As some of you may know, I have been a frequent poster on these boards, mostly while following Penn State since I have a house in Happy Valley. I'll be shuttling back and forth between State College and Buffalo for the forseeable future, and will be reporting on the college scene in Western New York. I'll still be attending quite a few Nittany Lions games this fall, but also those featuring Buffalo, Canisius, and Niagara. I came across this preview of the Big Four (the three aforementioned Buffalo area schools plus St. Bonaventure) in the Buffalo News this past weekend. Among other things, it mentions how UB had a strong season in 2005 and returns top-scorer Andrae Clarke. http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060820/2058121.asp More to follow once I check out UB's opener against Detroit next Friday...
An article on UB's goalkeeper, Daniel Bell, a model student-athlete: http://www.tonawanda-news.com/sports/gnnsports_story_236003757.html?keyword=secondarystory
And one on Niagara's Eric Brodfuehrer (5 goals, 2 assists, MAAC All-Rookie Team in 2005): http://www.tonawanda-news.com/sports/gnnsports_story_236003200.html?keyword=topstory
Don't waste your time with Canisus and Niagara. They should be DIII along with the SUNYAC West teams, RIT and U of R.
What are your thoughts on UB for the coming season. I think they have gotten stronger and will give both Akron and NIU a run for the MAC title. I have seen NIU play this year and appear to be much deeper on both ends of the field. The keepers have been splitting time in pre season games, but I think the soph kid Zimka will get the nod. Both Buffalo and Akron look to have done well on recruits. It will be interesting to watch.
Buffalo beat Pittsburgh 2-1 at the West Virginia Shootout yesterday 2-1. Goals by Byler and Gwyther, while Bell sets the UB goalkeeping record for career wins with his 24th. The Bulls play West Virginia on Sunday for the championship as the Mountaineers beat Fairfield 1-0. http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/menssoccer/news/msc08-25-2006-Pittsburgh.shtml Stagophile, I had already marked those games down on my calendar as Fairfield might be the best team that Niagara and Canisius host in 2006!
Buffalo tied West Virginia 0-0. A great result for UB considering the preseason rankings and that the game was played in Morgantown. I have only found the boxscore thus far. http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/menssoccer/stats/2006/ub-wvu.htm Buffalo is now 1-0-1.
A brief synopsis of the Buffalo soccer scene following the first weekend of games: Buffalo (1-0-1) * tied West Virginia 0-0 * beat Pittsburgh 2-1 Canisius (0-1) * lost to Cleveland State 1-2 Niagara (0-1) * lost to Syracuse 1-3
Hax, Nice article on College Soccer News about your Bulls...too bad the Stags and Bulls didn't get to play each other in Morgantown. http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/page0420.htm Stagophile
Detroit beat Buffalo 1-0 tonight. A pretty good crowd turned up despite it being rather chilly here in Buffalo. Neither team created tons of chances, but the Titans won it in the 70th minute with a great counter-attack blast by Mark Djurovski. UB had several chances to equalise, but they pushed no fewer than 3 headers wide of the goal in the final 15 minutes. Buffalo didn't play with any urgency until late. Once they gave up the goal they began to play much better, they held possession and created chances. Andrae Clarke had two great scoring chances just miss, and Brian Knapp smashed one off the post from 28 yards out in the first half. Daniel Bell was solid in goal for UB, he was unlucky to pick up the loss as he made a spectacular save in the first half. It's a shame that UB couldn't find the net with such a good crowd. Anyway, Buffalo falls to 1-1-1. Detroit will play Canisius on Sunday.
Here's an update on the Buffalo area teams, they don't seem to be doing so well thus far: Buffalo (1-2-1) vs. Pittsburgh (W 2-0) at West Virginia (T 0-0) Detroit (L 0-1) at Loyola-Chicago (L 1-2) Canisius (1-2) at Cleveland State (L 1-3) vs. Detroit (W 3-2) at Albany (L 0-1) Niagara (0-3) at Syracuse (L 1-3) at Cal-Irvine (L 0-3) vs. Santa Clara (L 1-4)
Buffalo spanks Valparaiso today, 5-1 the final score. Andrae Clarke nets the hat trick. Maybe this is what the Bulls need to get back on track, they improve to 2-2-1.
Buffalo tops Cornell, 1-0, in double overtime. Andrae Clarke scored the game winner, his 4th goal of the season. The Bulls host St. Bonaventure and plays at Canisius this weekend, a big opportunity to continue this 2-game winning streak. Buffalo improves to 3-2-1 overall.
Three wins in a row for Buffalo as they beat St. Bonaventure 1-0 at home tonight. Mat Wilkinson scored the game winner from a long throw-in by Brian Knapp. It was cool that he scored the game-winner since his parents were attending the match...all the way from Australia! Solid crowd, though listed at 380-something people (somehow seems low). Chippy game that the referee almost let get out of hand, lots of scuffles and silly antics in the 2nd half. Buffalo can play some very nice soccer at times, though mostly the Bulls play annoying long ball and hope that Catchpole or Clarke run onto it. Anyway, Buffalo is now 4-2-1 with a Buffalo derby looming at Canisius on Sunday. Canisius tied Robert Morris 3-3 and is 1-2-1. Niagara is 1-3 and hosts Robert Morris on Sunday.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Buffalo thrashed Canisius 4-0 in a local derby. Jon Martin scored two goals to lead the Bulls, who have now won four games in a row to improve to 5-2-1 overall. Canisius falls to 1-3-1. The game was tied 0-0 at the half, though Andrae Clarke had a goal called back for offsides and another breakaway thwarted by a fine save by the Canisius keeper. Brian Knapp tallied the first goal of the game in the 2nd half with an assist by Lee Catchpole (a great name if you ask me). Daniel Bell registered his 3rd straight shutout, and Andrae Clarke also tallied an assist. Buffalo is really starting to put it together. As I said, they've won 4 straight games, and today they looked really good. Granted, they played Canisius, but they played with much more energy and purpose than they did against Detroit and St. Bonaventure. Local rivalries can do that, bring out some passion, and the Bulls certainly pressed for a win. It was my first game at Canisius' facility, which I loved. The surface sucks, it's old artificial turf that plays really too fast, but the bleachers are right on top of the action so you feel a part of the game. Plus it was a gorgeous day with a decent crowd. Canisius needs a wealthy alum to pay for a new field-turf surface, but the scale of the venue is great and set up pretty good considering that it's multi-sport (also used for baseball, softball, lacrosse, etc.).
Buffalo split two games this weekend, losing to Duquesne 2-1 and beating Siena 2-0. The Bulls are now 6-3-1. Canisius beat St. Bonaventure 1-0 on Friday night, they are now 2-3-1 overall, while the Bonnies fall to a painful 0-8. Niagara lost to Duquesne 2-1 (OT) on Sunday to fall to 2-5 overall.
Great night for the Buffalo area teams, as all three opened conference play with wins (I list their records in parenthesis): Buffalo 1 - IPFW 0 (7-3-1, 1-0 MAC) Canisius 4 - Manhattan 2 (3-3-1, 1-0 MAAC) Niagara 2 - St. Peter's 1 (2 OT) (3-5-0, 1-0 MAAC) Heck, even Buffalo State (D-3) won 3-0 over New Paltz today (they're 5-5, 2-1 in the SUNYAC).
Buffalo leads Bowling Green, 2-1, at the 65 minute mark. Andrae Clarke and Dan Stevens have scored for the Bulls. Clarke now has 6 goals on the season. Bowling Green had taken the lead early with a goal in the first three minutes of the match, but UB scored two goals to lead by halftime. The Bulls need to win to keep pace with Akron and NIU in the MAC.
Friday's Results (October 6): Buffalo 2 - Bowling Green 1 (8-3-1, 2-0 MAC) Loyola (MD) 4 - Canisius 3 (3-5-1, 1-2 MAAC) Niagara 1 - Rider 1 (4-5-1, 2-0-1 MAAC)
Sunday's results (October 8): Buffalo loses to Penn State 3-0 (8-4-1, 2-0 MAC) Canisius beats Rider 4-0 (4-5-1, 2-2 MAAC) Niagara beats Loyola 1-0 (5-5-1, 3-0-1 MAAC)
The Buffalo area schools don't rank so highly in the latest RPI: 106 - Buffalo 144 - Niagara 177 - Canisius 180 - St. Bonaventure The Buffalo News had a nice article about Medaille's team (D-3) who boasts a 12-1 record while their leading scorer, Ryan Mangano, has an incredible 20 goals and 16 assists! Wow! http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061012/1074259.asp