BGSU women’s soccer (8-2-7, 3-1-6 MAC) left Buffalo, New York, with one point and a 0-0 tie after 90 minutes of soccer against the Buffalo Bulls (11-3-2, 7-2-1 MAC) at UB Stadium, as cold and windy conditions created a slippery turf environment that gave both squads trouble on the offensive attack.
The Falcons had multiple quality chances throughout the first and second half and maintained the possession battle through a large amount of the 90 minutes, but Buffalo, who lost ground in the MAC Tournament race to the first-seeded Western Michigan Broncos, did enough to earn a point of their own.
The 0-0 result doesn’t come as a surprise, as the two squads entered the match as the best and second-best defensive teams in the MAC in terms of goals allowed, with Buffalo allowing nine and BG allowing 10 in one more game played leading into the match.
BG received their first set piece of the game in the form of a corner kick, but after it was played out and crossed back in by midfielder Emme Butera, it was cleared by the Buffalo defense.
The Falcons dominated possession through the first 20 minutes of the opening half, looking comfortable on the slippery turf at UB Stadium, which saw sporadic chances from BG on both sides of the field.
In the 33rd minute, junior forward Emma Stransky was a few inches away from scoring her eighth goal of the season off a heater that she sent off the top crossbar from far beyond the outside of the box, after she created her own space from a pass by midfielder Audrey Oliver.
Despite a late chance off a ball into the box from Butera that found the head of Stransky but went wide, the two squads would enter the second half scoreless after an eventful first half that featured a combined 10 shots from the two MAC sides.
As both sides traded blows to open the second half, freshman Quinn O’Neil got BG’s best chance of the match after she got around multiple Buffalo defenders for an open shot right in front of the goal, but Buffalo goalkeeper Lexie Thompson made a quality save to keep the Falcons off the board.
The Falcons continued to challenge throughout the next 20 minutes, changing looks with multiple substitutions, but Buffalo adapted to the different looks and continued to keep it scoreless as the 75-minute mark elapsed.
Buffalo got what may have been their own best chance of the match in the last 30 seconds, as forward Jasmine Guerber got a perfect look right in front of the goal, but sophomore goalkeeper Payton O’Malley saved the day by picking it up in front of the goal and keeping the score at 0-0.
The Falcons outshot Buffalo 10-7 across both halves, with Stransky, as well as defenders Jayna Searles and Evie Underhill, leading the offense with two shots each.
O’Malley registers her sixth shutout of the season in a stellar goalkeeper battle with Thompson, who was forced into action five times in the match en route to her ninth shutout of the season and her sixth in the last nine matches.
After the draw, the Falcons remain sixth in the MAC standings with two matches remaining, firstly at Cochrane Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m., when Akron comes to town on senior day.
