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Lack of offense continues to be a problem for Buffalo State
Young team still coming into their own
By Leif Reigstad
On September 26, 2012
The Buffalo State women's soccer team opened its conference schedule last weekend with back-
to-back road games, losing to Brockport 3-1 on Friday before playing Geneseo to a scoreless
draw on Saturday.
The Bengals (1-6-1/0-1-1 SUNYAC) needed just over ten minutes to score against Brockport,
briefly taking a 1-0 lead before conceding three unanswered goals.
Junior midfielder Paula Jones scored in the 11th minute off of a pass from the right side by
sophomore defender Liz Malinowski.
"It was a good cross, a perfect ball," Jones said. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
Brockport quickly regrouped. Kalia McGuire tied the game just eight minutes after Jones scored.
Vanessa Gillette gave the Golden Eagles the lead in the 36th minute and Sarah Lawson provided
some extra insurance in the 83rd minute.
After the game, DeMarsh said the Bengals were demoralized.
"It wasn't that we lost," he said. "It was that we played poorly. The soccer was poor. It was ugly.
"We had a long talk as a team after. We decided it comes down to having a better atmosphere. It
comes down to the basics; just enjoying the game a little more. We need to get back to that."
Against Geneseo on Saturday, the Bengals had a chance to get back to the basics DeMarsh
alluded to.
Sophomore goalkeeper Linda Banfield got the clean sheet for Buffalo State, holding Geneseo
scoreless in 110 minutes - the regulation 90 minutes, plus two 10-minute overtime periods.
"It was exhilarating," Banfield said. "It was a good game. The defense played well, and I stepped
up when they needed me to."
After overtime, the Bengals won a penalty-kick shootout, 6-5. Each team receives one point for
the draw, but in the event Buffalo State and Geneseo are tied in the standings at the end of the
season, the Bengals hold a tiebreaker.
Banfield was happy to close the weekend with a draw.
"It was a good start to league play," she said. "Especially coming off the Brockport game."
With just seven goals in eight games, offensive woes have been an issue for the Bengals all
season. Wins will be hard to come by if those offensive struggles continue.
Head coach Nick DeMarsh appeared to have found an answer a few games ago by reconfiguring
the lineup, switching to an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation instead of the previous 4-4-2.
Buffalo State responded to the adjustment right away, scoring two goals against then No. 1
ranked William Smith and again scoring twice against Pitt-Bradford. However, the 4-3-3 was
ineffective against Brockport.
According to DeMarsh, Brockport was able to beat the Bengals on the wings, where the 4-3-3 is
weakest, and created scoring chances by sending crosses from out wide into the penalty box.
"We kept the 4-3-3, and it didn't help us, it actually hurt us," DeMarsh said. "Brockport was able
to keep possession and moved the ball very well east-to-west, and we lost critical one-versus-one
battles in front of the net."
DeMarsh prepared his team accordingly in anticipation of Brockport's trademark physicality, but
he suggested that this Brockport team was different than the ones his teams have played in the
past.
"They actually played a decent brand of soccer," DeMarsh said. "They outplayed us. We beat
them up, gave up too many free kicks."
DeMarsh also attributed some of the Bengals' struggles to having a young team.
"We have a lot of young players and we're still trying to find our way," he said. "There's a huge
learning curve. We're just trying to keep things positive."
Senior co-captain Jessica O'Donoghue embraces the challenge that comes with fielding a young
and inexperienced lineup.
"It's actually refreshing," she said. "It's like a new start. We're young, but there's a lot of talent.
We get along well. There's a good vibe."
The Bengals face Allegheny at home in a non-conference matchup at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Allegheny
defeated Geneseo, 2-0 earlier this season and beat nationally ranked Fredonia, 3-0. The Gators
have allowed just nine goals in nine games.
"They're a very good side," DeMarsh said. "It's going to be a good test for us."
Leif Reigstad can be reached at reigstad.record@live.com.
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