BUFFALO, N.Y. – The men's soccer team (2-3-0) got an early goal, but surrendered the equalizer not even three minutes later and conceded a second-half goal on its way to a 2-1 loss at the hands of the University at Buffalo (3-2-0) Tuesday night.
In the 11th minute, after a gradual matriculation of the ball down the pitch, senior midfielder Brett Allen found classmate Fabrizio Savarino, who got the Bonnies on the board.
"It was a ball that started from our defensive end, and we gradually kept moving upfield and switching from one touch line to the other," head coach Mel Mahler said of the Bonnies' buildup. "In doing so we stretched their defense, Brett ended up with ball, Fab made a great run between their defenders and Brett found him."
While Mahler described that goal as "textbook," what happened just 2:02 later was far from that, as UB's Casey Derkacz found the back of the net from 30 yards out with a shot netminder David Flynn could do nothing about.
After a back-and-forth tussle for the next 50 minutes, the Bulls got the eventual game-winner from Andy Tiedt at the 63:50 mark.
"I thought we controlled most of the play," Mahler said. "We created a lot of scoring chances, and that's what we need to do; I would be concerned if we weren't. But the final piece of the puzzle is to finish the chances we're creating."
The Bonnies had a plethora of chances on the turf of UB Stadium as they recorded 14 shots – just one short of their season high set against Saint Francis (Pa.) Sunday. After a slow start offensively this year, the Bonnies have now recorded 29 of their season's 51 total shots in their last two matches. And, despite the loss to UB, Mahler feels his team is starting to click.
"I'm proud of our guys," Mahler commented. "We've now played three games in six days and how we played tonight – our energy and our ability to set up scoring chances – was the best of the three matches. We've still got some work to do, but it's really encouraging."
The Bonnies will finally get a little rest as they won't take to the pitch again until a twilight matchup against Wright State on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio.
NOTES: This was the Bonnies final game of a three-match-in-six-day stretch. They lost at James Madison Thursday, 5-0, and defeated visiting Saint Francis (Pa.) Sunday, 1-0 … Flynn made eight saves in contest, while Bulls' goalkeeper Jeremy Figler made four … freshman Brad Vanino unleashed a career-best five shots for the Bonnies.
