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Women's Soccer Plays Host To Toledo In MAC Quarterfinals On Sunday
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BUFFALO, NY – After finishing off only the third unbeaten Mid-American Conference regular season in conference history and earning the #1 overall seed for the MAC tournament, the state University of New York, Buffalo women's soccer team will host eighth-seeded Toledo at UB Stadium on Sunday at 1:00 pm. The Bulls are hosting a MAC tournament match for the first time since 2000, when they were defeated by Toledo in the MAC semifinals.
"The girls have put in the work to host the quarterfinals and play in front of their home fans," stated first-year head coach Shawn Burke. "Toledo is a well coached team and they will be a tough task. We need to focus on what we do best and bring everything we have for a full 90 minutes."
The Bulls played Toledo earlier this season on the road and they had one of their best results of the year, beating the Rockets by the score of 3-0. Celina Carrero was the star of the game for the Bulls as she finished with a pair of goals in the win.
UB enters the quarterfinal matchup with the Rockets riding a season-best unbeaten streak of 11 matches, one shy of tying the program record set in 1999. The Bulls strung together nine wins and two ties in conference play, the best conference season in program history.
Following a pair of big victories last weekend against the second and third ranked teams in the MAC, Miami (OH) and Ball State, the Bulls fought through adversity on Thursday afternoon to pick up their third overtime winner of the season against Akron. The Bulls trailed 1-0 at halftime but Kassidy Kidd tied the game early on in the second half before the game-winner was headed in by Jackie Hall early on in the second overtime period off a feed from Carrero.
Leading the Bulls offensive charge this season is MAC Player of the Year hopeful, Katie Roberts. Roberts leads the Bulls and ranks second in the MAC in goals (10) and also leads UB in points (22), shots (65) and game-winning goals (five) on the season. Giving the UB offense a huge boost this season is Carrero, who ranks second on the team in goals with six and points with 18 while leading the Bulls in assists with six on the season. Freshman Julia Benati has been a pleasant surprise offensively as she has chipped in with three goals and four assists on the year.
Defensively the Bulls are led by the best back line in the conference which helped UB tie a program record for clean sheets in a season with 12. The back line of Hall, Sophie Therien, Kristin Markiewicz and Angel Hart has also helped the Bulls limit their opponents to five shots on goal of less in 13 of 18 matches including five straight down the stretch.
In goal, Laura Dougall set a program record for wins in a season as she earned a 13-1-3 overall record while posting a 0.39 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and a program record 11 clean sheets on the season.
Toledo earned the eighth and final seed in the tournament on Thursday afternoon as they earned a 0-0 tie on the road at Central Michigan. Toledo enters with an overall record of 7-10-2 and a conference mark of 4-6-1. They are led offensively by a pair of players in Geri Siudzinski and Isabella Echeverri who have recorded four goals apiece. Siudzinski leads the squad with 10 points and three game-winning goals on the season. In goal, Sam Tiongson owns a 1.23 goals-against average while recording six clean sheets.
The winner of the UB/Toledo match will play the winner of #5 Kent State/#4 Ball State on Friday, November 7.
OTHER MAC TOURNAMENT GAMES
#7 Northern Illinois at #2 Miami (OH), 1:00 pm
#6 Western Michigan at #3 Eastern Michigan, 1:00 pm
#5 Kent State at #4 Ball State, 1:00 pm
