Bulls Start 3-0 In MAC For First Time Since 1999; Defeat Bowling Green, 3-1

Friday, October 3

7 pm

7-2-1 (3-0-0MAC)

Bowling Green

1-9-0 (0-3-0MAC)

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Bulls Start 3-0 In MAC For First Time Since 1999; Defeat Bowling Green, 3-1

10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Head Coach Shawn Burke Post Game Interview

BUFFALO, NY - Behind a pair of second half goals off the foot of leading scorer Katie Roberts, the University at Buffalo women's soccer team claimed their third straight conference victory, defeating Bowling Green on Friday night at UB Stadium by the score of 3-1. The win gives UB an overall record of 7-2-1 on the season and moves them to 3-0-0 in Mid-American Conference play for the first time since the 1999 campaign.

"Bowling Green gave us some fits, especially in the first half," said head coach Shawn Burke. "We have to give them all the credit in the world but I am very pleased with how the girls responded in the second half. We had a total team effort, including the subs that came in didn't miss a beat and really worked hard for a solid 3-1 victory tonight."

Roberts finished off her impressive night with two goals and five shots for the Bulls. She has now scored five goals in four games and has recorded three straight game-winning goals for UB. The Bulls are now 4-1 in games that Roberts finds the back of the net and 4-0 at home for the first time since 1999.

The Bulls opened up the scoring early on in the opening half as Kassidy Kidd took a nice feed from freshman Julia Benati and beat the goalkeeper with a perfectly placed shot in the lower left corner of the net. The tally for Kidd was her first on the season.

UB continued to put on the pressure as Roberts had a pair of beautiful chances to extend the Buffalo lead to two. Her first chance came in the 12^th minute as she was all-alone with the goalkeeper but her shot was deflected just wide of the net. Five minutes later she had a chance from in close but the keeper was up to the task, pushing the shot wide of the net once again.

Freshman goalkeeper Laura Dougall made her best save of the night in the 27^th minute as she smotherd a low shot off the foot of Skylar Fleak to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard.

After some back-and-forth play over the next 25 minutes, the Falcons finally pushed through with their first goal of the game in the 43^rd minute. Skylar Fleak took a feed from Leah Runkle and her shot just trickled through the outstretched arms of Dougall and just over the goal line to tie the game at one.

Following halftime, the Bulls returned to the field with a little more energy as they jumped back out to the 2-1 lead in the 52^nd minute. Roberts was able to get behind the Falcons defense and a perfect lead pass from Benati allowed her to be in all-alone and she didn't miss her chance, burying her fifth goal of the season in the lower right corner. The goal for Roberts gave her four goals in four games for the Bulls.

Captain Courtney Mann almost notched her first goal of the season in the 68^th minute of action but her blast went just over top of the Bowling Green goal. However, two minutes later, Roberts picked up her teammate with the game-sealing goal as she took a great pass from Dana Lytle and beat the goalkeeper to the lower left corner for her second of the contest.

UB continued to pour on the pressure down the stretch as Kidd almost got her second marker of the night in the 76^th minute as she took a rocket of a shot that rang off the cross bar and out of play. Kidd finished off her best game of the season with a season-high four shots for UB.

Benati finished off her night with her first career multi-assist game for the Bulls while Lytle picked up her first career assist in the Bulls third straight win. The defensive backline of Jackie Hall, Sophie Therien, Kristin Markiewicz and Angel Hart continued their stingy play, allowing only one second half shot to the Falcons and only two shots on goal for the game. The Bulls defense has now held its opponents to five shots or less in six contests this season.

Seeing extensive action in the second half, Rachel Cook, Megan Abman, Alex Lambert, Ashley Evans and Andrea Niper all played well for the Bulls in the victory. Cook looked dangerous all night long with the ball and Niper led all bench players with three shots on the night.

For the game, UB outshot the Falcons 26-7 including 16-1 in the second half. The Bulls also held the dominant 9-2 advantage in corner kicks for the game. Dougall finished off her quiet night with two saves in the victory while her counterpart Lauren Cadell made eight saves in the losing effort.

Following the match, Kidd was awarded the "Player of the Match" award by the UB coaching staff after a great game offensively for the Bulls. Kidd netted her first goal of the season and also hit the cross bar on another dangerous attempt.

When asked about the play of Kidd, head coach Shawn Burke stated, "I can't say enough about the play of Kassidy Kidd. This was hands down her best game so far this season. We have been working with her to get that attacking mentality and she showed it with the early goal and she never stopped until the final whistle."

PLAYER OF THE MATCH (Through 10 games)

St. Bonaventure – Jackie Hall
Canisius - Angel Hart
Duquesne – Sophie Therien
Drexel – Courtney Mann
Niagara – Jackie Hall
#3 Virginia Tech – Ashley Evans and Courtney Mann
Cornell - Julia Benati
Kent State - Katie Roberts
Ohio – Alex Lambert
Bowling Green – Kassidy Kidd

The Bulls return to UB Stadium on Sunday at noon as they play host to defending MAC champions, Eastern Michigan.