Albany hands Bulls their first loss

The men's soccer team is no stranger to overtime. The squad is, however, a stranger to losing.

It was a goal in the 100th minute that dealt previously unbeaten Buffalo (4-1-1) its first loss of the 2011 campaign on Sunday afternoon. It came at the hands of Albany (2-2-0).

It was the Bulls' third game in five days, and the grueling schedule was evident, according to interim head coach Dave Hesch.

Buffalo didn't see the start that it wanted, failing to get a shot on net for the first 25 minutes of a very physical game. A total of six yellow cards were handed out in the affair, with each team receiving three.

"I think some of that was our play, some of that was the [referee]," Hesch said. "I'm not sure all of [the cards] needed to be handed out."

Junior midfielder Patrick Ryan failed to capitalize on Buffalo's first and best scoring opportunity, as a result of a yellow card, when Albany goalkeeper Adrian Foncette batted away a penalty kick in the 25th minute.

The match remained scoreless for the first 65 minutes, but that all changed in the 66th. Albany midfielder David Pinto headed in the game's first goal. It came off of a 25-yard cross from the sideline by fellow midfielder Pomare Te Anau.

The Bulls quickly answered – just 11 minutes later – when senior forward Nate Woods sent a pass through the air, over the Great Danes' defenders to junior forward Joey Merlo, who tied the game at one goal apiece.

The game went into overtime, which is a familiar place for the Bulls. So far, half of their games have gone beyond 90 minutes.

This one didn't turn out the same as the first two, however. Forty seconds prior to the end of the first overtime, Albany forward Quintel Gates ended the game. Albany forward Brandon Wilson put a hard shot on net that was initially stopped by Buffalo junior goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi, but Gates was able to stay with it and knock the rebound home for the game winner.

"At the end of the day, we just didn't do the right things to win," Hesch said. "We missed a penalty kick which certainly would have helped, but we didn't do what we had to."

The Bulls have a few days off before they take a weekend trip to Colorado to take on Denver (0-2-4) and Air Force (3-1-0).

Although the Pioneers are currently winless, they have played four games against ranked opponents this season.

"Denver is obviously a tough team," Hesch said. "They are ranked 20th in the country right now, and have played some good teams. I think we're going to come out firing on all cylinders. We'll have had a couple days off and some rest and we'll get right back at it."

The games are scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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