After UB's 1-1 tie against Niagara Tuesday, Coach Burke did not hide his displeasure with UB's play, a timid offensive game that put too much pressure on the defense to be perfect. Tonight, I imagine he's happier after the Bulls scored midway through the first half and locked down their defense while scoring a pair more in the second.
The early going was a vast improvement over the last four hours or so of gametime for Buffalo. UB dominated possession and rattled off 12 shots, six of which were on target. Whether it was Kassidy Kidd, Rebecca Bramble, or Nicole Gerritz, Buffalo had tons of space up the right side.
The opening goal, however, came at 22 minutes from the opposite side. Carissima Cutrona fed a nice little ball to Julia Benati on an overlapping run that was executed so perfectly Benati had nearly three full seconds to approach the net in space and pick her spot, slotting it home easily. Early in the second half, Cutrona got her first as a Bull, side-footing in a beautiful cross from Kidd to end a period of strong UB pressure.
UB was not perfect on the day, but did play better and better and the clock ticked away, culminating in a N'DEA JOHNSON goal at 77 minutes, again on an assist from Kidd.
Binghamton did have a pair a pair of golden chances on four shots on goal in the first half, held scoreless only by some great saves from Laura Dougall, but finished with just one more in the second, and no corners. Buffalo generally built their offense from the run of play rather than set pieces and avoided the offside calls that plagued them against Niagara, outpacing the Bearcats so significantly that there were few fouls or corner kicks.
UB now has a full week off after three games in the last six days, and will next Friday travel for their biggest challenge of the season in #8 West Virginia. I will hold myself back and save it for the preview piece midway through next week, but you might want to watch that game.