Disappointing campaigns plagued both the men's and women's soccer teams last season. The men were knocked out of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in the quarterfinals, while the women failed to win a MAC contest.
However, both teams experienced the feeling of success in the last week.
Heading into the 2009 season, the men's soccer team set its sights on winning Buffalo's first ever MAC championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The journey to achieve that goal began this past weekend as they opened the regular season with two games against Big East foes at the West Virginia Nike Classic.
First up was the Pittsburgh Panthers.
While it might not have been the prettiest of performances, Buffalo (1-1) opened the season on a high note by defeating the Panthers (1-2-0), 1-0. Though the team exuded effort, its play lacked consistency.
'We looked like a college team that was playing its first college match,' said head coach John Astudillo. '[At times] we looked good and at times we didn't. Our play was a little inconsistent, but at this level, any time you can get a win when you aren't playing as well as you should, I think it's pretty great for the kids.'
Having lost the bulk of their starting lineup from last season, the Bulls came into their first match somewhat inexperienced. With newcomers on the defensive line and a new goalkeeper, Astudillo relied heavily on his midfielders and attackers.
'We absolutely beat Pittsburgh at midfield,' Astudillo said. 'We defended them extremely well. We did give up a few scoring opportunities which made me nervous, but I thought at halftime we adjusted a bit better and were on our game in the second half. The second half we were attacking very well.'
It didn't take long for the Bulls to get their first goal of the season as senior midfielder Alex Mihal ripped a 30-yard shot into the back of the net during the 18th minute of the match. The lone goal proved to be all Buffalo needed for the match, and the only one they would produce in the tournament.
Astudillo recognized Mihal as the man of the match for more than just his game-winning shot.
'Mihal was the player of the match, but for other reasons besides the fact that he scored,' Astudillo said. 'He played solid on defense and solid on offense. He was going in there with some pretty dangerous chances up front and created a lot of havoc for the Pittsburgh defense.'
With its first win behind it, Buffalo went into Sunday's match looking to upset tournament host West Virginia (1-1-0). This time however, Buffalo found itself on the wrong side of a 1-0 score.
'West Virginia was a bit more difficult. They are a very good team. I think they're going to be a Big East contender,' Astudillo said. 'To be honest, in the first half we were playing a bit too [tentatively]. We made a couple of mistake but overall I thought we played real well.'
In a physical game in which 37 total fouls were called, including nine yellow cards, one foul changed the course of the game.
With less than seven minutes to play, senior midfielder Mateo Escobar received a red card and was ejected from the match. While getting tangled up with a West Virginia midfielder, Escobar caught the Mountaineer with an inadvertent elbow.
'I thought it was a bad call,' Astudillo said. 'The West Virginia midfielder was pulling our guy down.'
The Bulls played into double overtime before giving up the tiebreaking goal with 55 seconds left. Playing a man down for over 35 minutes limited Buffalo's offense as the team recorded just one shot on goal.
The women look to gain more momentum on Sunday when they host Binghamton University. The game will kick off at noon at UB Stadium.
Meanwhile, the men's soccer team continues its early season road trip with matchups against two more Big East teams. On Friday, the Bulls visit Marquette for a 7 p.m. kickoff, followed by a Sunday clash with DePaul. Game time is set for noon.
E-mail: spectrum-sports@buffalo.edu
