Cicerone's Overtime Howitzer Sends Men's Soccer To First MAC Title Game Since 2007

Friday, November 13

4 pm

University at Buffalo

8-6-4

Western Michigan

11-4-4

OT 2

Buffalo

Western Michigan

Cicerone's Overtime Howitzer Sends Men's Soccer To First MAC Title Game Since 2007

11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Russell Cicerone Post Match Interview
Head Coach Stu Riddle Post Match Interview
Highlights

AKRON, OH – Voted as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year yesterday, junior Russell Cicerone solidified in everyone's mind that he is the best player in the conference on Friday afternoon as he scored the game-winning goal in the 96^th minute to send the Bulls to their first MAC Championship game since 2007. Behind Cicerone's game-winner and Daniel Cramarossa's game-tying marker, the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's soccer team (8-6-4, 2-2-1 MAC) earned a come-from-behind victory, 2-1, over the Western Michigan Broncos in the MAC semifinals on Friday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron, OH.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 2, Western Michigan 1 (OT)
Buffalo Goal Scorer: Daniel Cramarossa (3), Russell Cicerone (12)
Western Michigan Goal Scorer: Zach Bock (1)
Western Michigan Assist: Sean Conerty (4)
Records: Buffalo (8-6-4, 2-2-1 MAC), Western Michigan (11-4-4, 3-1-1 MAC)
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field – Akron, Ohio
Attendance: 310
The Short Story: Trailing 1-0 down the stretch, the Bulls received the game-tying goal from Daniel Cramarossa in the 86^th minute and then in overtime Cicerone scored the biggest goal of his UB career as he beat the keeper on the free kick from 30 yards out. The win gave UB their first MAC Championship game appearance since 2007.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Alec Fisher, Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom, Russell Cicerone, Braden Culver, Marcus Hanson, Austin Place, Steven Stryker, Nick Forrester, Joseph Kuta
Western Michigan: Drew Shepherd, Sean Hazen, Carlos Suarez, Zach Bock, Connor Ferguson, Sean Conerty, Greg Timmer, Edu Jimenez, Nick Wysong, Brandon Bye, Cam Jensen

How It Happened

The Broncos jumped out quick as Brandon Bye had a great scoring chance in the first minute by Joseph Kuta stood tall and made a great save.
In the seventh minute, Brandon Bye had another great chance to score but he just missed the right corner of the net.
The Broncos earned a corner kick in the 13^th minute and Carlos Suarez blasted a shot just over the bar and out of play.
Two minutes later, Sean Conerty sent a great ball into the box where Brandon Bye's diving header attempt just missed the left corner.
In the 16^th minute, Russell Cicerone almost opened the scoring as he earned a free kick and nearly picked the upper right corner on the ensuing free kick from 30 yards out.
Joseph Kuta made another great diving stop in the 24^th minute as Brandon Bye headed the ball towards the right corner.
Greg Timmer had a nice chance in the 27^th minute after a free kick was sent into the box but Joseph Kuta made the save, preserving the scoreless match.
The Broncos had another great scoring chance in the 28^th minute but Joseph Kuta made a great diving stop to deny Carlos Suarez.
Daniel Cramarossa had a blast from just outside the box in the 29^th minute but Drew Shepherd was up to the task, grabbing the hard shot.
Fox Slotemaker came up with the huge block in the 37^th minute on a Greg Timmer shot that looked to be headed for the corner of the net.
Western Michigan earned a free kick from the edge of the box in the 43^rd minute but Joseph Kuta made a huge diving stop to prevent the goal on Sean Conerty's blast.
David Enstrom opened up the second half with a quick shot that was grabbed by Shepherd.
On a dangerous corner kick for the Broncos in the 50^th minute, Russell Cicerone made a goal saving header out of harms way.
Edu Jimenez was robbed from point blank in the 53^rd minute as his header was snagged by Joseph Kuta.
In the 61^st minute, Joseph Kuta made another great save as Edu Jimenez raced down free on goal.
Western Michigan finally got on the board in the 66^th minute of play as Sean Conerty sent a great free kick into the box where Zach Bock headed home the first goal of the match.
In the 72^nd minute, it appeared that Western Michigan had committed a hand ball in the box but no call was made and the Broncos were able to clear out the dangerous opportunity.
Joseph Kuta made another impressive save in the 82^nd minute as he rob bed Brandon Bye from in tight.
The Bulls finally broke through with the equalizer in the 86^th minute as Braden Scales sent a cross into the box that bounced out to Daniel Cramarossa who blasted one into the upper left corner. The goal was Cramarossa's third of the season.
As overtime hit, both sides went back-and-forth until Russell Cicerone earned a free kick from 30 yards out. On the ensuing kick, Cicerone sent a rocket into the upper right corner of the net for the game-winner. The goal was Cicerone's league-leading 12^th of the season and fourth game-winner on the year.

Inside The Numbers

With the win, UB moves onto their first MAC Championship match since 2007. UB has never won a MAC Tournament championship since joining the conference.
The Bulls are now 8-6-4 overall, their most wins in a season since 2011 when they also won eight.
The win over Western Michigan is the first for the Bulls under head Coach Stu Riddle. The Bulls last defeated the Broncos in 2012.
The two goals scored by the UB offense were the most allowed by the stingy Western Michigan defense all season long.
This marks the third final appearance (one with UB and two with Western Michigan) in six seasons for UB head coach Stu Riddle.
With his fourth game-winner of the season, Russell Cicerone now has a career-high 12 goals on the season. The junior is now tied for third place on the all-time goals list with Ediru Okpewho (28). Cicerone also ranks third in total points with 69 for his great career.
Daniel Cramarossa notched his career-high third goal of the season, the game-tying goal in the 86^th minute of action. Cramarossa also has a career-high eight points.
Joseph Kuta finished off the best game of his career, making a career-best 11 saves in the win. Kuta was brilliant making numerous big saves to help UB secure the victory.
The Broncos held the 27-7 edge in shots and the 12-2 edge in corner kicks for the match.
Russell Cicerone, Daniel Cramarossa and David Enstrom each had two shots in the match.

What They Are Saying

Head coach Stu Riddle: "I'm delighted for the lads and my staff. Everyone has worked so hard over the past three years to elevate the program to this level and we are excited to play in the final on Sunday."

Up Next

The Bulls will play the winner of #1 Akron and #4 West Virginia in the MAC Championship match on Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 pm at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.