The University at Buffalo men's soccer team has had a roller-coaster season but has once again made the Mid-American Conference playoffs. UB emerged strong out of the gate this year, beginning the season undefeated through its first seven matches.
However, after controversy and injuries began to plague the team, the season took an ugly turn and Buffalo lost seven of its last nine matches, with the Bulls' only victory coming against Bowling Green on Oct. 10.
The Bulls (7-7-2 overall, 1-4-1 MAC) were able to come out on senior day and show their true colors last weekend, tying a highly respected opponent in the Western Michigan Broncos (8-6-3 overall, 3-2-1 MAC) by a final score of 1-1.
The Bulls will look to turn their confidence into victories this weekend as they head to Kalamazoo for the Mid-American Conference tournament. The Bulls' first game is scheduled for Friday. Buffalo, the sixth seed, will face the third seed, Northern Illinois (12-6-0 overall, 4-2-0 MAC) at 9 am.
The Bulls were shut out by the Huskies less than three weeks ago 3-0, but Bulls' Head Coach John Astudillo doesn't have any apprehension about his team's ability to come out of the first round of the MAC playoffs with a victory.
"We couldn't have played a worse first half against Northern Illinois," said Astudillo. "We made the adjustments and I think we were solid in the second half. We are very optimistic about the outcome on Friday and we will play a much better game overall."
If the Bulls plan on winning this time around, they will need to find an answer for the Huskies' freshman forward Curt Zastrow, who led the team on offense during the regular season with 29 points.
Defense will be the key to producing a semifinal appearance on Sunday. Astudillo thinks Buffalo can execute a similar defensive attack to the one that kept the score close in the second half of the last meeting between the two teams.
"Defensively we will show some balance and challenge Northern Illinois' direct attack," said Astudillo. "They like to attack you and strike quickly. We will counter them. Health is a huge concern for us defensively. Drew (Butler) is in question. He's a big part of our team. I think he'll tough it out again though. He's a true gamer. We should be solid in the backfield. If we can control the midfield, we usually do well."
Offensively, the Bulls will turn once again to the usual suspects: Shyle Braithwaite, Cheick Diarra and Lee Catchpole, all staples in the Bulls' game plan. The trio has been extremely successful in executing for the Bulls when big plays have been needed this season.
"A lot of guys gave been stepping up lately," said Astudillo. "Lee (Catchpole) and Mbwana (Johnson) are trying to get back into things. I think guys like Greg (Galemore) and Brian Knapp will step up for us."
If Buffalo defeats Northern Illinois on Friday, they will face the winner of Bowling Green and Akron on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bulls' coaches said they expect Akron to win that match.
"We will be playing Akron," said Astudillo. "We plan on watching the Akron tape on the bus ride down. They will be there and they are a big challenge. They put a lot of pressure on you and attack. You need to be on your toes for a team like Akron."
The weekend kicks off at 9 a.m. on Friday with Buffalo facing off against Northern Illinois. Bowling Green's match against Akron starts at noon, and Marshall vs. Western Michigan is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. The winners will continue play on Sunday.
