Buffalo Bulls Men’s Soccer Recap: Enstrom delivers game winning goal from Cicerone free kick in overtime

Coming off of a defensive battle with Bowling Green, Buffalo Bulls Men’s Soccer had to face the Falcons for the second time in a row. This time it was for a chance to play for the MAC Championship and once again the Bulls pulled through with late heroics to snatch a win.

The first half saw excellent defense from not only the Bulls, but for the Falcons as well. Both team’s back lines set the tone early that chances at the goal would be far and few between. Daniel Cramarossa’s skills were on showcase as his work helped the Bulls keep possession in long spurts. As a foreshadowing to the second half, the defense let up a bit and shots started coming as the Bulls went in with a 7-6 shot advantage at the half.

At this point, it had been 155 consecutive minutes of play going back to their draw to end the regular season that neither team had scored. Five minutes into the second half, the Bulls got a chance and took full advantage. David Enstrom played the ball into the box and soon got it to Tommy Fogarty-Cameron to cap off a UB goal. It was Fogarty-Cameron’s third goal of the season.

Bowling Green’s offense kicked into overdrive as soon as play restored. Less than eight minutes later, the Falcons drew a penalty kick after the Bulls fouled in the box. BG took advantage and tied up the game at one a piece. From there, the Bulls slowed the tempo down a bit up until the final minutes of regulation. Although both teams ramped up the effort late, neither could get a goal to push them to the win as overtime ensued.

Overtime started and although we didn’t get a look at it, Russell Cicerone sent in a free kick early to David Enstrom where he sent a goal in. With the 2-1 win in hand, Buffalo will play in the MAC Championship game for the second straight year.

Despite giving up the penalty kick, Joseph Kuta played well and with 3 saves on the night. The Bulls outshot Bowling Green 16-13.

The Bulls will be back in action on Sunday for the Mid-American Conference Championship game. Their opponent will be the winner of tonight’s match between Akron and Western Michigan.