Pair of goals enough to vault Bonnies over UB

The St. Bonaventure men's soccer team improved its record to 3-4, defeating Big 4 rival Buffalo, 2-1, Wednesday afternoon at McGraw-Jennings Field.

This marks the Bonnies' first win against the Bulls in four years.

"Overall, we played well enough to beat a very good team," Coach Mel Mahler said. "Our goal coming into the game was to be consistent for 90 minutes. Before we had too many peaks and valleys, and I thought we did a good job today."

The scoring started early, as Bonnies' junior Fabrizio Savarino scored his third goal of the season, off of a corner kick by junior Brett Allen, in the 14th minute. Senior Tyler Bellamy and Allen assisted Savarino's goal.

"The first goal set the tone for us," said Mahler. "I thought we could have been more assertive after scoring the first goal. We had some opportunities, but we didn't step it up."

There was no more scoring until senior Sam Maheu scored his fifth goal of the season, just 16 seconds into the second half, off of a pass from Allen.

The Bulls responded late in the match, as UB senior Steffen Thoresen netted his first goal of the season off of a pass from senior Alex Marrello. "Coming out and scoring the second goal really took the wind out of them," said Mahler. "But knowing there was a lot of time left, they were doing what they needed to do. They got their one goal, but I really give our team credit that we held out at the end."

The Bonnies held on with defensive play and a few late saves by junior goalkeeper David Flynn.

"The mark of a good team is when a team is throwing a lot of numbers at you, and you can hold them and defend well and stay composed in the late minutes of matches and hold on for the win," said Mahler.

The Bonnies' next match is Sunday at Niagara, as they take on Big 4 rival Niagara Purple Eagles (2-4-1) at 4 p.m.