The University men’s soccer team hosted their final home game of the regular season as they drew a scoreless tie against the University at Buffalo. This was the team’s fourth tie of the season and they finished number two in the Mid-American Conference standings.
In the first period, the team looked to set the tone very early following a corner kick by senior Joe Sullivan around the three-minute mark. Sullivan’s kick found the head of sophomore Moe Mustafa, whose header shot ricocheted off the far post.
Twelve minutes later, sophomore Tate Robertson found freshman Chris Brennan at the 12-yard mark, and Brennan fired a shot towards the far post. However, UB’s Joseph Kuta displayed great athleticism and made the diving save.
Another golden opportunity presented itself with nine minutes left in the first period as redshirt sophomore Bismark Agyeman got through defenders and fired a shot that got tipped by goalkeeper Kuta as he was able to reach high to save it. Then came senior Jacob Roth, who got the rebound and fired what looked like a shot that would go in, but Kuta got the save.
It was yet another scoreless first half for BG. Similarly, in past games they’ve struggled to get first period goals. BG out shot UB in the first period with 10 shot attempts while UB only managed to get four shot attempts.
In the early second period, the Falcons was whistled for a foul and drew a yellow card. This would reward UB with a free kick attempted by UB’s Russell Cicerone. Cicerone’s kick hit the crossbar and BG avoided an early scare.
With 21 minutes left in the second period, Roth found senior Pat Flynn at midfield. Flynn then got the ball to Max Auden at the 18-yard mark. Auden looked to take it into UB territory, but it was knocked away by a UB defender.
As the final eight minutes ticked away, BG was able to get some late offense rolling as Sullivan found junior Keaton Reynolds towards the right side. Reynolds ran at the end line and set up a cross towards Flynn in the middle of the box. However, the ball was knocked away by a UB defender before Flynn could take control of it.
A few minutes later, Roth squeezed through defenders and tried to play a right-side cross. The pass deflected off an UB defender and right in front of Brennan, who fired a low shot that would eventually be saved by Kuta. Neither teams scored and went into overtime.
In the first overtime, BG got two opportunities to score following a corner kick by Sullivan around the 94-minute mark. The ball landed on Mustafa’s head as he tried to make a shot attempt of his own, but it went right towards Flynn at the six-yard mark. Flynn fired a shot attempt, but it hit the left goalpost. There to get the rebound was freshman Robert Miller III, who attempted a shot attempt that got blocked. Neither team scored and the game went into double overtime.
In a three minute span, BG got off three shot attempts, but all of the attempts were unsuccessful. Finally, the final shot attempt came from Roth within the final seconds of the game. Roth got off a header shot, but it sailed high over the crossbar and the game resulted in a tie.
“It doesn’t matter who controlled it, all that matters is the goals,” said BGSU Head Coach Eric Nichols. “Both teams were definitely going for it and the last thing both teams wanted was a tie. Both teams had an opportunity to do something special tonight so we’re both disappointed about that. But, we’re excited to play in the MAC tournament and ready to make some noise.”
BG will look to get a victory as they once again play UB in the MAC semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. in Akron, Ohio.
