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WVU Drops 2-0 Contest at Buffalo
October 16, 2015 10:36 PM | Men's Soccer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team saw its two match winning streak come to an end with a 2-0 loss at Buffalo on Friday night at UBB Stadium.
The Mountaineers (6-7-0, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) allowed two goals in the final 20 minutes as the Bulls (6-5-3, 1-1 MAC) scored twice in five minutes.
“We didn’t play well enough to win tonight,” WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “We gave up two poor goals, and we got what we deserved.”
WVU outshot UB, 16-15, and the Mountaineers had an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. Both teams had eight shots and four shots on goal in the second half.
Junior goalkeeper Daniel Diaz had five saves for West Virginia, while the Bulls’ Joseph Kuta had eight saves.
Buffalo scored its first goal of the match in the 71st minute. On a free kick from 29 yards out, Russell Cicerone’s shot hit the cross bar and bounced off of Diaz’s outstretched hands and into the top of the net.
The Bulls took a 2-0 lead five minutes later, at 75:24. Off a throw-in on the far side, Diaz went out to make the save, but got caught in traffic and was unable to corral the ball. Marcus Hanson took advantage and scored on the near side.
WVU opened the match with several chances in the first 10 minutes, including three shots, two on goal. The shots on net by seniors Zak Leedom and Ryan Cain accounted for the first two saves of the game for UB’s keeper.
Buffalo’s first shot of the game didn’t come until the 23rd minute, when a strike went just wide. Three minutes later, the WVU defense prevented a UB goal at the goal line on the Bulls’ first shot on goal of the match.
After two WVU shots were blocked and sent wide, Diaz made a great save on a ball sailing towards the top of the net. He reached out and just tipped the ball over the cross bar, and then proceeded to make another nice save on the ensuing Buffalo corner kick.
At halftime, WVU held an 8-7 advantage in shots and a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. Along with Leedom and Cain, freshman Tucker Stephenson had a pair of shots on goal in the half
In the 55th minute, sophomore Joey Piatczyc had a free kick just outside the box, but the shot went over the wall and into the arms of the UB keeper.
Piatczyc orchestrated another good scoring opportunity in the 68th minute. He sent a shot in from the right side outside the box, that senior Jamie Merriam tipped towards the goaltender. The ball bounced off the Bulls goalie, but senior Francio Henry could not get enough of a shot to put it in.
In the 87th minute, Cain had an opportunity to put WVU within one with the ball just off the end line on the left side of the net, but his touch went just wide.
The loss to the Bulls is WVU’s first since West Virginia joined the MAC in 2012.
WVU’s three match roadtrip continues at Princeton on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Mountaineers and Tigers meet at 7 p.m. in the first ever meeting between the two teams.
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