Recapping events from Monday, October 21 - Sunday, October 27, 2002

FOOTBALL (1-6) - Bengals Fast Start Leads to Win over Montclair State

Buffalo State recorded its first win of the season as they scored the games first 21 points in a 21-14 victory over Montclair State Saturday at Coyer Field.

The Bengals drove 83 yards on their opening possession, capped off by a 20-yard touchdown reception by TJ Cottrell (E. Amherst/Williamsville South) from Nick Stepien (Blasdell/Frontier). Eric Buchanan's (Hamburg/Frontier) extra point gave Buffalo State a 7-0 lead. Buffalo State extended its lead to 14-0 with 10:44 to play in the second quarter when Ahmir Cole (Buffalo/Seneca) ripped a 23-yard run to the endzone. The Bengals struck again with 1:52 to play in the first half, when HT Williams (Syracuse/Christian Bros.) hauled in a 49-yard Stepien pass to give the Bengals a 21-point advantage.

Montclair State needed just 42 seconds to get on the board, however, as the Red Hawks found the endzone when Brian Reitmeyer took a pass from John DiGirolamo eight yards to cut into deficit, 21-7.

The Red Hawks looked to continue the rally in the second half, but big plays by the Bengals defense stymied the comeback bid as Buffalo State forced three turnovers in the final 30 minutes. Montclair State turned the ball over five times on the day, compared to Buffalo State's two.

Montclair did add a late score when Jermarl Buie plunged across the goal line with 5:07 remaining to make the score 21-14. After a stalled Buffalo State possession, the Montclair offense took over on its own six yard-line and ultimately turned the ball over on downs, handing the Bengals the 21-14 win.

Stepien was 8-for-18 for 140 yard with two touchdowns for the Bengals, and Curtis Hathcock (Buffalo/Seneca) led the ground attack with 14 carries for 94 yards. Freshman Williams reeled in three catches for a career-high 92 yards. Andy O'Hara (Orchard Park/Orchard Park) recorded a pair of sacks and John Lesure (Rochester/Greece Athena) grabbed his first interception of the season.

Montclair was led offensively by DiGirolamo's 373 yards, going 28-for-61. The rookie quarterback set the Red Hawks single season record for passing yards for a freshman with 1,727. Eric Magrini caught 11 balls for 174 yards and became Montclair State's all-time leading receiver with 3,022 yards. Adam Cerminaro and Kevin Migliorino paced the Red Hawks defense with 12 tackles each.

Buffalo State is now 1-6 after ending a 14-game losing skid.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will travel to Case Western Reserve (4-3) in Cleveland, OH this Saturday.

CROSS COUNTRY - Individual Honors Highlight SUNYAC Championship

Buffalo State competed at the SUNYAC Championships on Saturday at Fredonia, as the men took sixth place of 10 teams with 138 points, while the women tied for fourth of nine teams with 160 points.

AJ Walsh (Hamburg/Frontier) highlighted the men's side as he placed fifth of 109 runners with a time of 26:46, earning First Team All-SUNYAC Honors and an induction in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame. He became the first Bengal runner to earn First Team All-Conference honors since 1989. His top-five finish also gained him entrance into the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame, becoming just the 11th Buffalo State runner to garner that status, and the first since 1998. Michael Herron (West Seneca/West Seneca East) captured Second Team All-Conference honors as he placed 15th with a time of 27:04. Finishing in 26th and 44th places respectively were Matt Kubiak (Lakeview/Frontier) and Tim Hill (Lyndonville/Barker Central) with times of 27:43 and 28:31.

Freshman Tammy Putt (Allegany/Allegany) was the top finisher on the women's side, placing 23rd of 97 runners, with a time of 20:35. Tiffany Knarr (East Aurora/Iroquois) also ran well in her first SUNYAC Championship, finishing in 29th place, with a time of 20:45. A time of 20:52 was good enough for Nichole Van Hoesen (Stamford/Stamford Central) to place 31st.

Who's Next?

After an open date next weekend, the Bengals will travel to Oswego and run in the NYSCTC Championships on November 9th.

VOLLEYBALL (22-9/5-3) - Volleyball Clinches Berth in SUNYAC Postseason

Buffalo State won three of four SUNYAC contests this weekend at Geneseo the hard way, but qualified for the SUNYAC playoffs for the second-straight year. The Bengals earned five-game victories over Geneseo, Fredonia and Oswego.

The Bengals opened the second round of SUNYAC Pool Play on Friday against the host school, Geneseo. Both teams traded blows, but Buffalo State prevailed 30-27, 26-30, 30-28, 28-30 and 15-12. The Bengals got 13 kills and 12 digs from Vicky Manos (Cheektowaga/Cheektowaga) and 52 assists and three aces from junior Krista Wierzbicki (Cheektowaga/Maryvale).

With home court advantage for the SUNYAC Championships potentially on the line, Brockport proved to be too much for the Bengals in Friday's nightcap, as Buffalo State was defeated in four games, 29-31, 32-30, 19-30, 25-30. The Bengals got 15 kills, 12 digs and six aces from Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter) and five kills and 18 digs from Manos in the loss.

Buffalo State met Fredonia to open Saturday's action in a "winner take all" match for the final SUNYAC West playoff spot. The Bengals rallied after falling behind 2-1 to win by scores of 30-28, 26-30, 27-30, 30-28 and 15-8. Buffalo State got 25 kills, 18 digs and six blocks from Polka and 61 assists and 18 digs from Wierzbicki. Junior Vicky Manos added 17 kills and 15 digs.

In the day's second match, Buffalo State was stretched to the limit again, as it defeated Oswego 30-28, 23-30, 27-30, 30-25 and 15-12. Polka collected 32 kills and six blocks to lead Buffalo State, while senior Lisa Herrscher (Clarence/Clarence) contributed 10 kills and 14 digs and Wierzbicki had 44 assists.

Buffalo State improved to 22-9 overall and 5-3 in SUNYAC play and qualified for the third and final playoff spot in the SUNYAC West Division.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will travel to RIT on Tuesday and to Carnegie Mellon on Saturday at final tune-ups for the SUNYAC Championships. The conference tourney will be held on November 8 and 9 at Brockport.

How the East was Won?

Oneonta finished first in the East Division with a 9-1 mark, followed by Cortland (7-3) and Plattsburgh (7-3).

MEN'S HOCKEY (0-1-1) - Bengals Open Season at SUNYAC Challenge

Buffalo State opened its 2002-03 season this past weekend at the SUNYAC Challenge at Potsdam with tie and a loss against conference foes Cortland and Fredonia.

On Friday, the Bengals faced the same Cortland team that eliminated them from postseason competition last year. Buffalo State got on the scoreboard first, 12:07 into the first period when freshman Dave Cadaret (Boyne City, MI/Toledo Storm) scored his first collegiate goal. Just 58 seconds later, defenseman Ricardo Hernandez (Eagle River, AK/Ventura Mariners) extended the Bengals lead to 2-0. The Red Dragons closed the gap in the second frame, however, scoring 1:52 in, and then knotting the score at 2-2 with just over a minute remaining. Hernandez tallied his second of the game to put the Bengals ahead 1:11 into the third period, but Cortland would rebound again, scoring twice to take its first lead, 4-3 with 14:04 remaining. The Bengals' Jason Sirois (Feeding Hills, MI/Elmira Jackals) answered, while Buffalo State had a two-man advantage, tying the score at 4-4. The game would end deadlocked as neither team could find the back of the net in the late stages of the game. Goaltender Nick Berti (Orchard Park/Ft. Erie Meteors) made 32 saves for the Bengals and Jason Davis (Northridge, CA/Ventura Mariners) notched two assists.

Buffalo State faced Fredonia on Saturday, and fell by a 4-1 score. The Blue Devils struck twice in the first period and twice more in the third to put the Bengals away. Morgan McElman (Bayside, NB/Elmira Jackals) scored his first of the season in the second period on an assist from Dan Vogel (Glens Falls/Ft. Erie Meteors) in the second stanza to account for all of the Bengals' offense. Fredonia held a 36-19 edge in shots on goal.

Buffalo State is 0-1-1.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will host the annual All-Sport Invitational this Friday and Saturday in the Ice Arena. The action will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday when Fredonia battles Hobart, followed by a 7:30 p.m. face-off between Buffalo State and Utica. On Saturday, Fredonia will meet Utica at 4 p.m. and the Bengals will tangle with Hobart at 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY (1-3, 0-0) - Bengals Split Weekend Pair With Cortland

Buffalo State played a pair of non-conference home games this weekend against Cortland, splitting the series with one win apiece.

Buffalo State opened its home schedule with a bang, defeating the Cortland Red Dragons

2-0 on Saturday. The Bengals got on the board early, scoring only 7:20 into the first period on Carolyn Totaro's (Rome/North Country CC) blast from the point, which beat the Cortland goaltender high on the stick side. The game remained 1-0, until the 17:56 mark of the third period when Maddy Loftus (Parsippany, NJ/pittsburgh Firebirds) netted her first career collegiate goal, on a pass from Jen Trees (Clear Lake, IA/MN Thoroughbreds). Goaltender Mary Keddie (Willamsville/Buffalo Bisons) made 33 saves, in recording her first shutout of the season.

The same two teams hit the ice on Sunday, and played a much tighter game, with Cortland defeating Buffalo State, 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored at 10:54 of the first period. Keddie played another solid game recording 37 saves for the Bengals.

Buffalo State's record now stands at 1-3 overall.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will open its conference schedule this weekend when it travels to Plattsburgh for games on Saturday and Sunday.

WOMEN'S SOCCER (6-12-1, 2-7-1) - Bengals Finish Season on High Note

Buffalo State wrapped up its 2002 schedule this week with a tie at Fredonia and a win against Pitt-Bradford.

On Tuesday Buffalo State traveled to Fredonia and played its final SUNYAC game of the season. The two teams played to a scoreless shutout. Senior Karen Voght (Tonawanda/Kenmore East) and junior Amy Drozen (Willamsville/Willamsville East) each recorded two shots in the game, while freshman Nastassja Dasque (Brooklyn/A. Philip Randolph) played the most dominant game of her young career, making 23 saves for the Bengals.

Saturday, Buffalo State played at the University of Pitt.-Bradford, and crushed the Panthers 8-0. Gina Monaco (Niagara Falls) scored four goals, to bring her season total to a school record 20. She also added two assists on the day, giving her a school best 45 points in her rookie season. Colleen Fennell (Hamburg/Frontier) added a pair of goals, and Nikole Flannery (Tonawanda/Tonawanda) and Gabriel Dunn (West Seneca/West Seneca West) tallied single markers. Lucy Bauda (West Seneca/Orchard Park) and Amy Drozen (Willamsville/Willamsvile East) each recorded two assists in the game. Dasque and Erin Strassburg (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda) each played a half, and combined for the shutout.

Buffalo State finished the 2002 campaign with a 6-12-1 overall record and a 2-7-1mark in the SUNYAC.

MEN'S SOCCER (4-11-2, 2-7) - Bengals Drop Last SUNYAC Game

Buffalo State closed out its SUNYAC schedule this week, hosting Fredonia on Tueday.

Despite recording 11 shots, the Buffalo State Bengals were shutout 3-0 by Fredonia on Tuesday. The Blue Devils opened the scoring in the 14th minute and never looked back, as all three of its goals came in the first half. Senior Dave Aselin (Rochester/Gates-Chili) had three shots for the Bengals. Goaltenders Kevin Senator (Scottsville/Wheatland-Chili) and Kameron Hughes (Buffalo/Performing Arts) combined for 7 saves. With this loss the Bengals now fall to 4-11-2 overall and 2-7 in SUNYAC play.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will play its final game of the 2002 season against Daemen College on Wednesday, at Coyer Field. Game time is 3 p.m.

SWIMMING & DIVING - Benglas Drop Season Opener at Home

Buffalo State opened its 2002-2003 swimming & diving season at home on Friday night against the defending SUNYAC Champions, the Geneseo Blue Wave.

The men's team was defeated 121-83, while the women's team fell 117-98. The meet was a good test for the young Bengals team, as Buffalo State was pushed from the opening heat. Freshman diver Michael Klein (Hamburg/Hamburg) highlighted Buffalo State's efforts , placing first in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events with scores of, 201.20, and 197.60 respectively.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will travel to the Rochester Institute of Technology, for a dual meet against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.