Men's Soccer Plays Niagara To A Draw, 2-2; Bulls Retain Big 4 Shield

Sunday, September 20

1 pm

University at Buffalo

3-4-2 (0-0-0MAC)

Niagara

1-6-1 (0-0-0MAAC)

OT 3

OT 4

Niagara

Buffalo

Men's Soccer Plays Niagara To A Draw, 2-2; Bulls Retain Big 4 Shield

9/20/2015 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 (3-4-2, 0-0-0 MAC) was unable to hold onto their 2-0 first half lead as they held on to the draw against Niagara on Sunday at UB Stadium, 2-2. The Bulls were able to keep the Big 4 Shield as they defeated the Purple Eagles in penalty kicks after the match.

The Basics

Score: Buffalo 2, Niagara 2 (2OT)
UB Goal Scorer: Russell Cicerone (5), Braden Scales (1)
UB Assist: Marcus Hanson (5), Braden Scales (2), Scott Doney (3)
Niagara Goal Scorers: Alex Dimitriu (4), Bautista Pedezert (2)
Niagara Assists: Sergio Lujan (1)
Records: Buffalo (3-4-2), Niagara (1-6-1)
Location: UB Stadium – Buffalo, NY
Crowd: 128
The Short Story: The Bulls notched two first half goals but were not able to hold on as the Purple Eagles scored the game-tying goal in the 87^th minute to push the game to overtime. The two sides drew even in overtime. The Bulls were able to retain the Big 4 Shield after the match as they defeated NU in the shootout on a diving stop by Joseph Kuta.

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
Niagara: Joel Gerbrich, Koby Sapon-Amoah, Ryan Myers, Jordy Robins, Bautista Pedezert, Alex Dimitriu, Tim Magnusson, Brennan Koslow, Sergio Lujan, Andrew Ferguson, Fabrizio Chiari

How It Happened

The Bulls opened up the scoring real early on Sunday as Braden Scales found the back of the net in the fifth minute. Marcus Hanson had a long throw from the left sideline find Scales who fired a quick low shot that deflected off a Niagara defender and into the right corner for his first of the season.
Just nine minutes later the Bulls extended their lead to 2-0 as Braden Scales found Scott Doney who fed Russell Cicerone in close and he was able to take a laser shot into the upper right corner for his fifth of the season.
In the 17^th minute, Marcus Hanson just missed making the game 3-0 as Russell Cicerone made a great run and crossed it to Hanson in front.
Two minutes later, the Bulls were whistled for a penalty in the box, giving Niagara the penalty shot. Sophomore goalkeeper Joseph Kuta made a huge diving stop to the right corner and Russell Cicerone was able to clear the ball away.
In the 25^th minute, Russell Cicerone was in all alone after a feed from Scott Doney but his shot went just wide left.
Russell Cicerone had the final shot of the first half in the 41^st minute as he made some room and fired a hard low shot that was saved by the diving keeper.
In the 53^rd minute, Niagara was able to get on the board as Alex Dimitriu made a great individual play to work himself in front of the net and fire a shot just under the cross bar and in.
Right after NU scored their first goal, Scott Doney was dragged down just outside the box, setting up a free kick for Russell Cicerone. Cicerone's hard free kick was saved by the Purple Eagles keeper to keep the score 2-1 in favor of the Bulls.
In the 81^st minute, Niagara earned a free kick from Andrew Ferguson but his hard chance was denied by Joseph Kuta.
Six minutes later, Niagara was able to notch the game-tying marker as Sergio Lujan fed Bautista Pedezert who beat Kuta to the top left corner for his second of the season.
The first overtime was a back-and-forth affair as both sides were able to record just one shot.
Niagara had the better of play in the second overtime as they outshot the Bulls 3-0 with only one on net, which was turned away by Kuta.
After the tie, the two sides went to a shootout to decide who earned the Big 4 Shield. The Bulls came out victorious as Fox Slotemaker netted the deciding goal. Joseph Kuta made the lone save in the shootout as he read the Niagara shooter and made the diving stop to the right corner, preserving the win and the shield.

Inside The Numbers

With his goal today, junior Russell Cicerone moved into a tie for sixth place on the all-time scoring list at Buffalo with 21 career goals.
Marcus Hanson finished with his fifth assist of the season, setting a new career-high for the senior.
Braden Scales scored his first goal of the season and second of his career.
Braden Scales also recorded his first career multi-point effort, recording a goal and an assist.
Joseph Kuta made his second career start between the pipes for the Bulls in the tie.
Niagara held the 13-10 edge in shots while UB had the 7-1 edge in corner kicks for the game.
Russell Cicerone finished with a game-high four shots on goal while Andrew Ferguson of Niagara finished with six shots.
Joseph Kuta made three saves in the tie while Joel Gerbrich finished with four in the tie.

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