After playing to a 0-0 stalemate in the first half, the UB men's soccer team scored two goals in the second half to defeat Army 2-0 Thursday afternoon at RAC field. The win brings UB to an even 2-2-1 record on the season and drops Army to 0-4-1.
The score made the game look a lot closer than it was, as the Bulls had trouble scoring on their first half chances.
"We have not been able to capitalize," said UB Head Coach John Astudillo. "The score should have been at least one or two nothing in the first half."
Army goalkeeper Matt Wesmiller had a lot to do with that as he denied UB twice on great chances. With time running out in the first a great crossing pass came to UB's Geoff Thompson in front of the net. He got the side of his foot on it, sending the ball hard toward the bottom of the net, but Wesmiller got in front of it. The stop prevented Thompson, who leads the conference in points (6), goals (3), and shots (14), from adding to his already impressive stats.
The Bulls were not without their close calls in the first half. Army forward Lloyd Osafo was brought down inside the box but no penalty kick was awarded. UB was lucky in that instance, not unlike others, as things mostly went their way Thursday.
UB goalkeeper, captain Brian Wozniak, continued to be the staple of this team as he earned his first shutout of the season.
"I thought our goalie saved our butts as well," said coach Astudillo. "Wozniak had a couple of saves that were super."
The Bulls came out firing in the second half controlling the play for the rest of the game. UB had numerous chances and finally scored with 25 minutes left on a great play by Cheick Diarra and Justin Higgins. Diarra beat his man on the right side then sent a cross into the middle which was gathered by Higgins who turned and fired it into the net.
"Higgins got a nice foot on it and put it right in the corner," said captain Mike Peplinski. Peplinski made the Bulls' second goal on a penalty kick three minutes later, giving him two for the season.
Army, however, kept the pressure on and UB had to play strong against a very physical Black Knights team.
"We had to match their intensity," said Peplinski. "I think we're a more skillful team but as long as we matched their intensity we could take over from there."
The Bulls were impressive in the late part of the second half, taking the game to the Black Knights instead of retreating into a defensive shell as most teams do with a two-goal lead.
"If you have opportunities to score that is the best defense," added Astudillo. "You put them on their heels and we kept attacking. If you go into a shell you're waiting for a goal and they can score."
The Bulls hope that this win can be a catalyst to start a good run before their conference matches start at the end of the month.
"I think we have been progressing every game," said Astudillo. "Now we just have to concentrate on finishing everything."
