UB’s Gianna Yurchak heads home game-winner in double overtime to beat Toledo, 1-0

UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETICS

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sophomore Gianna Yurchak was the hero of the night for the University at Buffalo women’s soccer team (11-5-0, 5-4-0 MAC) on Thursday night at UB Stadium as she headed home the game-winning goal in the 102^nd minute to give the Bulls the 1-0 victory over Toledo. The game-winning goal for Yurchak was the first of her UB career and the latest goal for the Bulls so far this season.  

• Score: Buffalo 1, Toledo 0 (2OT)
• Records: Buffalo (11-5-0, 5-4-0 MAC), Toledo (8-7-2, 4-4-1 MAC)
• Buffalo Goal Scorer: Gianna Yurchak (4)
• Buffalo Assist: Hannah Callaghan (2)
• Location: UB Stadium – Buffalo, NY
• Attendance: 107

• Buffalo: Emily Kelly, Rebecca Bramble, Gurjeena Jandu, Tess Ford, Carley Zoccali, Hannah Callaghan, Andrea Judasz, Kaitlyn Walsh, Gianna Yurchak, Marcy Barberic, Katherine Camper
• Toledo: Madison Perrin, Hannah Scafaria, Regan Price, Sheridan Bufe, Betsy Lueck, Rachelle Topolewski, Ashton Cassel, Claire Cahalan, Alena Sidwell, Abby Demboski, Sophia Lewis

• The Bulls were able to notch the first chance of the match in the third minute as Marcy Barberic sent a great cross into the box where Gianna Yurchak took a dangerous shot that was blocked away by the Rockets defense to prevent the goal.
• In the sixth minute, Gurjeena Jandu sent a corner into the box where Marcy Barberic took a shot that was partially blocked by a Toledo defender before the keeper made the stop.
• The Rockets recorded their first shot of the match in the 30^th minute as Betsy Lueck took a shot from distance that was easily scooped up by Emily Kelly.
• The Bulls had the final scoring chance of the first half in the 43^rd minute as Gianna Yurchak turned and fired a shot that went just wide left of the Toledo goal.
• Kaitlyn Walsh had a great scoring chance in the 49^th minute as Rebecca Bramble sent a perfect cross into the box where Walsh got a shot off that was saved by the diving keeper to her right.
• In the 53^rd minute, Katherine Camper made a strong move to her right after a pass from Carley Zoccali and ripped a hard shot destined for the upper right corner of the net but the Toledo keeper made a great jumping effort to poke the ball over the cross bar.
• The Rockets were able to get a shot off from distance in the 54^th minute as Sophia Lewis ripped a shot that Emily Kelly calmly scooped up.
• Carley Zoccali found a loose ball in the 56^th minute but her hard shot went over the cross bar and out of play.
• In the 59^th minute, Gianna Yurchak sent Marcy Barberic in on a run down the left sideline but her long shot was stopped by the Toledo keeper.
• Buffalo had a golden opportunity in the 60^th minute to break the scoreless tie as Kaitlyn Walsh sent the ball into the box where Gianna Yurchak had a diving touch that was stopped by the keeper who came off her line nicely.
• In the 74^th minute, Katherine Camper found herself in tight with the ball and her quick shot just missed the upper right corner of the Toledo goal.
• Emily Kelly made a huge stop in the 84^th minute of play as Alena Sidwell ripped a shot towards the corner of the net, keeping the score 0-0 into the final minutes of regulation.
• Both sides had chances from distance in the first overtime period that the keepers were able to handle, sending the match to a second overtime.
• Buffalo didn’t allow the match to last long into the second overtime period as Gurjeena Jandu sent a corner kick into the box where Hannah Callaghan collected the ball and ripped a shot off the cross bar before Gianna Yurchak found the loose ball and headed home the game-winner in the 102^nd minute.

• With the win Buffalo improved to 11-5-0 overall on the season, their most victories in a season since 2015 when they won 11 matches as well.
• Buffalo is now 33-6-7 inside UB Stadium since head coach Shawn Burke took over the program in 2014.
• Freshman goalkeeper Emily Kelly notched her 11^th win of the season, moving her into third place in school history for wins in a single season. Her seven clean sheets also ranks sixth in school history for shutouts in a single season.
• Sophomore Gianna Yurchak netted her first career game-winning goal while also setting a new career-high for goals in a season with her fourth marker of the year.
• Freshman Hannah Callaghan collected her second career assist on Yurchak’s game-winner in double overtime.
• For the match, Buffalo held the dominant 20-8 edge in shots and the 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• Emily Kelly finished off her impressive match making five saves in the win while her counterpart Madison Perrin finished with nine saves in the loss.
• Gianna Yurchak and Marcy Barberic led the Bulls with four shots each while Carley Zoccali notched three shots and Kaitlyn Walsh finished off her match with two shots in the win.

• St. John’s – Kaitlyn Walsh
• Youngstown State – Gurjeena Jandu
• Cornell – Hannah Callaghan
• Albany – Carissima Cutrona
• Canisius – Gianna Yurchak
• St. Francis (PA) – Adrianna VanCuyck
• St. Bonaventure – Carissima Cutrona
• Northern Illinois – Mairead Martin
• Western Michigan – Hannah Callaghan
• Central Michigan – Carissima Cutrona
• Eastern Michigan – Marcy Barberic
• Kent State – Sarah Bykowicz
• Miami (OH) – Gianna Yurchak
• Ball State – Taylor Caridi
• Toledo – Katherine Camper

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