Men’s Soccer all but clinches postseason berth with 1-0 win over Northern Illinois

In the two seasons since the MAC shrunk to six teams in Men’s Soccer, each program that earned seven points from its five conference matches has advanced to the conference tournament. The UB Men tonight sit on seven points with a match remaining following a 1-0 home win over Northern Illinois.

The Bulls are not 100% in to the postseason yet, but will likely be set by this time tomorrow; only a tie between Western Michigan and West Virginia, followed by final-match wins from each (over Akron and NIU) would put the Bulls into a tiebreaker situation.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, tonight. UB was on the front foot throughout against Northern Illinois, outshooting the Huskies 20-3 and only facing even a small amount of pressure late in the game.

In the offensive third the Bulls established their intent early: finesse be damned, UB just tried to ram the ball into the box and see what happened from there. In time, there were a handful of chances that didn’t quite connect, but for the most part Buffalo just hit forward and pressured the undersized Huskies at every opportunity.

Tommy Fogarty-Cameron, playing up top and enjoying a greater role in the offense, converted on a loose ball off Buffalo’s third corner in 90 seconds early to score the game’s first goal, one that would hold up for over an hour and stand as the game-winner.

It’s UB’s (and Joe Kuta’s) eighth shutout and tenth win of the season, and the Bulls are one match, Sunday at 11:00 AM, from an undefeated season at home. All three are or will be the first for the program since 2008.