
Bulls A Make Statement with Historic Win at No. 7 Pitt
8/22/2024 8:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The University at Buffalo women's soccer made a statement with a historic 2-1 win over No. 7 Pitt at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Thursday evening.
It was UB's first-ever win over a top 10 program and is the third win over a Power 5 opponent in the Shawn Burke era, including two in a row on the road. It was also Buffalo's first win over Pitt since 1996.
UB was aggressive early on, with their first run coming in the second minute as Kelly Severini made a good run and fired in stride but didn't get all of it as Ellie Breech made the save.
The Bulls broke through in the 10th minute as Ellie Simmons played a great ball into the box that got kicked around before finding the feet of Kaya Schultz who delivered a strike into the top left corner of the net to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers answered in the 24th minute as Samiah Phiri ripped a shot off the post and then capitalized on the rebound to tie the game at one.
Pitt had another scoring chance in the 41st minute but Lexie Thompson made a fantastic diving save and the game would remain tied at the half.
Buffalo continued to attack, and it paid off in the 58th minute as Simmons played a ball to Severini at the top of the box and she got it to Schultz who had her shot blocked but Jasmine Guerber was there for the rebound and drilled a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to put UB up 2-1.
It was a back-and-forth affair over the final 30 minutes of play and the UB backline was tested on several occasions, but they stood tall and thwarted each Pitt attack until the final whistle.
Thompson had herself a night, finishing with a career-high nine saves.
"So unbelievable proud of the group and their effort," said Burke. "We came out flying and buzzing, got tired and things kind of fell off a bit and we were a bit lucky to be tied at the half. The response, the adjustments and the buy in from the group was great. It took everyone. There are players who stood on their head today but I think collectively everyone who was here today contributed and when they come together it's a special group."
Up next, Buffalo travels to Ithaca to take on Cornell on Thursday, August 29 at 7pm.
It was UB's first-ever win over a top 10 program and is the third win over a Power 5 opponent in the Shawn Burke era, including two in a row on the road. It was also Buffalo's first win over Pitt since 1996.
UB was aggressive early on, with their first run coming in the second minute as Kelly Severini made a good run and fired in stride but didn't get all of it as Ellie Breech made the save.
The Bulls broke through in the 10th minute as Ellie Simmons played a great ball into the box that got kicked around before finding the feet of Kaya Schultz who delivered a strike into the top left corner of the net to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers answered in the 24th minute as Samiah Phiri ripped a shot off the post and then capitalized on the rebound to tie the game at one.
Pitt had another scoring chance in the 41st minute but Lexie Thompson made a fantastic diving save and the game would remain tied at the half.
Buffalo continued to attack, and it paid off in the 58th minute as Simmons played a ball to Severini at the top of the box and she got it to Schultz who had her shot blocked but Jasmine Guerber was there for the rebound and drilled a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to put UB up 2-1.
It was a back-and-forth affair over the final 30 minutes of play and the UB backline was tested on several occasions, but they stood tall and thwarted each Pitt attack until the final whistle.
Thompson had herself a night, finishing with a career-high nine saves.
"So unbelievable proud of the group and their effort," said Burke. "We came out flying and buzzing, got tired and things kind of fell off a bit and we were a bit lucky to be tied at the half. The response, the adjustments and the buy in from the group was great. It took everyone. There are players who stood on their head today but I think collectively everyone who was here today contributed and when they come together it's a special group."
Up next, Buffalo travels to Ithaca to take on Cornell on Thursday, August 29 at 7pm.
Team Stats
BUF
PIT
Goals
2
1
Shots
10
28
Shots on Goal
4
12
Saves
9
2
Corners
3
5
Fouls
9
9
Scoring Plays

Kaya Schultz (1)
GOAL by BUF Schultz, Kaya.
09:30

Samiah Phiri (1)
Assisted By: Keera Melenhorst
GOAL by PIT Phiri, Samiah Assist by Melenhorst, Keera.
23:39

Jasmine Guerber (1)
Assisted By: Kelly Severini , Kaya Schultz
GOAL by BUF Guerber, Jasmine Assist by Severini, Kelly and Schultz, Kaya.
57:09
Game Leaders
Players
Players Mentioned
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