Bulls Claim First-Ever Victory Over West Virginia; Downs Mountaineers, 2-0

Friday, October 16

7:30 pm

University at Buffalo

6-5-3 (1-1-0MAC)

West Virginia

6-7-0 (1-1-0MAC)

WVU

Buffalo

Bulls Claim First-Ever Victory Over West Virginia; Downs Mountaineers, 2-0

10/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's soccer team (6-5-3, 1-1-0 MAC) earned their first-ever win over the West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday night at UB Stadium in front of 453 fans. The 2-0 win for UB marks their first MAC victory of the season and Joseph Kuta's third cleansheet in his last four matches for the Bulls.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 2, West Virginia 0
UB Goal Scorers: Russell Cicerone (10), Marcus Hanson (1)
UB Assists: Russell Cicerone (7), Braden Scales (5)
Records: Buffalo (6-5-3, 1-1-0 MAC), West Virginia (6-7-0, 1-1-0 MAC)
Location: UB Stadium – Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 453
The Short Story: Russell Cicerone and Marcus Hanson netted back-to-back second half goals to lift UB over West Virginia for the first time in program history on Friday night. Cicerone finished with a goal and assist as he has notched a goal in six straight matches and seven goals in six games for UB.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Alec Fisher, Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom, Russell Cicerone, Marcus Hanson, Austin Place, Nick Forrester, Scott Doney, Braden Scales, Joseph Kuta
West Virginia: Daniel Diaz, Louis Thomas, Francio Henry, Jack Elliott, Christian Diaz, Ryan Cain, Zak Leedom, Jamie Merriam, Joey Piatczyc, Tucker Stephenson, Haydon Bennett

How It Happened

The Mountaineers were able to record the first shot on goal in the match as Ryan Cain fired a low hard shot towards the left corner but Joseph Kuta made a diving stop to prevent the goal.
In the 23^rd minute, Russell Cicerone took a feed from Braden Scales and unloaded a rocket of a shot that just missed the left corner and went out of play.
Daniel Cramarossa had a free kick in the 38^th minute that almost ended up in the back of the WVU net as he put the ball into the box and it bounced and forced Daniel Diaz to make a leaping save to poke the ball over the cage.
On the ensuing corner kick, Cramarossa put a ball into the box where Fox Slotemaker took a hard side kick shot that was denied by lunging keeper who poked the ball over the top of the net.
The Bulls started to take over the play in the second half as Braden Culver had his shot swallowed up by the keeper as he came out and dove to take away the goal.
In the 59^th minute, Cicerone danced his way into the box and his right footed effort just missed the upper right corner of the net.
Steven Stryker had a great chance to break the scoreless match in the 66^th minute as Cicerone made a great pass to Stryker who saw his header effort just go wide of the open corner of the net.
Finally in the 71^st minute of play, the Bulls were able to notch the first goal of the night. After West Virginia was whistled for a penalty, Cicerone was awarded a free kick from 30-yards out and he converted. Cicerone wrapped a rocket around the West Virginia wall and off the cross bar and off the back of the keeper and into the net, giving UB the 1-0 lead.
Just over five minutes later the Bulls put the match away as Marcus Hanson scored his first of the season. Russell Cicerone fed Brade Scales who sent a great cross into the box where Marcus Hanson was standing all alone on the left side of the goal and he buried the ball in the back of the net after the keeper mistimed his jump and left the goal open.
The Bulls continued the pressure down the stretch as Braden Culver saw his hard shot saved by Diaz and then Scott Doney saw his shot just miss the top corner of the net and go out of play in the 84^th minute.
The Buffalo defense of Alec Fisher, Fox Slotemaker, Nick Forrester and Daniel Cramarossa held tough down the stretch and only allowed one shot on goal in the final 20 minutes of action on Friday.

Inside The Numbers

The win was UB's first victory over West Virginia, 1-5-1, in program history. It also marker the first time UB kept WVU off the scoresheet in program history.
UB improved to 6-5-3 overall on the season, the latest in a season that they have had a winning record since 2011.
With his goal on Friday, Russell Cicerone has tied a career-high with 10 goals on the season. The junior has notched at least one goal in six straight matches and seven total goals through six games for UB, the best stretch of his impressive career.
With his second half goal, Russell Cicerone moved into a tie for fourth place on the Bulls all-time goals list with 26 career markers. The junior also moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time points list with 64 career points.
With his assist on Hanson's goal, Cicerone now has a career-high seven assists on the season and he is tied for seventh for assists in a season for a UB player.
The goal for Marcus Hanson in the 76^th minute was his first goal of the season. The senior has notched at least one goal in all four seasons at UB and has six career markers to go along with 11 career helpers.
With his assist tonight, Braden Scales now has a career-high five assists on the season to go along with a career-best 11 points.
Joseph Kuta finished with a career-high eight saves in the shutout. The sophomore has notched three cleansheets in his last four matches for the Bulls.
West Virginia held the slim 16-15 edge in shots while the Bulls owned the 6-3 lead in corner kicks in the win.
Russell Cicerone and Braden Culver led the Bulls with three shots each while Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker and Scott Doney each notched two shots.