AKRON, Ohio – David Enstrom’s game-winning goal in the 94th minute of play propelled the University at Buffalo men’s soccer team to their second straight Mid-American Conference Championship game on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron, OH. Enstrom’s goal gave the Bulls the 2-1 overtime win over No. 2 seeded Bowling Green.
The Bulls were able to record the first good scoring chance of the match in the second minute as Daniel Cramarossa took a long blast that was deflected in front of the cage by Braden Scales but the Bowling Green keeper made a quick save on the redirected shot. In the 23rd minute, Daniel Cramarossa had a strike from 25-yards out that just went over the cross bar and out of play.
After forcing a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, Russell Cicerone sent his free kick over the cage, keeping the game scoreless. In the 34th minute, Keaton Reynolds ripped a shot that Joseph Kuta was able to get a hand on and prevent the goal. The final chance of the galf came in the 38th minute as Rikard Lindqvist made a great run from the UB end of the field into the attacking third and ripped a shot that went just over the cage.
Buffalo came out strong in the second half and broke the tie in the 50th minute. David Enstrom swung in a great ball and Tommy Fogarty-Cameron gathered it and buried the ball into the lower left corner of the net. In the 55th minute, Tommy Fogarty-Cameron made a nice move and nearly netted his second of the match but his left-footed shot was saved by the Bowling Green keeper.
Buffalo nearly made the lead 2-0 in the 57th minute as Russell Cicerone was in all alone but his attempt for the right corner was tipped just wide of the corner and out of bounds by the Falcons keeper. After Pat Flynn was dragged down in the box giving the Falcons a penalty kick, Jacob Roth beat Joseph Kuta to the left corner to knot the match, 1-1. Ryan Pereira had a long distance shot in the 72nd minute that was stopped by the diving keeper, preserving the 1-1 game. Joseph Kuta made a big stop in the 83rd minute as they two teams headed to overtime knotted, 1-1. The Bulls ended the match in the 94th minute as Russell Cicerone’s free kick was stopped but the rebound bounced out to David Enstrom who headed home the game-winner to send UB to their second straight MAC Championship game.
With the win, Buffalo advances to their second straight MAC Championship match and third in school history. This marks the first time in program history that the Bulls have advanced to back-to-back MAC Championship matches. The win gives Buffalo 12 wins on the season, most wins in a season since 2005 when they won 14 matches. With the game-winning goal, David Enstrom now has a career-high two goals on the season, both game-winners. With his assist on the game-winner, Russell Cicerone has a career-high nine assists on the season and 35 points. This marks the fourth time in seven seasons that head coach Stu Riddle has qualified for the MAC Championship match in his coaching career.
Head Coach Stu Riddle said the team was “absolutely terrific start to finish and I couldn’t be more pleased for everyone involved. We have great team spirit and incredible belief and are all excited to play in the championship match on Sunday.”
The Bulls will take on No. 1 seed Akron in the MAC Championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
