The Buffalo State women’s soccer team carried a winning record into Troy for a pair of matchesduring the Rensselaer Invitational last weekend, picking up a win and a loss over the weekend.
The team’s first matchup of the weekend was held on Saturday, where the Bengals fell to No. 22 Union College, 3-1, in the first round of the tournament.
Despite scoring first, the Bengals let a series of miscues lead to three consecutive goals for a Union team that allowed just 13 shots on goal and managed to keep Buffalo State in check after their first goal.
“We committed a few costly mistakes that hurt us,” said ninth-year head coach Nick DeMarsh. “It’s unfortunate, but these things happen. We did a bunch of good things though against a ranked opponent and I thought we matched up well. Now we know where we need to improve.”
Senior midfielder Tina Boberskyj opened the scoring with her second goal of the season as she took a pass from sophomore defender Jordan Dudish to give the Bengals a 1-0 lead just 6:55 into the contest.
Despite multiple chances, Buffalo State failed to score another goal before Union knotted up the contest in the 18th minute. Union took the lead on a goal in the 24th minute after the Bengals’ sophomore goalkeeper Linda Banfield attempted to clear the ball, only to have it ricochet off her defender and into her own net.
Union finished off the scoring in the 81st minute, sealing the victory after outshooting the Bengals 18-13 and improving their record to 3-0 on the season while the Bengals fell to 2-2.
“We wanted to come in strong and show that we could play with this team and I think we did that,” Boberskyj said. “The score didn’t reflect how we played at all; it didn’t show how well we played.”
The Bengals responded from their loss in Sunday’s matchup against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to edge the tournament host in overtime, 2-1, during the final game of the weekend, improving their record to 3-2 on the year.
“We were down about the loss the day before, so we wanted to come out and play hard,” said junior defender Jessica O’Donoghue. “RPI played a physical game, but we showed a lot of heart and it was great for one of our younger players to get the game winner.”
The Bengals allowed Rensselaer to score first in the 9th minute of the contest before sophomore midfielder Shaunta Pyles tied the game, 1-1, with an unassisted tally in the 25th minute for her first goal of the season.
The two teams played a scoreless second half, taking the game into overtime where freshman forward Meghan Allen drove home a pass from junior striker Melissa Mahoney into the open net for her third goal on the season with just 11 seconds left in the first overtime period.
Banfield played a crucial role in the Bengals’ victory as well, making eight saves throughout the contest, including several in the late minutes to carry the game into overtime as Buffalo State was outshot 17-16.
DeMarsh said good communication defensively and a willingness to correct their own mistakes were reasons this weekend was a successful one.
“These first couple games have been a great way to get us going heading into the important part of the season,” he said. “These games have been like a dress rehearsal for our conference games.”
The weekend’s matches signaled the end of tournament play for the Bengals’ season as they return home to host cross-town rival Medaille today and nationally ranked William Smith College on Saturday before heading into a stretch of crucial conference games.
“Our goal is not to make the playoffs this year, it hasn’t been since 2006,” DeMarsh said. “Our goal is quite simply to win the conference.”
Despite the mixed results in their first five games, both DeMarsh and his players said they remain very confident heading into future matchups – especially versus Medaille.
“It’s good to get the losses out of the way now,” Boberskyj said. “We’ve stayed positive throughout the year so far and (the loss against Union) really helps us prepare for facing William Smith on Saturday.”
Boberskyj was quick to point out that it is important not to overlook Medaille despite their recent success against the Mavericks over the years, but DeMarsh was slightly more upfront about the team’s plans for their rivals.
“I’m going to come out and personally guarantee a win against Medaille this week. I guarantee it.”
Brandon Schlager can be reached by email at brandon.record@live.com.