Men's Soccer Improves To 3-0; Claims Big 4 Shield From Canisius

Tuesday, September 1

7 pm

University at Buffalo

3-0-0 (0-0-0)

Canisius

1-1-0 (0-0-0)

Canisius

Buffalo

Men's Soccer Improves To 3-0; Claims Big 4 Shield From Canisius

9/1/2015 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 (3-0-0, 0-0-0 MAC) improved to 3-0 on the season and claimed the Big 4 Shield with an impressive 4-2 victory over local rival Canisius on Tuesday night at UB Stadium. The Bulls were led by sophomore Scott Doney who notched a career-high two goals and Russell Cicerone who finished with a goal and two assists in the victory.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 4, Canisius 2
Goal Scorers: Russell Cicerone (2), David Enstrom (1), Scott Doney 2 (3)
Assists: Marcus Hanson 2 (4), Steven Stryker (2), Russell Cicerone 2 (3)
Records: Buffalo (3-0-0), Canisius (1-1-0)
Location: UB Stadium – Buffalo, NY
Crowd: 471
The Short Story: The Bulls improved to 3-0 on the season, their best start to a season since 2008, with an impressive 4-2 victory over Canisius. With the win, the Bulls claimed the Big 4 Shield from the Golden Griffins. The UB offense produced a season-high four goals, their most in a game since October 21, 2014 against Big 4 foe St. Bonaventure. Scott Doney led the way with two goals while Russell Cicerone chipped in with a goal and two assists.

Starting Lineups

Buffalo: Alec Fisher, Daniel Cramarossa, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom, Russell Cicerone, Braden Culver, Marcus Hanson, Nick Forrester, Scott Doney, Braden Scales, Cameron Hogg
Canisius: Andrew Coughlin, Ryan Schroen, Nicolo Baudo, Mo Kretschmer, Melvin Blair, Alex De Carolis, Matthew Santos, Jake Montante, Chris Berardi, Eric Strauchen, Eric Ashley

How It Happened

The Bulls started quick on Tuesday night as Russell Cicerone was creating matchup problems all over the field for Canisius. Finally in the 19^th minute, Canisius was called for their second yellow card of the match as Cicerone ran past the defender and was dragged down just outside the box. On the ensuing free kick, Cicerone wrapped a perfectly placed shot into the upper left hand corner of the net for the games first goal, his second goal of the season.
After some back-and-forth play, the Golden Griffins were awarded a penalty kick after UB keeper Cameron Hogg was whistled for a yellow card. Chris Berardi capitalized on his penalty kick opportunity and tied the score at one in the 32^nd minute.
In the 40^th minute, Hakeem Milson of Canisius had a great opportunity to break the tie but his shot went just wide as Alec Fisher was strong defensively on the play.
Just six minutes into the second half, the Golden Griffins were awarded their second penalty kick of the game as their forward was taken down inside the box. On the ensuing penalty kick, Berardi scored again for his second of the game, making the score 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
The Bulls however wasted no time getting the equalizer as Marcus Hanson and Steven Stryker both headed the ball to David Enstrom who buried the ball in the lower right corner of the net for his first of the season.
In the 69^th minute, Russell Cicerone had a great chance to score the go ahead goal but his blast from 15 yards out was stopped by the Canisius keeper.
After Braden Culver saw his chance with a wide open net blocked away by the defender, Scott Doney notched his first goal of the contest in the 73^rd minute. Russell Cicerone started the play with a great feed that led Marcus Hanson down the right sideline. Hanson then whipped in a perfectly placed cross that Scott Doney buried in the back of the net with a strong sliding attempt.
After a big save from Cameron Hogg in the 78^th minute, the Bulls put the contest away in the 84^th as Scott Doney buried his second of the contest. Russell Cicerone again made the play for the Bulls as he earned a free kick with some crafty footwork near the sideline. On the ensuing free kick, Cicerone put a perfect cross into the box where Doney headed home his second of the game and third of the season.
The Buffalo defense of Alec Fisher, Fox Slotemaker, Nick Forrester and Daniel Cramarossa hung tough down the stretch and prevented the Golden Griffins from producing any dangerous opportunities in the final minutes of the contest.

Inside The Numbers

The Bulls improved to 3-0 with the victory over Canisius, marking the first time UB has started a season out 3-0 since the 2008 season.
With his goal tonight, Russell Cicerone moves into a tie for 9^th place on the all-time scoring list with 18 career goals. He is tied with Dan Bulley, Lee Catchpole and Darren Boecher on the UB charts.
Sophomore Scott Doney finished off his first career two-goal effort while also notching his first career game-winning goal in the process. The New Zealand native also has a career-high eight points on the season, just three matches in.
Junior Steven Stryker has recorded at least one point in three straight matches to start the season, the longest streak of his career.
Senior captain Marcus Hanson finished with two assists, marking the first time in his career that he has recorded back-to-back matches with two assists.
David Enstrom recorded his second career goal in the win and his first career game-tying marker.
Cameron Hogg made five saves for the third consecutive contest and now has recorded a career-high three wins for the Bulls.
Russell Cicerone has matched a career-high in assists with three, just three games into the 2015 campaign.
Both of Canisius' goals were scored on penalty kicks, the first time that has happened since Stu Riddle took over the Bulls.
Canisius held the 19-11 edge in shots and the 8-5 edge in corner kicks for the game.
The Bulls claim the Big 4 Shield for the first time since the shield was created last season.

Up Next

The Bulls will hit the road for a pair of non-conference road matches in Texas. The Bulls will play against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on Friday night at 8:00 pm and then play Houston Baptist on Sunday at 5:30 pm.