Kuta's Big Game Not Enough; Men's Soccer Edged, 1-0, By #4 Akron In MAC Championship

Sunday, November 15

1 pm

University at Buffalo

8-7-4

Akron

15-3-2

Buffalo

Akron

Kuta's Big Game Not Enough; Men's Soccer Edged, 1-0, By #4 Akron In MAC Championship

11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's soccer team (8-6-4, 2-2-1 MAC) put in a tremendous effort but fell just short in the MAC Championship match against #4 Akron on Sunday afternoon, falling 1-0. For the second straight match, Joseph Kuta was outstanding in goal for the Bulls as he finished with 10 saves in the loss. Kuta was named to the MAC All-Tournament team for his great play.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 0, #4 Akron 1
Akron Goal Scorer: Victor Souto (6)
Records: Buffalo (8-7-4, 2-2-1 MAC), #4 Akron (15-3-2, 4-0-1 MAC)
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field – Akron, Ohio
Attendance: 1,335
The Short Story: Behind a goal with 30 seconds remaining in the opening half, the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's soccer team fell 1-0 in the MAC finals to the Akron Zips. UB battled to the final whistle as they have all season long but came up just short down the stretch.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Alec Fisher, Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom, Russell Cicerone, Braden Culver, Marcus Hanson, Austin Place, Steven Stryker, Braden Scales, Joseph Kuta
Akron: Andrew Souders, Sean Sepe, Richie Laryea, Sam Gainford, Victor Souto, Staurt Holthusen, Adam Najem, Brad Ruhaak, Robby Dambrot, Alonzo Clarke

How It Happened

Joseph Kuta was tested in the first minute of play as Adam Najem had his free kick headed towards the net but Kuta stood his ground and made the save.
In the ninth minute, Austin Place made a goal saving tackle as Sean Sepe made a dangerous move inside the box. Place stood strong and won the ball away from the attacker.
In the 15^th minute, Joseph Kuta made a tremendous diving stop to his right as he robbed Stuart Holthusen from 10 yards out.
Robby Dambrot had a magical chance to score in the 16^th minute but Joseph Kuta stood his ground and made his best save of the match.
Joseph Kuta made another strong save as he came off his line in the 18^th minute, robbing Richie Laryea.
In the 38^th minute, Russell Cicerone had a great chance to open the scoring as he took a feed from Marcus Hanson but his right-footed shot was saved by a diving keeper.
In the 45^th minute, the Zips finally broke through with a goal as Victor Souto buried the ball in the back of the net from just outside the box into the upper right corner.
The Zips had the first shot of the second half in the 54^th minute as Stuart Holthusen took a right-footed shot that was scooped up by Joseph Kuta, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of the Zips.
The Bulls had their best chance of the second half in the 58^th minute as Daniel Cramarossa sent a great ball to the top of the box where Fox Slotemaker connected on a strong header that was pushed out of bounds by the diving keeper.
Steven Stryker saw his header just miss the left corner of the goal in the 64^th minute after a nice ball from Daniel Cramarossa was sent into the box.
65^th minute, Steven Stryker earned a free kick from just outside the box and on the ensuing free kick Russell Cicerone's shot was scooped up by the Akron keeper.
Joseph Kuta made the biggest save of the season in the 68^th minute as he robbed Richie Laryea who was in all alone.
In the 79^th minute, Joseph Kuta made another strong save off a corner opportunity from Pau Belana.
Austin Place had a good chance from the top of the box in the 81^st minute of play as he just booted a Daniel Cramarossa service wide of the left corner.
Joseph Kuta came off his line and made a great save on Adam Najem in the 86^th minute of play, keeping UB within striking position.
In the 90^th minute, Russell Cicerone had the Bulls final chance as he earned a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box but his free kick was blocked by the Akron defense to seal the match for the Zips.

Inside The Numbers

The MAC Championship appearance for the Bulls was their first since 2007 and their third in program history.
The Bulls finished off the season going 8-7-4, marking the most wins in a season since 2011 when they won eight matches.
The Zips held the 26-11 advantage in shots and the slim 9-7 edge in corner kicks in the match.
Joseph Kuta finished off his second straight game with double digit saves in the loss, making 10 big saves for UB.
Junior Russell Cicerone finished off his match with a team-high four shots while Austin Place and Fox Slotemaker finished with two shots each in the loss.
MAC Player of the Year, Russell Cicerone finished off his dominant junior campaign with a career-best 12 goals and eight assists for 32 points. The 32-point season was the sixth best scoring season in program history.
Joseph Kuta, Daniel Cramarossa and Russell Cicerone were named to the MAC All-Tournament team for their outstanding weekends for the Bulls.

What They Are Saying

Head Coach Stu Riddle: "I couldn't be prouder of the effort the lads put forth today. I felt we completely dominated the second half and were extremely unlucky to lose the match. We have proved we can compete with the top teams in the nation and I firmly believe we will be a real force next season."