Buffalo Men's Soccer loses first of the year 1-0 to Houston Baptist in overtime

Men's Soccer can play the overtime game, too. But playing their second game in three days in the South Texas heat, the Bulls couldn't hold on for a result and lost 1-0 to Houston Baptist, a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Huskies won on a goal from Marcelo Acuna midway through the first overtime.

The livestats provided by UT-RGV were bare bones to say the least, so I don't have a lot to go on, but it seems both teams got a number of chances in a game that started in 98 degree heat at 4:30 PM local time.

I suppose I'll update this post more once I get a complete box score, but Buffalo was most dangerous in the second half after the highlights of the first were a pair of big Cameron Hogg saves. The Bulls had a few close calls to take a 1-0 lead in regulation; a Scott Doney goal was waved offside midway through the first half, and Russell Cicerone hit a post in the second half. Without Dana Lytle to capitalize on the rebound, the game remained scoreless.

In addition to Cicerone's attempt, UB seemed to have the better of the momentum in the second, earning a number of corner kicks, but consider that anecdotal until I have more data. Scratch all of that. Houston Baptist had the better of UB throughout, though Buffalo was indeed stronger in the second period. The Huskies outshot UB 14-6 and earned seven corner kicks to Buffalo's four. Only three of HBU's shots were on target, so chalk that up as a success for the Buffalo defense, but UB only managed two shots on target (plus Cicerone's post) themselves.

Looking at the play by play, Buffalo never really found any momentum in this one. Even the post int he second half was followed by a pair of HBU shots shortly after. Each team substituted frequently, and I would bet it was a disjointed match in the heat.

The 1-0 loss is the first of the season for UB, who drop to 3-1-1 and leave the Texas heat with a loss and a tie on the weekend. Buffalo remains on the road next weekend, but in a more accommodating climate, as they take on UMass-Lowell in the Boston area on Friday and Bryant in Rhode Island on Sunday.