not be made up, while Sunday's home match with Bowling Green was moved to Kent State University. UB faltered Sunday in its Mid-American Conference game against the Falcons by a count of 2-0.

Corbie Yee scored two goals on seven shots to lift Bowling Green to the conference win.

Volleyball

UB 3, Kent State 1
Ohio 3, UB 0
IPFW 3, UB 0

UB put together a total team effort and picked up its first conference road victory of the season by defeating Kent State, 3-1, on Oct. 12 in the M.A.C. Center. The victory was the 300th of head coach Jim Lodes' collegiate career.

The Bulls, who won the match, 30-28, 30-22, 19-30, 30-25, received several career performances, led by a trio of sophomore transfers. Alyssa Fitchette hit a match-high .593, recording a team-high 18 kills on 27 swings with just two errors. Kate Love had her best match as a UB student-athlete, notching 15 kills on the evening. Claudia Neba added to the offense, with 11 kills against the Golden Flashes.

UB was able to attribute its victory to a strong hitting efficiency as it outhit its opponent, .331 to .192, on the evening. The Bulls had two particularly strong games—hitting .425 in game two and .394 in the match-clinching game four. The .331 hitting efficiency is a season-high for UB.

The Bulls were unable to take momentum from their first conference road victory, however, falling to the nationally ranked Ohio Bobcats, 3-0, Friday night in the Convocation Center.

The Bulls, who are the only MAC team to have taken a conference game from Ohio this year, fell to the Bobcats, 30-15, 30-10, 30-18.

UB ended its five-match road streak with a 3-0 non-conference loss to IPFW (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) Saturday night at the Gates Sports Center. The score was 30-12, 30-22, 30-25. The match, UB's final non-conference tilt of the season, dropped the Bulls to 13-12—2-6 in the MAC.

UB will begin a four-match home stretch this weekend. The Bulls will host Bowling Green at 7 p.m. tomorrow, then Miami (OH) the following night. That match also will begin at 7 p.m.