Historic Week for Bengals Lacrosse; Bengals Claim Five Events at Season Opening Track and Field Meet; Softball Wins Four of Six



LACROSSE (3-7/1-4 SUNYAC) - Historic Week for Bengals



Still searching for the first win of the season, Buffalo State looked to a four-game home stretch as the team's opportunity to get a win and possibly move into contention for the SUNYAC playoffs. After beginning the week with a disappointing loss to SUNYAC rival Brockport by a score of 15-1, Coach Staci Handley rallied the troops for the remaining three home contests. Whatever she said definitely worked, as the Bengals swept the rest of the week's schedule and broke scoring records along the way.



Inspired and determined, the Bengals took to Coyer Field Wednesday afternoon against cross-town rival, Medaille College, and doubled-up the Mavericks by a score of 16-8. Stefanie Hinemen (Lancaster/Lancaster), Danielle DeJames (West Seneca/Frontier) and Kathleen Plis (Auburn/Auburn) each scored four goals in the Bengal victory. Plis added a school record three assists to finish with a game-high seven points and DeJames and Hineman each had one assist to bring their game totals to five points apiece. Also scoring for the Bengals was Nikole Flannery (Tonawanda/Tonawanda), who tallied two goals and one assist for three points. Jennifer Lawniczak (Lancaster/Lancaster) contributed to the winning effort with a goal and an assist. Jill Rindos (Lancaster/Lancaster) scored her first collegiate goal with Buffalo State's 15th goal of the game and Gem Tolve (Staten Island/Tottenville) recorded her first assist of the year. Leah Delormier (Rooseveltown/Salmon River) earned the win making six saves in 54:25 of action, and Laticia McNaughton (Sanborn/Niagara Wheatfield) finished the game off in goal for the Bengals.



The Bengals next faced the Potsdam Bears. Each team was looking to earn their second win of the season and both played with desperation as the lead changed four times throughout the contest. Things looked bad for Buffalo State as Potsdam broke out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Bengals, with two late first half goals, tied the score at 2-2. Hineman scored Buffalo State's first goal and Plis tied it up with 1:30 remaining before halftime. The Bengals continued the scoring as Plis assisted on Hineman's second goal of the game to give Buffalo State the lead just 1:36 after the start of the second half. Potsdam refused to quit and quickly tied the game, and then took the lead with under ten minutes remaining. With their backs against the wall, the Bengals' resolve was tested and the team responded. Looking to earn the program's second-ever conference win, Plis scored twice with under three minutes remaining. Both goals were scored from the Free Position, as Plis evened the score and then ripped the game-winner past the Potsdam netminder at the 58:25 mark of the game. Delormier played the entire game and made six huge saves to cement the Bengal victory, 5-4.



Not knowing what to expect from Saturday's opponent, the Cazenovia College Wildcats, the Bengals let it all hang out and played their best game of the season to date. Buffalo State took the early lead as Rindos scored the team's first goal just 17 seconds into the game. From there Buffalo State added seven goals before the half and allowed only one shot on net. The total team effort was evident as Plis led all scorers with five goals and one assist for six points. DeJames notched three goals, and Hineman also finished with three points (two goals and one assist).

Other Bengals contributing to the scoring onslaught were senior Katie Richelt (Snyder/Amherst) with two points (one goals and one assist), freshman Jessica Murdock (Hilton/Hilton) had two assists, and Lawniczak rounded out the scoring with her assist.



McNaughton and Delormier split time in goal for the Bengals as each played a half and they nearly eed to make one save in the first half, and McNaughton had her best game of the year. McNaughton made four tremendous saves in the second half, thereby stopping any chance of a Cazenovia comeback.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State looks to continue the winning-streak as the team takes to the road for three consecutive conference matches. Buffalo State will play Fredonia on Tuesday, and then play New Paltz and Oneonta on Friday and Saturday respectively. Buffalo State, New Paltz, and Fredonia are all currently tied for sixth place in the SUNYAC.



Record Breaking...



Senior, Kathleen Plis (Auburn/Auburn), smashed two Buffalo State records in the team's third victory of the year Saturday. Plis became the Bengal's all-time leading point scorer (83) with Buffalo State's fifth goal of the game and the Lacrosse program's all-time leading goal scorer (72)

with her third goal of the game. Plis moved ahead of Ann Chelus (1994-97) in the Buffalo State record books. Plis now holds the Bengal records for goals in a career (72), in a season (31), and in a game (8), and points scored in a career (83), and a game (8).



Hot, Hot, Hot...



The Bengals are on fire. In just her first year as head coach of the Bengals, Staci Handley has guided the squad to the team's first-ever three-game winning streak and has earned the Bengals the highest single-season win total in the program's history. The Bengals also recorded the team's second-ever conference win with their 5-4 victory over SUNYAC foe, Potsdam.



TRACK & FIELD - Bengals Claim Five Events at Season Opening Meet



In the middle of a driving rainstorm, Buffalo State's Track and Field teams competed admirably at the University of Rochester's Alumni Invitational.



On the women's side, Autumn Hensel (Akron/Akron) had her best race of the year in the 400m Dash, as she earned a second place finish with a time of 1:01.36. Emily Balzano (New Hartford/New Hartford) also recorded a season's best mark in the 400m Hurdles as she placed seventh with a 1:15.53 split.



Markus Allen (Commack/St. John's the Baptist) and Aaron Kinard (Queens/Springfield Gardens) continued their dominating performances in sprint races to lead the men. Allen and Kinard placed first and second in the 100m Dash with splits of 11.23 and 11.44 respectively. Along with teammates John Lesure (Rochester/Greece-Athena) and Eugene Overton (Syracuse/Corcoran), Allen and Kinard torched the field in the 4x100m Relay with a time of 43.18 and captured first place for Buffalo State. In the 200m Dash, Allen placed second (23.06) and Kinard placed fourth (23.42).



In distance races, Joe Niezgoda (Alden/Alden) earned a fifth place finish in the 3,000m Steeplechase with his time of 10:07.57.



The Bengals had some surprising results in field events. Mike Rhim (Medina/Medina) had his best effort of the season in the Triple Jump as he placed second with a distance of 12.51m (41'00. 50"). John Lesure battled through a nagging injury to place second in the Long Jump with a distance of 6.46m (21'02. 50). Luis Espinosa (Medina/Medina) looks to have regained his peak form that helped establish him as a force in the Indoor Season as he also had a season's best effort in the Shot Put. Espinosa earned second place with his mark of 14.20m (46'07. 25").



What's Next?



The Bengals will travel to Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania this Saturday as they begin to tune up for the SUNYAC Championships.



SOFTBALL (12-10/6-4 SUNYAC) - Bengals Win Four of Six



Buffalo State battled the inclement weather to play six games last week, winning four. The Bengals swept RIT and New Paltz, but dropped a pair of games to Oneonta.



On Wednesday, Buffalo State traveled to RIT to makeup a doubleheader originally scheduled for Aa) allowed just four hits and notched four strikeouts for her fifth victory of the year. Stephanie Menth (Tonawanda/Tonawanda) led the bats with a 2-for-3 performance. The junior leadoff hitter also had an RBI and a run scored. Heidi Rammacher (Angola/Lakeshore) and Tiffany Ciolek (Great Valley/Salamanca) also added two hits apiece to aid the winning effort. In the nightcap, freshman Melissa Balsavage (Depew/Depew) earned her first collegiate win on the mound, scattering six hits. Ciolek was 2-for-4 for the second game in a row, and Nadine Sirianni (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) also posted a pair of hits, including an RBI double.



Buffalo State hosted defending SUNYAC Champion Oneonta on Friday. Although much of the Red Dragons' 2001 roster was depleted by graduation, they still had enough firepower to sweep the Bengals. In game one, Oneonta exploded for four runs in the third inning, taking a 5-0 lead. The Bengals would add a single run in the sixth, but come no closer as they fell 5-1. Kim Nogle (Tonawanda/Tonawanda) was the lone

Bengal to earn multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate. The Bengals pulled in front early in the second half of the doubleheader, but could not diffuse an Oneonta rally that generated a three-run fifth inning. Trailing 4-2 entering the seventh, the Bengals first two batters failed to reach

base, but the Bengals rallied to load the bases, but only pushed one run across for the 4-3 final, as the game ended with three Bengals stranded on base. Nicole Willats (Tonawanda/Sweet Home), Sirianni, Rammacher and Ciolek went 2-for-4 at the plate for Buffalo State.



After rain washed out Saturday's contests, the New Paltz stayed in Buffalo an extra day to battle Bengals on Sunday. Although the rain moved in again, Buffalo State had enough time to dispose of the Hawks in a pair of five inning games, winning 10-0 and 13-4. Beiter allowed just two

hits in game one, for her second shutout of the season. Liz Parker (Hamburg/Hamburg) snapped an early season slump, going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Sirianni also had two RBI and was 2-for-3 including a triple, and Ciolek remained hot going 2-for-2 with three runs scored. In the second game, Ciolek and Rammacher led the Bengals onslaught with two hits and three RBI apiece. Nogle also recorded multiple hits, going 2-for-3.



The Bengals improved to 12-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play.



Who's Next?



On the weekend, the Bengals will travel to Plattsburgh on Friday and visit Potsdam on Saturday.



Chasing Ted Williams?



Several Bengals have hovered at or above the .400 mark for much of the season, but through 22 games, just one player is still exceeding the lofty clip. Sophomore Tiffany Ciolek (Great Valley/Salamanca) has 30 hits in 69 at-bats, for a .435 batting average. She also leads the Bengals with 20 RBI.



SUNYAC Race Heating Up?



With Buffalo State's SUNYAC schedule halfway completed, the Bengals find themselves in a battle for the conference post season. Although the Bengals are currently 6-4, they were swept by Oneonta and Geneseo. Eight of their 10 remaining conference games are against playoff teams from a year ago.