BUFFALO, NY – Fans were back in the stands at UB Stadium and the University at Buffalo women's soccer team put on a show as they dominated from start to finish in a 6-2 win over Niagara in front of a packed house on Sunday night.

The six team goals scored by Buffalo are the most scored in a game in nearly 20 years as UB last matched that total in a 6-1 win over Akron on September 18, 2001, also at UB Stadium.

The Bulls struck first in the 16th minutes as the Purple Eagles committed a foul in the box and reining MAC Offensive Player of the Year Marcy Barberic converted the penalty kick for UB's first goal of the season to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead.

Buffalo would add to their lead two minutes later as Abbey Callaghan took the free kick and played a perfect ball into the top right corner of the net from 35 yards out to put UB up 2-0.

The Bulls would continue to pile on in the 32nd minute as Barberic played a ball through to Olivia Bizzoni and she found Arianna Zumpano who knocked it home for her first career goal to give Buffalo a 3-0 lead and UB would add another less than a minute later as Zumpano found Katherine Camper in the middle of the box and she slipped the ball past Clara Bornet to give the Bulls a 4-0 lead at the half.

Buffalo would be on the attack once again to start the second half as MAC Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Callaghan continued to do what she does best, playing a beautiful ball up ahead to a streaking Barberic who pounded a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to give the Bulls a 5-2 lead.

Niagara got on the board with a pair of goals in the 52nd and 64th minutes to cut the lead to three but UB found an answer as Leah Wengender took a corner kick and bent one into the top corner past a diving Bornet to give the Bulls a 6-2 lead and that would be all they would need to secure the victory.

Senior Emily Kelly picked up her first win of the season, finishing the day with three saves, while Bornet had four stops. Zumpano, after recording her first career goal and assist, was named Player of the Game by the UB coaches.

"Really pleased with six goals and especially a 4-0 halftime lead," said head coach Shawn Burke. "Once we saw that first goal go in we were assertive and I'm really proud of that effort. Wish we would have had that same assertiveness for the full 45 minutes in the second half but we were able to add two more and win the game and we will take it this early in the season."

Buffalo returns to action on Friday, August 27 as they travel to New Haven, CT to take on Yale at 4pm.

 
Potts' 11th career goal was followed by an equalizer from the Beacons' (0-2-0) Kelsie James a little over seven minutes later. That was all the offense the hosts were able to muster, however, as the Cardinals defense locked Valparaiso down the rest of the way.
 
"We showed a good response to adversity today," head coach Josh Rife said. "The opening half was not our best half of soccer, we gave up a goal, but then we responded with two more goals and played much better in the second half. The first regular season game will always have some nerves and anxiousness to it. Once we got through the first 20-25 minutes, we really settled into the match."
 
It looked like the match would remain tied going into the half, but senior defender Emily Simmons had other plans. In her first match back after suffering a season-ending injury just six contests into the delayed 2020-21 season, Simmons notched her first career goal, beating the Valpo keeper in the bottom center of the net.
 
After an evenly played opening half, which saw each team tally six shots, the Cardinals came out strong in the second. BSU's pressure eventually forced a second penalty kick in the 53rd minute.
 
Senior Chelcy Ralph would capitalize on the opportunity, depositing the ball into the bottom left corner for her second career goal. The tally gave Ball State a 3-1 edge and capped the scoring in the game.
 
"Penalties are usually the result of an attack mentality and hunger to get into the penalty box," Rife added. "To earn two penalties today is a credit to the ladies working hard to get into the 18."
 
The Cardinals managed to out-shoot the Beacons 7-3 in the second frame and finished the match with a 13-9 advantage. Three of BSU's 13 shots, including three of the team's eight on goal, came from senior Kennedy Metzger in the second half.
 
In just her second career start in net, senior Alex DeRuvo stopped five of the six shots on goal she faced. Three of those saves came after the Cardinals took a 3-1 edge, including a key save in the 54th minute, just after Ralph's goal.
 
The Ball State soccer team will face another tough test next Sunday (Aug. 29), when it travels to West Lafayette for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Purdue. The Boilermakers are 0-0-2 on the season, tying Kentucky Thursday and No. 18 Vanderbilt this afternoon by identical 1-1 scores.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Five different Broncos scored as the Western Michigan women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season after defeating Detroit Mercy, 5-1, at the WMU Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.
 
WMU (1-1-0) picked up goals from Mary Dziuba, Emily Dahl, Jenna Blackburn, Cas Flanagan and Bailey Korhorn. For Dzubia and Flanagan it was their first collegiate goals, while Blackburn netted her team-leading third of the season. Senior forward Morgan Otteson tallied two assists, while Mira Pierre-Webster, Korhorn, Victoria Kyriakopoulos Hannah Redoute and Madison Salzenstein also picked up assists. Maggie Rogers made one shot on goal to pick up her first win of the season.
 
The game was back and forth to start but the Broncos put on the pressure later in the first half. Dziuba gave Western Michigan a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute with a shot from the left corner of the box into the top-right corner of the net after getting a pass from Pierre-Webster.
 
Julie Ann Piechocki tied it up at 1-1 with just 27 seconds to play in the first half when she fired a shot through traffic and into the net.
 
WMU put the game out of reach quickly in the second half with goals in the four goals in the span of 14 minutes. Dahl scored from just outside the box for the game-winner, giving the Broncos a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute. Kyriakopoulos picked up an assist on the game-winner.
 
Blackburn pushed the lead to 3-1 with a goal from the right edge of the box in the 57th minute. Korhorn played Otteson into the middle of the box and she kicked it out wide to Blackburn for the goal. Just minutes later Otteson played it out to the left in the box for Flanagan and the sophomore netted her first collegiate goal to put the Broncos up 4-1 in the 61st minute.
 
Korhorn capped off the scoring with her first goal of the season, coming in the 67th minute after finishing off a pass from Redoute. Salzenstein picked up her first collegiate point with the second assist on the goal.
 
WMU outshot UDM 17-7 overall and held a 11-2 advantage in shots on goal.
 
The Broncos head back on the road to take on Michigan on Thursday at 7 p.m. before returning to the WMU Soccer Complex to host IUPUI on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 

DEKALB, Ill. – Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) scored her second goal of the night in the 104th minute to lead the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team to a 2-1 double overtime victory over Indiana State on Sunday evening (Aug. 22) at the NIU Soccer Complex. Both of Hoppe's goals came off corner kicks with assists from Kali Stock (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy). 

All three goals in the contest came after the 85th minute as NIU went in front late, only to see Indiana State equalize in the final minute of the 90.

"At the start of overtime, I said to our team that they deserved to be in that situation because they put themselves in that situation," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "Then we had to pull ourselves out of it, and to our players credit, they dug deep and did the little things that they knew were going to pay off, so I am proud of them for that."

With the Huskies and Sycamore still in search of an opening goal in the 88th minute, Stock whipped a dangerous corner into the box and Hoppe rose above the crowd from just outside the six-yard box and headed the ball past a Sycamore defender covering the post to give NIU a 1-0 advantage. 

Just over 90 seconds later, Indiana State pulled level as Mackenzie Kent's shot from just outside the box found the upper corner of the goal, past a fully extended Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) in goal for NIU, to tie the contest in the 90th minute. 

In the first 10-minute overtime period, McGill made a pair of stops for the Huskies to help send the game into a second overtime. 

NIU earned a corner less than four minutes into the second overtime and once again it was Stock finding the head of Hoppe for the game-winner. Stock's corner came right to the top of the six-yard box and Hoppe easily outjumped the Indiana State defenders, heading the ball downward off the turf and into the net on a bounce to give the Huskies the victory.

"It says a lot for a freshman to step up and consistently deliver," Colhoff said of Kali Stock's corner kicks. "Her very first one went out of bounds, but after that she said, 'alright, I've got this.' Haley has always been a threat in the air, but we have struggled in previous seasons getting her the ball in that way, so it is good to see those two connect in that way."

After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, NIU looked to have broken the deadlock less than a minute into the second half when, off a corner kick, Hoppe powered a header home from close range, only to see the referee whistle the Huskies for a foul on Indiana State goalkeeper Tara Tesmond. 

Just before the hour mark, it was Hoppe again the nearly opened the scoring off a header, only to see her effort cleared off the line by a Sycamore defender. 

The Huskies continued to be dangerous off set pieces until the 88th minute when Hoppe converted her first of two goals on the night. 

McGill finished the contest with six saves for NIU, Tesmond made a pair of stops for Indiana State. 

NIU will continue its three-game homestand on Thursday, Aug. 26, when the Huskies host Chicago State at 5 p.m. at the NIU Soccer Complex. The matchup will be the second game of a doubleheader with the NIU men's soccer team playing Purdue Fort Wayne at 2 p.m. DEKALB, Ill. – Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) scored her second goal of the night in the 104th minute to lead the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team to a 2-1 double overtime victory over Indiana State on Sunday evening (Aug. 22) at the NIU Soccer Complex. Both of Hoppe's goals came off corner kicks with assists from Kali Stock (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy). 

All three goals in the contest came after the 85th minute as NIU went in front late, only to see Indiana State equalize in the final minute of the 90.

"At the start of overtime, I said to our team that they deserved to be in that situation because they put themselves in that situation," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "Then we had to pull ourselves out of it, and to our players credit, they dug deep and did the little things that they knew were going to pay off, so I am proud of them for that."

With the Huskies and Sycamore still in search of an opening goal in the 88th minute, Stock whipped a dangerous corner into the box and Hoppe rose above the crowd from just outside the six-yard box and headed the ball past a Sycamore defender covering the post to give NIU a 1-0 advantage. 

Just over 90 seconds later, Indiana State pulled level as Mackenzie Kent's shot from just outside the box found the upper corner of the goal, past a fully extended Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) in goal for NIU, to tie the contest in the 90th minute. 

In the first 10-minute overtime period, McGill made a pair of stops for the Huskies to help send the game into a second overtime. 

NIU earned a corner less than four minutes into the second overtime and once again it was Stock finding the head of Hoppe for the game-winner. Stock's corner came right to the top of the six-yard box and Hoppe easily outjumped the Indiana State defenders, heading the ball downward off the turf and into the net on a bounce to give the Huskies the victory.

"It says a lot for a freshman to step up and consistently deliver," Colhoff said of Kali Stock's corner kicks. "Her very first one went out of bounds, but after that she said, 'alright, I've got this.' Haley has always been a threat in the air, but we have struggled in previous seasons getting her the ball in that way, so it is good to see those two connect in that way."

After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, NIU looked to have broken the deadlock less than a minute into the second half when, off a corner kick, Hoppe powered a header home from close range, only to see the referee whistle the Huskies for a foul on Indiana State goalkeeper Tara Tesmond. 

Just before the hour mark, it was Hoppe again the nearly opened the scoring off a header, only to see her effort cleared off the line by a Sycamore defender. 

The Huskies continued to be dangerous off set pieces until the 88th minute when Hoppe converted her first of two goals on the night. 

McGill finished the contest with six saves for NIU, Tesmond made a pair of stops for Indiana State. 

NIU will continue its three-game homestand on Thursday, Aug. 26, when the Huskies host Chicago State at 5 p.m. at the NIU Soccer Complex. The matchup will be the second game of a doubleheader with the NIU men's soccer team playing Purdue Fort Wayne at 2 p.m. 

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Toledo scored first but had to settle for a 1-1 tie against the Cincinnati Bearcats in Cincinnati on Sunday. The tie was the second in as many games for the Rockets, making them 0-0-2 to start the season. 

Senior Ashton Cassel tallied Toledo's first goal of the season, giving the Rockets a 1-0 lead early in the second half. But the Bearcats answered with a goal of their own to tie the score at 1-1 in the 64th minute. Both teams had opportunities to score in the closing minutes of regulation and in overtime, but the defenses prevailed and the contest remained a draw.

Sophomore goaklkeeper Emma Boutorwick logged four saves for the Rockets.

"Our players did a good job dealing with Cincinnati's strong attack," said Head Coach T.J. Buchholz. "Cincinnati has a certain way they like to play and I thought our team navigated their style of play effectively today. Our team had to endure another overtime test on the road and I am proud of how hard they fought for 110 minutes."

The RedHawks had a couple first half chances from Haley Anspach but couldn't finish. Tennessee scored at the 32:39, making it a 1-0 deficit for Miami. Six minutes later Tennessee scored again turning it into a 2-0 lead for the Vols. A strong attempt at 80:36 by Jordan King was Miami's best scoring chance of the second half, but the RedHawks were unable to convert. Goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari had six saves in today's match.

The RedHawks will be hosting Austin Peay State University at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27.
 

?EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - On a humid summer afternoon turned to rain, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team dropped its first road match of the regular season to Michigan State by a score of 3-0 today, Aug. 22, in East Lansing.
 
"We gave a better effort than our previous match," Head Coach Scott Hall said postgame. "The defensive effort was great. We were a little unlucky, had an unlucky penalty in the box and a possible foul giving Michigan State a free kick opportunity. We have to learn from this and get better on the attacking side, but I believe we are making progress."
 
Freshman Lexy Alston (Amherst, Ohio-Marion L. Steele) led the Eagles' offense with two shots on target, and fellow freshman Maddie O'Farrell (Haslett, Mich.-Lansing Catholic) tallied two shots for the Green and White's attack, including a strike off of the right post.
 
Senior Chloe Chatzis (Macomb, Mich.–Henry Ford II) notched a shot while freshman Meagan Lukowski (Bay City, Mich.-Bay City) led the Eagles with 33 minutes off the bench.
 
Senior keeper Chelsea Abbotts (Ottawa, Ontario-Mother Teresa) recorded a game-high eight saves against the Spartan attack. That mark tied her season high in the 2020-21 season (at CMU, April 1). Abbott's career high in saves came against Ohio on Nov. 8, 2019 (13).
 
Michigan State out-shot the Eagles 24-5, including 11 shots on goal leading to three scores. The Spartans also earned seven corner kick chances to EMU's three.
 
The Eagles recorded one of the first scoring chances in the contest when O'Farrell drilled a shot off of the right post in the 19th minute. Eastern could not capitalize on the offensive possession.
 
The Spartans scored in the 28th minute on a shot from the top of the box to take a one-goal advantage into the break.
 
EMU notched four of their five total shots in the first 45 minutes of play.
 
Michigan State would add an insurance goal in the 72nd when a Spartans sent a shot into the top right corner of the net. The Spartans would add a score on a penalty kick in the 75th minute after the Eagles committed a hand ball violation on a blocked shot in the box.
 
Eastern Michigan will continue its three-game road trip with a weekend in New York, competing against Colgate (Aug. 26) and Syracuse (Aug. 29).

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A trio of first-half goals propelled Ohio State (1-1) to a 4-1 triumph past the University of Akron women's soccer team on Sunday, Aug. 22.
 
Emma Sears registered a hat trick for the Buckeyes tallying goals in the first (0:28), 22nd (21:49) and 78th (77:24) minutes in the first meeting between the two schools since 2010.
 
Freshman Morgan Pentz (Broadview Heights, Ohio) garnered her first career goal for the Zips (0-2) at the 24:10 mark off an assist from freshman Sarah Nguyen (Irwin, Pa.) to account for the squad's scoring in the match.

"We can always take positives from every game and tonight in no exception," Akron head coach Noreen Herlihy commented. "The opportunity to get so many players quality minutes, especially our freshman, was a great experience for our group against a quality program. We did much better in the second half as we were able to get the ball in good areas, but our final ball wasn't good enough. Nothing that can't be improved upon in training as we continue to work towards the upcoming Mid-American Conference schedule."
 
Pentz and junior Carly Pcholinsky (South Park, Pa.) led the Zips with a team-best two shots apiece, while Ohio State was sparked by a game-high seven shots from Kailyn Dudukovich.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier (Mionnay, France) registered a game- and career-high eight saves for the Zips.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan scored what proved to be the winning goal with just over 15 minutes left, downing the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team by a 2-1 score Sunday night (Aug. 22). The non-conference match was held at U-M Soccer Stadium.

The Falcons, now 0-2-0 on the young season, got on the board quickly, as Lacee Bethea scored with less than a minute gone in the match. But, the Wolverines (2-0-0) benefited from an own goal in the 12th minute, before Nicki Hernandez scored the winner at the 74:59 mark.

Lili Berg made four saves in the match, including a diving stop of a penalty kick off the boot of U-M's Sammi Woods.