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Buffalo Women's Soccer Continues To Climb RPI Rankings
10/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BUFFALO, NY – In the third edition of the crucial NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) released on Monday afternoon, the University at Buffalo women's soccer program climbed nine spots to 56th on the list, the highest ranking in program history.
"It's great for the girls to be recognized for their current success," stated head coach Shawn Burke, when asked about the new RPI rankings. "It's a fantastic reflection of the work these athletes put in and the belief and trust they have in one another."
RPI is based on a teams wins, losses and strength of schedule and it is a determining factor in which teams will earn at-large berths to the NCAA tournament. The Bulls currently own an 8-2-1 overall record and a 4-0 conference mark, the first 4-0 start in MAC play since 1999.
The Bulls are now the highest ranked Mid-American Conference school in the rankings at 56th overall. UB is now ahead of Miami (OH) who ranks 70th and Eastern Michigan who comes ranks 86th, after trailing those two schools a week ago.
UB is coming off a perfect 2-0 weekend with a pair of conference victories over Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan. On Friday night, the Bulls came out strong in the second half to defeat the Falcons as senior forward Katie Roberts netted a pair of goals to propel UB to the 3-1 win. In a rain-filled Sunday match, the Bulls completely dominated the defending MAC champions Eastern Michigan, earning a 2-0 shutout victory. Julia Benati and Roberts netted the goals for UB in the win while Laura Dougall recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
The Buffalo defense has been their strength all season long as the backline of Jackie Hall, Sophie Therien, Kristin Markiewicz and Angel Hart have helped earned the Bulls eight clean sheets on the season. Dougall has been superb between the pipes for UB as she owns a 8-1-1 overall record, a goals-against average of 0.39 and seven clean sheets. Her .913 save percentage ranks her second in the NCAA while her 0.39 goals-against average gives her the ninth best mark in all of college soccer.
Roberts, two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Bulls offense, as she is currently one of the hottest players in the country. She has produced six goals in the past five contests and leads the MAC with seven goals on the season. Celina Carrero is also having a career season for UB as she has racked up three goals and three assists while freshman Julia Benati has been a pleasant surprise with three goals and three assists as well.
Buffalo will aim to stay perfect in MAC play on Friday night as they travel to take on Northern Illinois for an 8:00 pm start. The Huskies enter the match with an overall record of 5-6-1 and a conference record of 3-0-1, the only other unbeaten MAC school besides UB. On Sunday, UB will return to UB Stadium for a showdown with Western Michigan at 12:00 pm.
