Women's Soccer Upended In MAC Semifinals By Western Michigan, 1-0

Friday, November 6

2 pm

11-7-3

Western Michigan

13-3-4

Buffalo

Western Michigan

Women's Soccer Upended In MAC Semifinals By Western Michigan, 1-0

11/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI – The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York women's soccer team (11-7-3, 7-3-1 MAC) saw their bid at back-to-back Mid-American Conference Tournament championships denied by the host Western Michigan Broncos on Friday afternoon at WMU Soccer Complex. The Broncos scored the game-winning goal in the 86^th minute of play to advance to the MAC Championship match on Sunday.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 0, Western Michigan 1
Western Michigan Goal Scorer: Emma Kahn (11)
Western Michigan Assist: Candice Uhl (4)
Records: Buffalo (11-7-3, 7-3-1 MAC), Western Michigan (13-3-4, 8-1-2 MAC)
Location: WMU Soccer Complex – Kalamazoo, MI
Attendance: 305
The Short Story: A goal in the 86^th minute from the Western Michigan Broncos was the difference on Friday afternoon in the MAC semifinals as the hosts denied UB the chance at another MAC championship.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Laura Dougall, Kristin Markiewicz, Angel Hart, Julia Benati, Jackie Hall, Carissima Cutrona, Kassidy Kidd, Celina Carrero, Moira Petrie, Brianna Shingary, Andrea Niper
Western Michigan: Megan Ross, Stephanie Heber, Emma Kahn, Irene Young, Gina Maddi, Lindsey Lee, Kylie Nylen, Lacey Zahn, Alex Ruffer, Candice Uhl, Alyssa Smith

How It Happened

The Bulls had the first chance of the match in the first minute of play as Moira Petrie drew a foul just outside the box. On the ensuing free kick, Brianna Shingary fired a shot on goal that was saved by the Broncos keeper.
In the fifth minute, Kassidy Kidd had a golden opportunity to score as she took a feed from Moira Petrie but her hard left-footed was saved by a diving keeper.
Western Michigan had their first chance of the match in the 11^th minute as Gina Maddi had her shot saved by Laura Dougall.
A minute later, Megan Ross had a hard shot off the corner kick for WMU but Dougall was again up to the test making an easy save.
In the 32^nd minute, Julia Benati had a hard long shot but her effort was gathered by the Western Michigan keeper, keeping the game scoreless.
Western Michigan had the first shot of the second half in the 48^th minute as Alex Ruffer headed a shot towards the net that Laura Dougall easily scooped up.
In the 50^th minute, Julia Benati had a great chance to score the first goal of the match but her right-footed shot just missed the top right corner.
Celina Carrero made a great play to steal the clearance in the 53^rd minute and came in alone but her shot dribbled just right of the open net.
Western Michigan had a great chance to open the scoring in the 58^th minute as Liz Abro had a hard shot that was saved by a diving Laura Dougall.
After holding off a Western Michigan flurry, the Bulls countered and earned a corner kick in the 76^th minute. On the ensuing corner, Kassidy Kidd sent a ball into the box where Andrea Niper got a head on the ball but her effort just went high of the cross bar.
In the 84^th minute of play, Lacey Zahn had a hard shot from the right that was turned away by Laura Dougall.
The Broncos got on the board in the 86^th minute of play as Candice Uhl sent a great ball into the box where Emma Kahn buried the goal. The goal for Kahn was her 11^th of the season and it proved to be the game-winner for the Broncos.
With the clock winding down UB was unable to get a last second scoring chance as they fell 1-0.

Inside The Numbers

The Bulls close out the season as the first women's team in school history to claim back-to-back MAC East championships.
UB finished the season with 11 wins, just the fourth time the Bulls have won at least 11 games in the past 15 years.
The five member senior class for the Bulls is the fourth winningest senior class in program history as they have recorded 38 victories over the past four seasons.
UB's 29 goals on the year mark the second most the team has scored in a single season since 2004.
The stingy UB defense held its opponents to 18 goals on the year, marking the fourth time in five seasons UB has held their opponents to less than a goal a game.
Western Michigan held the 14-9 edge in shots and the slim 4-3 edge in corner kicks for the match.
Senior Kassidy Kidd closed out her impressive campaign with a team-best six goals and six assists while finishing her career ranked 15^th in assists with 11 for her career.
Fifth-year senior Jackie Hall closed out her tremendous UB career as the first Bull in division I history to be named All-American and the first UB player since 1999 and 2000 to earn first team All-MAC accolades in back-to-back seasons.
Julia Benati, Kassidy Kidd and Celina Carrero each finished with a team-high two shots in the loss.
Sophomore Laura Dougall finished off her strong performance with six saves. Dougall finished the season with 103 saves, ranking 13^th on the all-time saves list for a season. Her 11-7-3 record also gave her the third most wins in a season in program history and her eight cleansheets also ranked third in program history for a single season.

Player of the Match
Following the match, Kristin Markiewicz was awarded the "Player of the Match" award by the UB coaching staff after another strong defensive games for the Bulls in her final match as a Bull.

Saint Joseph's – Jackie Hall
Drexel – Kristin Markiewicz
Canisius – Julia Benati
St. Bonaventure – Kassidy Kidd
Syracuse – Dana Lytle
Niagara – Rebecca Bramble
Binghamton – Kassidy Kidd / Celina Carrero
#7 West Virginia – Laura Dougall
Ohio – Brianna Shingary
Kent State – Carissima Cutrona
Eastern Michigan – Carissima Cutrona
Bowling Green – Moira Petrie
Western Michigan – Kassidy Kidd
Northern Illinois – Andrea Niper
Toledo – Kassidy Kidd
Central Michigan – Jackie Hall
Miami (OH) – Brianna Shingary
Ball State – Moira Petrie
Akron – Kristin Markiewicz
Central Michigan – Brianna Shingary
Western Michigan – Kristin Markiewicz

What They Are Saying

Head coach Shawn Burke: "That was just a great game between the two best teams in the conference today. I have to give credit to Western Michigan for taking advantage of their opportunity and scoring on a good play. I am so proud of everything our girls put into this season and for the amazing fight they showed all year long. Today, every girl that stepped on that field gave it everything they had and I couldn't be more proud of that group. I can't say enough about this senior class and I hope they realize that they can look back and understand that they changed the culture of this program and they built something special at UB. Our staff is so proud of the seniors, they truely are amazing people that have helped to change this program."