Bulls Solidify MAC Tournament Spot With Dramatic 2-1 Victory Over Bowling Green

Friday, October 30

7 pm

University at Buffalo

7-5-4 (2-1-1MAC)

Bowling Green

8-8-1 (1-3-0MAC)

BGSU

Buffalo

Bulls Solidify MAC Tournament Spot With Dramatic 2-1 Victory Over Bowling Green

10/30/2015 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 (7-5-4, 2-1-1 MAC) solidified their spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons on Friday night at UB Stadium on Senior Night for three UB players. The Bulls scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart in the final five minutes to notch the victory and qualify for their first MAC Tournament since the 2011 campaign.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 2, Bowling Green 1
UB Goal Scorers: Marcus Hanson (2), Russell Cicerone (11)
UB Assists: Daniel Cramarossa (2), Steven Stryker (4)
Bowling Green Goal Scorer: Ryan James (3)
Records: Buffalo (7-5-4, 2-1-1 MAC), Bowling Green (8-8-1, 1-3-0 MAC)
Location: UB Stadium – Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 511
The Short Story: Senior Marcus Hanson and leading scorer Russell Cicerone scored goals less than two minutes apart in the final three minutes of action to capture the win for the Bulls. The win helped UB earn a spot in the MAC Tournament.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Alec Fisher, Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom, Russell Cicerone, Scott Doney, Austin Place, Marcus Hanson, Nick Forrester, Braden Scales, Joseph Kuta
Bowling Green: Bismark Agyeman, Ryan Heuton, Jake Martin, Ryan James, Alexis Souahy, Danny Shea, Max Auden, Jacob Roth, Joe Sullivan, Ryan Ross, Tate Robertson

How It Happened

The Bulls had the first good scoring chance of the opening half in the seventh minute as Braden Scales took a Russell Cicerone feed and walked in on goal but his shot just missed the right corner.
In the 19^th minute, Russell Cicerone nearly gave UB the lead as he took a pass from Daniel Cramarossa on the right side of the goal but his shot to the opposite corner was snagged by the Bowling Green keeper.
Joseph Kuta made his first save of the match in the 24^th minute as Jacob Roth fired a hard shot on target but Kuta snagged the ball, keeping the game scoreless.
The Falcons had the final chance of the first half as Keaton Reynolds launched a shot on goal, forcing Kuta to make a nice stop to the right.
Bowling Green had a great chance in the 52^nd minute as Ryan James was in all alone on Joseph Kuta but the keeper came storming off his line and made a sliding kick to boot the ball out of bounds.
The Falcons had a good chance in the 68^th minute off the head of Tate Robertson but his attempt just sailed over the cross bar and out of play.
In the 74^th minute, Scott Doney had a marvelous chance to net the first goal of the match but his header attempt was blocked away by a Bowling Green defender in the crease after the keeper got caught out of position.
The Falcons were able to get on the board first in the 76^th minute of play as they earned a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box near the corner flag. On the ensuing free kick, Ryan James placed a pretty shot into the left corner of the net, just beating a diving attempt from Joseph Kuta.
The Bulls stormed right back as they earned a free kick from the top of the box by Cicerone after a nice play from David Enstrom to draw the foul. On the ensuing free kick, Cicerone's hard low shot was blocked and cleared out of harms way.
Trailing 1-0 late in the second half, senior captain Marcus Hanson took matters into his own hands as he netted the game-tying goal in the 87^th minute of play off a great corner kick from Daniel Cramarossa. Hanson gathered the ball and calmly beat the keeper to the right corner to score his second goal of the season and his final at UB Stadium.
Less than two minutes after Hanson's game-tying marker, UB leading scorer Russell Cicerone scored a highlight reel goal to give the Bulls the 2-1 lead in the 88^th minute. Cicerone took a feed from Steven Stryker and worked his magic on the Bowling Green defender, dragging the keeper to come out and miss a diving attempt before slipping the ball into the wide open net. The goal for Cicerone was his team-leading 11^th of the season.
The UB defense locked down the Bowling Green attack in the final two minutes to preserve their seventh win of the season and clinching a MAC Tournament berth.

Inside The Numbers

With the win, the Bulls qualify for the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
The Bulls improved to 7-5-4 overall and 2-1-1 in MAC play, giving UB their most victories in a season since 2011 when they won eight.
UB finished off their home slate with a 6-2-1 record, most home victories since 2008 for the Bulls.
The UB offense has recorded 26 goals so far this season, the most in a season since the 2011 campaign when they scored 26.
With one match remaining, the UB defense has allowed just 16 goals on the year, third best defensive season in program history.
With his game-winning goal tonight, Russell Cicerone moved into fourth place on the all-time goals list at UB with his 27^th career goal. The junior also ranks third all-time in points with 67.
On the year, Russell Cicerone has 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points. His 30 points ranks sixth all-time in program history for points in a season while his 11 goals ranks ninth for a single season. His 30 points are the most points scored in a single season since 1999 when Steve Butcher had 36 points.
Russell Cicerone now has recorded at least one point in eight straight matches for the Bulls while also notching eight goals in his last eight games.
With his assist on Hanson's goal, Daniel Cramarossa now has a career-high two assists on the year and a career-high six points.
With his assist on the game-winner, junior Steven Stryker has a career-high four assists and eight points on the year.
For the match, Bowling Green held the slim 15-14 advantage in shots while UB held the 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Sophomore Joseph Kuta finished off his impressive match with six saves for the Bulls, giving him four straight matches with at least five saves for the Bulls.
Russell Cicerone led all players with four shots while Marcus Hanson had three. A trio of players, David Enstrom, Scott Doney and Braden Scales each finished with two shots in the win.

Up Next

The Bulls will hit the road for their regular season finale on Saturday, November 7 at 1:00 pm as they travel to Western Michigan. The match will kickoff at 1:00 pm on Saturday.