UB Bulls quick hits: men’s soccer falls in heartbreaker, women’s soccer has impressive weekend

Men’s soccer (5-5-3, 0-1 Mid-American Conference)

The Bulls lost 2-1 to the No. 8 team in the country, Akron (9-2-1, 1-0 MAC), at UB Stadium Friday in the first conference game of the season. The Zips got the game-winning goal off a penalty kick from Victor Suoto in the 83rd minute.

The Bulls were first to get on the board, thanks to junior midfielder Russell Cicerone’s own penalty kick goal just a few minutes into the game. For Cicerone, the goal was his ninth of the season and extended his scoring streak to five straight games.

The Bulls will remain home next week when they host West Virginia (5-6, 1-0 MAC) on Friday, Oct. 16 at UB Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Women’s soccer (7-5-2, 3-2-1 MAC)

Buffalo went 1-0-1 in its two games this weekend.

The Bulls tied with Western Michigan (6-3-3, 3-1-1 MAC) 1-1 on the road Friday and returned home and defeated Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-4 MAC) 4-1 in one of their most complete games this season on Sunday. The Huskies were shaken in the 4-1 loss as they compiled a whopping 19 fouls compared to Buffalo’s seven.

Buffalo got a huge weekend from Kassidy Kidd, as the senior defender scored her first three goals of the season, including a two-goal performance Sunday.

The Bulls continue conference play next weekend with two home games. Buffalo hosts Toledo (6-9, 2-4 MAC) on Friday and Central Michigan (3-7-2, 2-2-1 MAC) on Sunday. Friday’s kickoff is set for 5 p.m., while Sunday’s is set for noon.

Volleyball (3-15, 2-4 MAC)

Buffalo continued conference play with a 3-1 loss to Kent State (10-8, 4-2 MAC) on Friday and a 3-0 loss to Ohio (16-3, 6-0 MAC) on Saturday.

After winning the first set against Kent State, 25-21, the Bulls dropped the next three sets 25-21, 25-14 and 25-20. Sophomore middle blocker Cassie Shado finished with a team-high 15 kills, while senior outside hitter Megan Lipski had 11 kills.

On Saturday, the Bulls fell to MAC leaders Ohio in straight sets and failed to register 20 points in any of the three sets. After a 1-1 start to conference play, the Bulls have now dropped two of their last three matches and are now positioned near the bottom of the MAC East.

The Bulls continue finish four-game home sand when they host Western Michigan (8-13, 4-2 MAC) on Friday and Northern Illinois (9-9, 5-1 MAC) Saturday. Both tipoffs are set for 7 p.m.

Women’s tennis

The Bulls followed up an impressive performance at the West Virginia Invitational last week with a dominating performance at the UB Invitational this weekend.

The Bulls won six of the eight flights, including a clean sweep of the singles matchups.

Freshman Chantal Martinez Blanco defeated sophomore Tanja Stojanovska 6-4, 6-1 for the second straight tournament in the ‘A’ flight, while junior Margarita Kotok defeated freshman teammate Sanjana Sudhir in the ‘B’ flight in three sets with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 10-8.

Junior Laura Holterbosch and freshman Mercedes Losada Rubio took care of Niagara opponents Haley Hollins and Sydnee Wheeler in their respective singles sets, while sophomore Christine Haraldson swept Cleveland State opponent Katy Quillin in straight sets.

The team of Kotok and senior Dayana Agasieva were the only duo to take home a title in the doubles bracket. The duo won the ‘B’ flight to secure the sixth title of the weekend for Buffalo.

The team will finish up fall competition in the six-day-long ITA Regional Tournament at Dartmouth College. Starting times have yet to be determined.

Football (2-3, 0-1 MAC)

The Bulls were on a bye week. They will resume play on Oct. 16 when they travel to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan to face Central Michigan (2-4, 1-1 MAC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com.