Football

Rutgers 59, UB 0

The Bulls found out again Saturday that mistake-prone football just won't cut it, as the Bulls (0-2) turned the ball over four times and saw several special-teams mistakes lead to a 59-0 defeat against Rutgers (2-0).

The Bulls saw nearly a carbon copy of their start at Syracuse as quarterback Joe Freedy was sacked and fumbled on the first drive, leading to a 7-0 lead for Rutgers.

The Bulls had another crippling turnover late in the first half when a pass by Freedy was intercepted and returned to the Buffalo 20. Rutgers would go on to post the shutout.

Freedy finished the game 24-of-45 for a career-high 223 yards, but was sacked four times. Freedy's favorite targets were freshman split end Zeke McKine, senior tight end Brandon Shaughnessy and sophomore tailback Bam McDonald. McKine caught four passes for 58 yards, McDonald four for 27 yards and Shaughnessy set career marks with four catches for 46 yards.

The defense was paced by senior Chris Gray and freshman Lamar Wilcher. Gray had nine tackles, including one for loss, while Wilcher had seven solo stops, including one for loss. Sophomore Mike Lambert had four tackles and a fumble recovery, while senior Carlos Spencer had four solo stops and a forced fumble.

Athletes of the week

Nicole Olszewski of the women's soccer team scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in UB's 4-1 win at Niagara. She also added an assist in UB's 2-1 overtime loss to Rutgers in the Syracuse Orange Classic. In five games this season, Olszewski leads the team with four assists. Todd Ludden of the men's cross country team led the Bulls to their season-opening win over Canisius. Ludden completed the eight-kilometer course in 26:02.4. The time was a career-best for the sophomore, improv-ing on his 26:10 best last season.

Soccer

Men

Cal-State Fullerton 4, UB 1; UC Irvine 3, UB 1; UB 2, Canisius 1

The men's soccer team found out Sunday why Cal-State Fullerton is ranked in the top-20 as the Titans defeated UB, 4-1, in the UC Irvine Tourney.

The scoring started early with a Titan goal, followed by a second goal just before the end of the first half for a 2-0 lead. The Bulls got on the board late in the second half as Matt Yeates scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1. But Fullerton ended any hopes of a Bulls upset with two more goals in the final 10 minutes. UB goalkeeper Brian Wozniak recorded two saves in the game.

In the tournament opener on Friday, the Bulls gave up a goal in the first minute of play, eventually losing to UC Irvine. In the second half, John Shannon scored on an assist from Brian McCallion, cutting the lead to 2-1. UC Irvine scored again for the 3-1 final. Wozniak recorded six saves the game, but gave up the three goals. Adam Werth played the final 11 minutes and gave up no goals.

Chris Vinci was the hero for the Bulls, scoring an overtime goal to give UB a 2-1 win over Canisius. UB's Tim Songer scored his first goal of the year on a cross from Joe Peplinski. Canisius tied the score at 1-1 at half-time. Neither team scored in the second half, forcing the overtime and setting up Vinci for his game-winning goal. Wozniak recorded two saves and allowed his first goal of the season in the win.

Women

Rutgers 2, UB 1; Syracuse 2, UB 0

The women's soccer team dropped both its contests at the Syracuse Orange Classic, 2-0 to Syracuse in the opener and 2-1 to Rutgers in overtime in the concluding match.

Against Rutgers, UB's Paula Listrani connected with the back of the net at the 14:20 mark to give UB the early lead. Nicole Olszewski assisted Listrani. The Scarlet Knights would come back later in the half to tie the game, 1-1, at half-time. The game remained tied in the second half. In sudden death overtime, Rutgers broke through the UB defense to win the game, 2-1. UB goalie Emily Cox recorded six saves on the day.

Against the Orangewomen, Syracuse scored a goal in each half. The second half was a defensive battle, with each team only to get off a combined seven shots until Syracuse sealed the victory. UB goalkeeper Jaime Adams recorded five saves in the game and allowed her first two goals of the season. Olszewski led the UB offensive attack with four of Buffalo's eight shots on goal.

Volleyball

Southern Illinois 3, UB 0 (15-8, 15-11, 15-6)
Syracuse 3, UB 0 (15-12, 15-11, 15-7)
Fordham 3, UB 0 (15-11, 15-5, 15-6)
Maryland-Baltimore County 3, UB 1 (15-9, 16-14, 15-4, 15-2)

UB's women's volleyball team went 0-4 in the Orange Classic, a five-team invitational held at Syracuse University.

The Bulls lost three straight games to Southern Illinois, 15-8, 15-11, 15-6. Junior Wendy Ryder led UB with eight kills on 18 attempts and two blocks. Freshman Lindsay Matikosh had a team-high six digs, one block and two kills, and junior Amelia Liddle had three blocks.

The Bulls dropped three games to the host Orangewomen, 15-12, 15-11, 15-7. Junior Keri Shiels led Buffalo with 13 kills on 25 attempts, while also adding eight digs. Ryder chipped in eight kills, one block and one service ace.

The Bulls lost matches to Fordham and Maryland-Baltimore County the following day. UB suffered a 15-11, 15-5, 15-6 loss to Fordham despite a seven-kill, nine-dig performance from Matikosh. Junior Larissa LaCour contributed 33 assists.

Buffalo appeared to rebound from the loss to Fordham when it scored a 15-9 win over Maryland-Baltimore County in the opening game of the match, before losing to the Retrievers 16-14, 15-4 and 15-2. Junior Sasha Courbat and sophomore Emily Dills each recorded eight kills in the match, and Matikosh posted a match-high eight digs.

Men's and Women's Cross Country

The men's and women's cross-country teams opened the 2000 season with wins Saturday at home as the men's team defeated Canisius, 15-50, and the women downed Daemen by 15-50.

Senior Eileen Rose took the women's race, completing the 5K course in 19:20.1. Danielle Morrell and Christina Keck also finished under 20 minutes, with times of 19:37.6 and 19:38.9, respectively. The men were led by sophomore Todd Ludden, who the 8K race in 26:02.4. Rick Stewart and Tom Stuart were UB's next finishers in 27:21.8 and 28:14.8