Both the Buffalo Bulls and the Central Michigan Chippewas held the lead at points in the game, but neither could keep it as the two MAC opponents grappled to a 2-2 tie in double overtime on Friday night in a women's soccer match-up at RAC field. The game brings UB's record to 1-2-4 overall with a 1-1-1 record in the conference.
The Bulls were able to control much of the play in the first half, out-shooting CMU 9-4. The Chippewas drew first blood, however, as Emilie Villemonte sent in a corner kick from Jacqui Lorenzo in the 22nd minute.
UB remained strong and continued to hound Central Michigan, which ultimately paid off in a goal by freshman Natalia Crofut. Coming off the bench, she drilled a 15-footer from junior Erin McGarry with 37 seconds left in the first half.
"That was big," said Bull's defender Devon Russell. "Mentally having a goal or being even at the half, you could start the second half with a clean slate."
Buffalo came out of the second half with the momentum in their favor. Central Michigan however would not go away as opportunities came to them first.
At one point early in the half, CMU had four straight corner kicks on UB goalie Anna-Lesa Calvert. The Bulls, showing amazing resiliency, would not allow anything through and were able to shift the tides with a huge play in the opposite end.
Crofut coming in on goal forced a penalty kick in the 15th minute. Star forward Nicole Olszewski, a junior out of Lancaster N.Y., took the kick. Olszewski netted it easily, giving UB the lead 2-1.
"That (kick) definitely raised the level of play. We should've pumped (in) another one after that," Olszewski said.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Chippewas stormed back six minutes later to tie the game with a corner kick goal by Jessica LeFevers.
Buffalo Head Coach Jean-A Tassy saw good things out of the game, even though UB only came away with a tie.
"If you look at the score, we out-shot them. The idea is, were they quality shots?" Tassy said. "We did everything we set out to do, the only thing we have to slow down on is giving up the defensive breakdowns."
The Bulls play a flat zone defense, which runs on strong pressure at the half field line. When that breaks down, there are few or no defenders left to cover in the backfield, and strong speed is required to come back and help. Tassy feels that the Bulls can handle this defensive strategy because of their conditioning.
"We are fit, that's a situation where the team is going to come in here thinking we have to play hard and we have to play overtime against better teams," Tassy said.
"We came in the best shape," Calvert agreed. "We ran our mile times perfectly and our one-twenties. The girls will work out on their own even when we don't have practice."
by Corey Griswold, Staff Writer
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
