Ohio Soccer loses decisive away game against Buffalo 2-0

BUFFALO, NY (WOUB) – Ohio’s chance to host the MAC Tournament was severely hurt by a road loss to Buffalo (10-1-5, 5-1-3 MAC). Ohio (9-3-4, 4-2-3 MAC) and Buffalo played a hard-fought game that left the winner in sole control of second place in the MAC, one game behind Western Michigan. Ohio was eliminated on the road and lost the game 0-2.

The game started slowly and neither team was able to get much going offensively. Buffalo got two shots in the first few minutes after being fouled by Ohio. The Buffalo defense proved nearly impenetrable to Ohio in the first half, getting no shots or corners and only having a single offside call.

After the first period, the Bulls had accumulated six shots compared to zero for the Bobcats.

Luckily for the Bobcats, they kept the Bulls off the scoreboard with good defense and timely goaltending. Goalkeeper Celeste Sloma made two saves in the final minutes of the first half to prevent the Bulls from taking an early lead.

The second half began with Buffalo once again peppering the goal with shots, but to no avail.

On the other side of the goaltending duel, Lexie Thompson, the MAC’s leader in most goaltending statistics, was able to compete with Sloma despite having fewer chances. It wasn’t until the 21st minute of the second half that Ohio got its first shot on net when Eve Berish’s attempt was saved by Thompson. Ellie Greenwell sent a shot that Thompson also stopped.

At that point, the Bulls found a gap in the Bobcats’ defense and forced their way through the defenders. Jasmine Guerber hit a shot off a pass from Sarah Woods and pushed it past Sloma to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead at 29:50. Guerber’s goal was her fifth goal of the season.

Ohio tried to get revenge on Buffalo when Jaimason Brooker fired a shot that was ultimately saved. Buffalo responded to Ohio’s attack with a counterattack of its own. Arianna Zumpano blocked an attempt by Frederique St. Jean 35-20 in the second half, putting the game on ice.

The 2-0 loss is a major setback for Ohio’s bid to capture the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament, but the team will remain firmly in contention should Western Michigan or Buffalo slip up in its final two games. Regardless, Ohio still has a very good chance of hosting at least one game in the MAC Tournament, namely the quarterfinals.

Despite the setback on the road, Ohio will return to Athens to face Central Michigan on Oct. 27 at 1 p.m