BUFFALO — After receiving the most votes (20) for the top-25 poll since 2005, the University at Buffalo men’s soccer team (4-0-0, 0-0-0 MAC) will hit the road this weekend for a pair of non-conference matches. The Bulls will take on VMI on Friday at 1:00 pm in Virginia before traveling down to Lynchburg, VA to take on Liberty on Sunday at 1:00 pm.
UB is currently receiving votes for the top-25 coaches’ poll for the first time since 2005 and they are ranked fourth in the Great Lakes regional polls through four matches, their highest ranking in program history.
The Bulls are coming off of another strong weekend as they collected a pair of wins over Stony Brook and Incarnate Word on their home turf. The Bulls dominated Stony Brook on Friday morning as they collected a 3-0 win behind a goal and two assist effort by senior captain Russell Cicerone. On Sunday, the Bulls hung tough and gutted out a 1-0 victory as Cicerone netted the game-winner on a penalty kick opportunity in the second half.
The explosive UB offense is powered by Cicerone who currently leads the nation in goals (7) and points (18) through just four matches. The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native has had an impressive start to his senior campaign as he has notched at least one point in each game and leads the MAC with 24 shots. The lethal playmaker also ranks second in program history in goals (35), assists (17) and points (89) for his career.
Freshman Rikard Lindqvist has also enjoyed a great start to his first season with the Bulls as he has notched two goals and four assists for eight points on six shots. Senior captain Braden Scales has netted a pair of goals and one assist while Steven Stryker has been a great facilitator with three assists on the year.
Although the offense has been filling up the stat sheet, the Buffalo defense has been impeccable early on this season. The backline of Austin Place, Fox Slotemaker, David Enstrom and Alec Fisher have made it very difficult for opposing players to get any good looks at the goal. The stingy defense is anchored by junior goalkeeper Joseph Kuta who leads the NCAA with four shutouts and a perfect 4-0 record. Kuta has been asked to make 19 saves and has led the Bulls to be the only team in the nation to 4-0 start with four shutouts.
VMI enters the match with a 0-3 record so far this season after falling 2-0 to Howard on Saturday. Offensively the Keydets are led by Sam Moffatt and Chris Spates who have each notched a penalty kick goal on the year. Between the pipes, Robert Allen has started all three matches and has made 15 saves while posting a 3.42 goals-against average.
The Bulls and Keydets have squared off only once before as the Bulls earned a 4-1 victory back in 1994 at a neutral tournament hosted by the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Liberty Flames enter Sunday’s meeting with the Bulls with a 3-1 overall record after defeating USC Upstate on Tuesday by the score of 1-0. The Flames are being led offensively by Jovanni Chavez who has notched three goals and an assist for seven points while Tresor Mbuyu ranks second on the team with two goals, both of which were game-winners. James Knobel has started all four matches in goal and owns a 1.00 goals-against average while notching 16 saves and two cleansheets.
This will be the first meeting between the Bulls and Flames in program history.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
