Bulls and Broncos Battle To 1-1 Draw

Sunday, October 2

Buffalo, NY

1:00pm

9-1-1, 3-0-1

Western Michigan

2-4-5, 2-0-2

Western Mich.

Buffalo

Bulls and Broncos Battle To 1-1 Draw

10/2/2022 3:55:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (9-1-1, 3-0-1 MAC) battled tough conditions as they clawed their way to a 1-1 draw with the Western Michigan Broncos at UB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

With today's result, the Bulls improve to 9-1-1 on the year, continuing their best start to a season since 1999. UB also extended their unbeaten streak to eight games.

The Broncos were physical and aggressive from kickoff and that led to a goal in the 16^th minute as Reagan Wisser capitalized on a UB miscue and she drilled a shot into the top left corner of the net to give Western Michigan an early 1-0 lead. It was the first goal conceded by the Bulls in over a month.

Fifth year goalkeeper Emily Kelly was tested early and often and stood up to the task as she made a diving save in the 22^nd minute to minimize the damage. UB had its best look of the opening half in the 29^th minute as Payton Robertson played a through ball to Arianna Zumpano who ripped a shot in stride, but Hannah Sargent made a great save. Kelly was tested once again off a free kick in the 41^st minute but she made another stellar diving save to knock the ball out of play and keep the Bulls within a goal at the half.

The Broncos outshot the Bulls 11-3, including a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 4-1 edge in corner kick opportunities, in the opening 45 minutes of play.

The Bulls used the flipping of the field and wind direction to their advantage in the second half and came out attacking as Hannah Callaghan and Sarah Woods had back-to-back great looks in the 48^th minute that sailed just left of target.

The aggression paid off in the 60^th minute as Jasmine Guerber played a ball to Woods who ripped a shot on target that ricocheted off Leah Wengender and into the back of the net for the senior's third goal of the year to tie the game at one.

The two teams battled back-and-forth for much of the second half before UB had another good scoring opportunity in the 84^th minute as Robertson got the ball just outside the top of the box and drilled a shot on net but the wind carried it just high and out of play. The senior would get one more shot on net in the final minutes of play, but it sailed high, and the game ended in a draw.

The Bulls closed the gap offensively in the second half as the Broncos held a narrow 13-12 edge in total shots and a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal, while UB evened the corner kick opportunities to four each. Kelly finished the game with a season-high six saves while Sargent made two stops for Western Michigan. Olivia Bizzoni and Kaya Schultz were named Co-Players of the Game by the UB coaching staff.

"That is a quality side we just played against today," said head coach Shawn Burke. "They were aggressive, very good at what they do, and they were organized in the first half. We kind of called the group out a bit at halftime and wanted them to compete a little bit more and they responded with a great goal. To be fair with today's conditions and how we played in the first half, we are pleased with a draw but hopefully it is a learning experience, and we move forward."

The Bulls return to action on Thursday, October 6 as they travel to Oxford, Ohio for an afternoon matinee against the Miami (OH) RedHawks. Kickoff from field is set for 4pm.