Coming off of two consecutive shutout losses, the UB women's soccer team (3-5-4, 2-3-1 MAC) was finally able to find the back of the net. The Bulls exploded for three goals while taking 37 shots in a 3-0 win over Canisius (0-9-1, 0-2-1 MAAC), Tuesday night at RAC field.
"We were finally able to finish after many games of not being able to," said senior captain Meaghan Maul.
Maul had UB's second goal after sophomore forward Jenny Dannecker scored a pretty goal on a cross from junior forward Nicole Olszewski. Dannecker's goal broke a two-game scoreless streak for the Bulls.
UB controlled the play for most of the game, keeping the ball in Canisius' end for extended periods of time. The Bulls took it to the Golden Griffins early, sending a deluge of shots toward Canisius goal tender Christine Moran.
"Today we had shots that were on net," said head coach Jean-A. Tassy. "We are starting to be more poised in the box and it's helping us finish."
UB finished the first half with 16 shots and a 2-0 lead after Maul was able to extend the Bulls lead.
"It was a good cross from (freshman midfielder Erica) Mincher," said Maul. "Andrea (Sullivan) got a touch on it to pass it right by the girl in front of me."
Buffalo came out strong in the second half, once again controlling the play. Both Sullivan and sophomore midfielder Jennifer Rounds had a great start to the second half - putting pressure on the Golden Griffins repeatedly with both girls drilling balls off the post within the first ten minutes.
UB ended up with a 37-3 advantage in shots but put away only two at this point. At about the 23rd minute mark, Canisius finally showed some signs of life. The Golden Griffins missed on a corner kick but were getting pressure recording their first shot in the middle of the 21st minute.
The Bulls gained back the momentum and should have scored two goals around the ten-minute mark. Two excellent plays by Canisius' defense saved two shots that had beaten the goalie. Buffalo put the game away with 3:57 remaining when senior midfielder Elizabeth Pfeffer drilled a shot into the right corner of the net to seal the win for UB.
This win was important to UB's confidence level going into the rest of the season and into the MAC conference tournament.
"I think we really needed a big win today," said Maul. "A 3-0 game is good for us, we tried to use this game to get prepared for the MAC conference."
UB's three goals represent the Bulls' highest total in a game this year.
Buffalo will head to Akron Friday for an encounter with the Zips at 7 p.m.
