UB women’s soccer (7-4-6, 4-3-3) went 1-1 last week, beating Toledo (7-8-2, 4-5-1 MAC) at home 3-0 and losing to Western Michigan (11-3-3, 7-0-3 MAC) 4-1 on Saturday. With one game to play in the regular season, UB sits at No. 6 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings, ahead of Toledo and Ohio (5-7-5, 3-4-3). The top six teams make the MAC Tournament, leaving the defending MAC champion Bulls on the edge of postseason contention with one game, against Kent State (9-6-2, 6-4 MAC), left in the season.
Junior forward Arianna Zumpano led the charge for the Bulls last week, scoring two of the three goals against the Toledo Rockets, and the only UB goal against the Western Michigan Broncos.
The game against the Rockets was hotly contested for the entirety of the first half, leaving both teams scoreless until 69 minutes and change into the game, when Leah Wengender, a standout 5th year from Rochester, was able to sneak the ball past the Rocket goalie Brielle Young and put the Bulls up 1-0.
With some wind in their sails, the Bulls were able to turn the tide of the game, taking over offensive control and keeping possession for much of the second half. The game remained at one-nil for another twelve minutes, when Arianna Zumpano, assisted by freshman defenseman Maya Galko, was able to score the second goal of the game, increasing the Bulls’ lead to 2-0. Once again, Buffalo was able to comfortably settle in Rocket territory, waiting just another 1:47 to score, solidifying their lead one last time at 83:47.
The final goal was scored by Zumpano, who finished the game with four shots on goal and two of the three goals scored on Thursday.
On Sunday, the Bulls suffered a 4-1. loss in Western Michigan to the Broncos with the only goal scored by Zumpano and assisted by Khron. The Bulls took an early lead, scoring only 11 minutes into the game when Khron passed to Zumpano, who scored.
The Broncos wasted no time answering, with junior midfielder Emily Pagett scoring in the 21st minute. This was the first of four unanswered goals that Western Michigan rode to victory. Graduate forward Jen Blitchock scored twice and senior midfielder Jenna Blackburn added another to secure the win.
The Bulls’ next game is on Thursday at 3 p.m. as they host Kent State in the regular season finale. That game can be streamed on YouTube.The MAC Tournament begins on Oct. 29. UB currently sits in the No. 6 seed, and will visit No. 3 Northern Illinois (8-6-3, 6-3-1 MAC) in the quarterfinals if the standings hold.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
