The women’s soccer team had a slow start to its game against Niagara Sunday night. The Bulls finished off a lackluster first half performance with a goalless draw. It took until the 62nd minute before the deadlock broke.
The first half failed to see a goal, but the Bulls (4-0-1) scored two second-half goals to defeat Niagara (2-1-1) by a score of 2-0.
“Though we came out pretty flat and didn’t perform too well in the first half, the game was a testament to our back line,” said head coach Shawn Burke. “We kept it 0-0 and had a real good positive and effective second half.”
The Bulls started scoring when junior defender Jackie Hall met a free kick from 25 yards and hit the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute. It was her first goal of the season. Senior defender Sophie Therien recorded the assist.
Buffalo struck again in the 77th minute when sophomore forward Celina Carrero scored her second goal of the season.
The Bulls’ offensive abilities became more apparent when senior forward Katie Roberts and Carrero caused various problems for the Purple Eagles defense. Burke attributed the change in the game to those two because of their offensive runs and the pressure added with set pieces.
Freshman goalkeeper Laura Dougall and sophomore goalkeeper Ashley Evans combined to shutout Niagara. This was Buffalo’s fifth shutout of the season and extended the Bulls’ streak of not allowing a goal this year to five games. Dougall had to leave the game due to injury in the 76th minute after making her only save of the game.
Burke believes the team needs to work on its offense for the next game.
“We want to keep getting better, we want more goals and we want to find ways to attack more and to continue to score,” Burke said. “We’re gonna go out there and be an aggressive team that way and that will be our focus.”
The game featured the Bulls creating offense through set pieces as Buffalo had eight free kicks and five corners. Buffalo out shot the Purple Eagles 10-4 with 4-1 respectively on target.
The Bulls’ defense faces its toughest test against No. 5 Virginia Tech (6-0) at Thompson Field on Friday. The game is set for 4 p.m.
email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
