Football

Bowling Green 35, UB 0

The Bulls must have felt like they were heading uphill the entire first half at Bowling Green Saturday night. In the end, the hill was much too far to climb.

The Falcons, coming off a 20-13 win at Missouri, had six drive starts inside UB's 40-yard line in the first half alone in building up a 28-0 halftime lead. UB never recovered and fell to 0-2 on the season with a 35-0 loss in Doyt Perry Stadium before 16,183 fans.

The Bulls had three turnovers in the first half and their average drive start was their own 20, while the Falcons began on average at the UB 40-yard line. UB managed just seven first downs in the game.

"It was a thorough defeat by our football team," said head coach Jim Hofher. "We didn't really win in any phase of the game. While our defense played valiantly, it's very difficult to defend that many poor drive starts and we were on the field far too long. It's as bad an offensive performance as I've seen in a long time."

The Bulls defense played admirably throughout, particularly in light of the Falcons' huge edge in field position the entire game. Buffalo stopped Bowling Green on fourth down tries on three different occasions, including a stop at the two-yard line late in the third quarter and at the UB 19-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Athletes of the Week

Goalkeeper Brian Wozniak of the men's soccer team stopped eight shots in a 1-0 victory over Central Connecticut State in the Bulls Fall Invitational. Wozniak then posted his second shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Siena, stopping one shot. Wozniak is now 3-0 in goal for the Bulls with a 0.33 goals against average. Goalkeeper Emily Cox of the women's soccer team recorded a career-high 18 saves in a 2-1 loss at Boston University. The 18 saves were the eighth most in UB women's soccer history. Cox also recorded 8 saves in a 1-0 overtime loss at Fairfield. She has posted a 2.27 goals against average in three games this season.

Soccer

Men's

UB 1, Central Connecticut 0
UB 4, Siena 0

Senior Bill Norberg blasted a pass from junior Dan Wielechowski past the Central Connecticut State University goalkeeper with 6:54 left in regulation to give UB a 1-0 victory over the Blue Devils in the first round of the Bulls Fall Classic at RAC Field.

Brian Wozniak earned the shutout in goal, making eight stops. Jeff Brunetti had five saves between the pipes for Central Connecticut.

The Blue Devils held a slight advantage in shots (13-12), in a physical game on both sides of the ball.

The Bulls (3-1) took the final game of the classic on Sunday with a 4-0 win over Siena. Sophomore Dave Pidgeon's goal 9:06 into the game was all the offense the Bulls needed.

The victory also marked the 110th win for head coach John Astudillo. Astudillo, in his 13th season at UB, now becomes the winningest coach in UB men's soccer history, passing Sal Esposito, who guided the Bulls to 109 victories (105 losses) over 16 seasons (1973-1988).

The Bulls, winners of three-straight games, also received goals from Wielechowski, junior Mike Peplinski, and freshman Jeff Gallusser.

UB senior Kevin Pitra was named the tournament's Defense MVP.

Women's

Fairfield 1, UB 0
Boston University 2, UB 1

Fairfield's JulieAnne Forman broke a scoreless tie at the 97:55 mark of the first overtime to give the Stags a 1-0 victory over UB as the Bulls began a two-match road trip.

Both teams had several chances late in regulation and into the first few minutes of overtime before Forman knocked in a rebound for the game winner.

Junior Emily Cox made eight saves in a strong effort in goal for the Bulls. Sophomore Nicole Olszewski was the main offensive threat for UB, recording four shots.

In other action, Cox stopped a career-high 18 Boston University shots but it wasn't enough as the Bulls' fell, 2-1. The loss dropped the Bulls to 1-3 on the season, their worst start since 1997.

Volleyball

New Hampshire 3, UB 2
Massachusetts 3, UB 1
Dartmouth 3, UB 1

UB opened play at the Massachusetts Invitational with a hard-fought, five-game loss to New Hampshire. UNH won the first game by a 30-27 score and seemed in control of the match after a 30-12 win in game two. Buffalo fought back with 30-25 and 30-28 wins in games three and four to force a fifth and deciding game, which New Hampshire narrowly won, 15-13.

The Bulls were led by sophomore Lindsay Matikosh, who posted a team and career-high 21 kills—a .417 hitting percentage—and 13 digs. Senior setter Larissa LaCour tallied 41 assists and tied her career high with a team-leading 23 digs, and senior Keri Shiels added 13 kills to the Bulls' effort.

In the tournament's final day, the Bulls (2-4) dropped two four-game matches. The Bulls lost their opening match of the day to the host Minutewomen, 30-21, 25-30, 30-23, 30-18, and then lost to Dartmouth in the nightcap, 21-30, 30-21, 30-28, 30-23.

Matikosh represented the Bulls on the All-Tournament Team after leading the team with 48 kills, 40 digs and eight service aces in the team's three matches.

Cross Country

Men place second, women third in Tommy Evans Invitational

The men's and women's cross-country squads opened the 2001 season Saturday at the Tommy Evans Invitational meet in Akron, Ohio. The Bulls' men finished a close second to Kent State, 30-28, in a three-team race, while the women took third in a four-team field with 68 points.