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Eastern Michigan
Women's Soccer Earns Fourth Straight Win; Blanks Eastern Michigan, 2-0
10/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Head Coach Shawn Burke Post Game Interview
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (8-2-1, 4-0-0 MAC) collected their fourth straight conference victory on Sunday in a rain filled afternoon at UB Stadium. The Bulls defeated Eastern Michigan by the score of 2-0 to give them their first 4-0 conference start since the 1999 season.
With the win, UB improves to 5-0 at home this season and they have surpassed last year's total in wins (eight) and conference victories (four). The five goal weekend for UB's offense helps them surpass last season's goal total of 14, as they Bulls have now tallied 16 goals on the season with seven games remaining.
"We had another great team performance," said head coach Shawn Burke. "I am very happy with our midfield defending and the back four completely eliminated their dangerous forwards. Another positive was we were not affected by the conditions today, the girls actually embraced the cold and the wet. In the end, we did everything we needed to get results."
Julia Benati scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Bulls in the 14th minute of action on UB's second shot of the game. Benati took a nice feed from Celina Carrero and fired a shot from 20 yards out and beat the diving goalkeeper to the top left corner of the net for her third of the season and second game-winning marker. Carrero now has three assists on the season, tying her for the team lead with Benati.
The Bulls felt very comfortable heading into the locker room with the 1-0 lead as they have been one of the most dominant second half team's in the MAC, holding a 98-54 advantage in shots in the final 45 minutes of play.
The UB offense continued to push the pace in the second half as the rain did not affect the Bulls pressure. In the 56th minute, senior forward Katie Roberts stayed hot for the Bulls as she worked hard to force an Eagles turnover, took the ball away and buried a perfect shot in the top right corner of the net to give UB the 2-0 lead. Roberts continues to be one of the hottest players in the country as she now has six goals in five games and leads the MAC in goals with seven.
Buffalo pressed on after taking the 2-0 lead as Kristin Markiewicz had a great chance in the 60th minute but her shot attempt was saved by the leaping Eastern Michigan keeper. Over the next 15 minutes, the Bulls continued to push as Kassidy Kidd had a pair of shots just go wide and Roberts and Carrero each saw their attempts saved by the Eagles keeper.
Offensively, Benati led the Bulls with six shots while Roberts had four and Kidd finished with three in the victory. Markiewicz also had a pair of dangerous chances for the Bulls as she finished with two shots on goal.
Defensively, the Bulls were once again outstanding on the back end as they secured their eighth shutout of the season as a unit. The backline of Jackie Hall, Sophie Therien, Markiewicz and Angel Hart helped eliminate any dangerous chances by some of the best offensive players in the MAC on Eastern Michigan.
Laura Dougall was able to earn her eighth career victory as she finished with five saves for the Bulls. Her five save effort was awarded with her seventh shutout of the season, ranking her third in program history for shutouts in a season. Dougall now owns a 0.39 goal-against average for the season.
For the game, UB dominated most of the play as they held the 18-8 advantage in shots while Eastern Michigan earned the 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. The Bulls had five players with at least two shots for the contest.
Following the match, Carrero was awarded the "Player of the Match" award by the UB coaching staff after a great game offensively for the Bulls. Carrero assisted on the game-winning tally for the Bulls and also finished with two shots on the afternoon.
When asked about the play of Carrero, head coach Shawn Burke stated, "her stats may not stick out on the score sheet, but her ability to hold up play and let players link up with the attack was phenomenal and it was hands down her best performance of the year."
PLAYER OF THE MATCH (Through 11 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
Eastern Michigan – Celina Carrero
The Bulls will return to the pitch on Friday, October 10 as they travel to take on Northern Illinois. The match is set to start at 7:00 pm.
