Two Second Half Goals Earn Men's Soccer A Draw Against Western Michigan

Friday, October 10

7 pm

University at Buffalo

3-7-1 (0-0-1MAC)

Western Michigan

6-3-3 (0-0-1MAC)

Team	1	2	OT 3	OT 4	Final F
Western Michigan	2	0	0	0	2
Buffalo	0	2	0	0	2

Two Second Half Goals Earn Men's Soccer A Draw Against Western Michigan

10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Stu Riddle Post Game Interview

Russell Cicerone Post Game Interview

BUFFALO, NY – A goal from leading scorer Russell Cicerone with 12 seconds left earned the State University of New York, Buffalo men's soccer team a come-from-behind tie at UB Stadium on Friday night against Western Michigan, 2-2. The Bulls trailed by two with fewer than seven minutes to play but a pair of timely goals earned UB a point in the Mid-American Conference opener.

UB is now 3-7-1 overall and 0-0-1 in MAC play while the Broncos are 6-3-3 overall and 0-0-1 in conference play.

"I thought tonight's performance was incredible," stated second-year head coach Stu Riddle. "It was hands down the best performance a team of mine has put together in my 18 months here at UB. To come back from two down with six minutes left to get that tie tonight was fantastic against a very good opponent."

With the game in doubt in the final minute of play, trailing 2-1, UB made a strong push into the offensive third looking for the tying goal. Cicerone found a streaking Alec Fisher for a one-time shot that was blocked in the box by a hand of a Western Michigan player, earning the Bulls a penalty kick with 15 seconds showing on the clock. Cicerone stepped up and fired a low shot to the left corner that was saved but the rebound came right back to him and he calmly buried his sixth goal of the season in the upper right corner for the tying goal.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the two overtime periods with neither side breaking through with dangerous opportunities as they played to a draw.

The Broncos were able to get on the board first off of a corner kick from Sean Conerty. The Conerty kick found the feet of Hunter Vandenboom in the box and he buried the ball in the back of the net for his first goal of the season in the 22^nd minute.

Western Michigan got fortunate in the 40^th minute of play as a crossing pass deflected off a UB defender and snuck by goalkeeper Waleed Cassis, giving the Broncos the 2-0 lead heading into halftime on a own goal.

The Bulls opened the second half with a lot more energy and fight than the Broncos as UB began winning the 50/50 balls that they weren't able to secure in the first half.

Cicerone had a blast in the 64^th minute off a set piece that rang off the cross bar and his rebound went right to Nicolai Berry for another shot which was pushed away by Chase Rau, preserving the 2-0 lead for Western Michigan.

UB was finally awarded for their dominant second half play as Ryan Pereira crossed a perfect ball into the box where Austin Place buried his first goal of the season in the lower left corner of the Broncos net. The assist for Pereira was his first of the season.

The second half was completely dominated by the Bulls as they owned an 11-1 advantage in shots. The overtime periods saw the Broncos gain some momentum back as they outshot UB 5-1 but they were not able to score the winning goal.

Defensively, the backline of Fisher, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom and Place had a fantastic night for the Bulls as they limited a very dangerous attack to just three shots on goal for the game.

For the game, Cassis was only asked to make one save in the tie while his counterpart Rau was challenged all night long, making eight saves. Cicerone led all players with six shots including three on goal while Berry came off the bench and offered a spark with two shots for the Bulls.

The Bulls will return to the pitch on Tuesday, October 14 as they will travel to Lafayette for a non-conference match. First kick is set for 6:00 pm.