Soccer defeats Western Michigan in final home game

The UB women’s soccer team (8-6-1) has extended its win streak to four straight after an overtime win against Western Michigan (6-8-1) Sunday.

The Bulls are coming off a successful week as they shut out Ohio University 2-0 last Sunday and Northern Illinois 5-0 on Friday night. There are only three games remaining for the Bulls this season. 

The Bulls have been victorious twice in their last three games against the Broncos, and came out strong and controlled Sunday’s game from the start. 

The Bulls dominated offensively as they put up 23 shots compared to Western Michigan’s 7 shot attempts. But Western Michigan gained the lead late in the first half with a goal by Morgan Otteson. 

After a well-fought first half, the Bulls were not able to convert. Western Michigan was able to keep a 1-0 lead for much of the game until Buffalo’s Taylor Caridi scored her first career goal late in the second half to force the game to overtime. 

Caridi’s goal made her the fourteenth different player to score a goal for the Bulls this season, which is the most in the MAC. 

Once again, the Bulls came out strong and looked to waste no time in overtime. A quick goal by Kaitlyn Walsh secured the win for Buffalo. 

The Bulls came out with intensity from the start, and much of that was due to their desire to keep their win streak alive. 

“I’m really proud of the players, they never got down and always believed,” said head coach Shawn Burke. 

This is the Bulls’ last home game of the regular season, and they look to carry their momentum on the road.

“I think it just gives our team a lot of confidence going forward, and I think that just pushes us harder to keep going to want to keep our streak,” Walsh said. 

The Bulls will finish their season on the road with three straight away games. They play Central Michigan on Oct. 24, Eastern Michigan on Oct. 27 and finish up their season playing Akron on Oct. 31. 

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