Here at The Record, we know Halloween weekend was packed with all sorts of fun, making it nearly impossible to catch every sports game in action. That’s where this week’s edition of the Buffalo State Sports Round-Up has your back. We’ve got you covered with a full recap of all nine teams that hit the field, mat, trails, court, and ice over the past week. Did the Bengals pull off some spooky season victories? Here’s where we find out.
Men’s Soccer:
Before entering the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament, the men’s soccer team still had one more game to wrap up the regular season, taking a Tuesday road trip for an out-of-conference match-up against 10-0-4 Hobart – a serious test for the Bengals to prepare them for the most important games of their season that lie ahead.
From the opening whistle, the game remained at a stalemate – neither side creating any sort of offense. The Bengals found an opportunity to break the scoreless tie late in the first half, but were denied. Buffalo State and Hobart attempted a combined 22 shots over the course of the 90-minute game, yet a pair of zeroes were left on the scoreboard when the final buzzer sounded, resulting in each team’s fifth draw of the season.
Five draws in their final six games leave the Buffalo State Bengals at 12-1-5 to end the regular season. On Wednesday afternoon, they return to Coyer Field for a “Battle By The Lake” rematch against Fredonia in the SUNYAC Tournament semi-finals.
Women’s Volleyball:
Riding a four-game win streak into the week, the women’s volleyball club had the chance to get their record back to even when they hosted Oneonta on Halloween night. The Red Dragons sat at 15-10, just a few games above the Bengals, with just a few games left to solidify SUNYAC Tournament seeding.
Oneonta opened strong, gaining an early advantage in the first set. The Bengals quickly screwed their heads on straight to hit on a three-point rally, stealing momentum away from the visitors. The Red Dragons would struggle to get the momentum back on their side, as the Bengals continued to rattle off short bursts of points until they finished with a 25-19 opening set win.
The second set saw both teams trade points early on, with Oneonta keeping the Bengals within striking distance. However, it didn’t take long for Buffalo State to gain full control, pulling away with a five-point surge to put themselves in position for an unlikely sweep.
Looking to avoid a sweep, the Red Dragons jumped into a lead to open the third set with a five-point run. Not to be outdone, the Bengals put together a three-point rally to stick around. A couple more three-point surges and the Bengals had snatched the lead, never looking back en route to a fifth straight win and a successful Halloween night.
The Buffalo State Sports Round-up sends a huge shoutout to junior outside hitter Ella Whitman, as she reached a milestone of 1,000 kills in her career in the win against Oneonta.
Saturday afternoon, the team was back on the court to play the SUNY New Paltz Hawks in their final SUNYAC game of the regular season, with the chance to earn a sixth straight win and hold a winning record.
A fast-paced trading of points kicked things into gear in the opening set, as both teams dug down deep to gain any sort of advantage they could. A pair of surges by New Paltz gave them the lead, but the Bengals remained on their tail with a surge of their own. Despite battling all set long, the Hawks eventually shrugged the Bengals off to claim an opening set win on the road.
A quick five-run put Buffalo State out in front in the second set, but miscues began to pile up, allowing New Paltz to climb back within one. Determined not to let the set slip away, the Bengals got their wits about them and regained momentum to secure the set win. A pivotal third set was ahead.
From start to finish, the third set belonged to the SUNY New Paltz Hawks. A relentless offensive attack and all-around play gave the Bengals no chance to dig themselves out from under, putting their five-game win streak in jeopardy.
The fourth set was the closest yet, filled with runs being traded back and forth. Buffalo State gained a late edge on the Hawks, but a six-point burst gave way for them to regain control of the set. Opportunities presented themselves for the Bengals to force a fifth set, but New Paltz remained steady in their play to close out the set and match. The Bengals’ win streak ends at five.
Despite the loss, a strong finish to the SUNYAC schedule earned the women’s volleyball club the fifth seed in the SUNYAC Tournament, their fifth straight postseason berth. They will compete in the first round on Nov. 11, although before then, they close out the regular season next weekend in the Rochester Tri-Match.
Football:
Sitting at 1-6, still fighting and clawing for a second win, the Buffalo State football team traveled to play Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon.
The Bombers received the opening kickoff and drove just 39 yards to take an early lead on the Bengals. Buffalo State had a chance to even the score later in the first quarter, moving the ball deep into Ithaca territory. Things took a turn for the worse when junior QB Amir Cameron dropped back and had his pass intercepted, being taken all the way back for an 89-yard touchdown. The Bengals were now in a 14-point hole to end the first quarter.
The score continued to become more lopsided in the second quarter when a pair of Bomber touchdowns in the first eight minutes made it 28-0. Despite the large deficit, the Bengals still had some fight left in them. With 43 seconds to go in the half, Amir Cameron connected with sophomore WR Mikai Johnson for a 41-yard touchdown. A promising end to a difficult first half, or so everyone thought. Just 27 seconds later, Ithaca’s Michael Reed ran 32 yards to the house to bring their lead back to twenty-eight before halftime.
The Bengals were able to keep the Bombers off the board in the third quarter, but that didn’t stop them from adding two more touchdowns in the fourth to add salt to the already wide-open wound. The game ended with a final score of 49-7, the team’s second-largest loss of the season.
Time is running out for Buffalo State to earn a second win with just two games remaining. Senior Day is up next as they host St. Lawrence University at Coyer Field next Saturday, their final home game of the 2025 campaign.
Men’s & Women’s XC:
Saturday marked the beginning of the SUNY Championships for the men’s and women’s cross country (XC) teams, the first Buffalo State team to compete in postseason play so far this fall.
For the men, freshman Ricky Curiel turned heads with a third-place finish, at a time of 26:15, in his first appearance at the SUNY Championships. The impressive performance earned him All-SUNYAC honors, the first of his college career.
Fellow freshmen, Noah Holden and Josh Mayer, also earned All-SUNYAC honors with a tenth and fifteenth-place finish, respectively. As a unit, the team placed fourth overall.
Because of his outstanding showing, Josh Mayer received the SUNYAC Elite 20 award. Ricky Curiel was honored with an induction into the Cross Country Championship Hall of Fame.
Freshman Jorja Smith continued leading the pack for the women’s team, finishing with a time of 25:50. Sophomore Katelyn Becker finished just behind her at a time of 26:03. Overall, the women’s team earned a ninth-place finish.
The XC teams roll on with their season, returning to action for the NCAA Regionals in Rochester on Nov. 15.
Women’s Wrestling:
Buffalo State’s women’s wrestling team made the trip to University Heights, Ohio, on Sunday to compete in the John Carroll Round Robin Invite to kickstart the program’s sophomore season.
Junior Hailey Hankinson and sophomore Ceci Williams each earned wins in their respective weight class. In the 131-lb weight class, two stars emerged for the Bengals, with each finishing 4-1 on the day.
Sophomores Rosaliz Aponte and Brooke Tarshis’ impressive performances on the mat earned them second and third place, respectively, with each of their only losses coming to the champion in the 131-lb class, Bethany College’s Rosemary Dodd.
Next up, the Bengals will compete in their first dual meet of the 2025-26 season on Nov. 12 when they travel to Ithaca to face the Bombers
Men’s Hockey:
The Hockey season started with a bang over the Halloween weekend, with Buffalo State hosting the Buffalo State Bengals Classic at the Ice Arena. The Buffalo State Bengals Classic consists of four teams competing in a one-game elimination tournament, with a championship and consolation game.
After a few exhibition games, the Bengals men’s hockey team hit the ice well prepared for their meeting with the St. John Fisher Cardinals. With that said, the Cardinals came in just as prepared, striking first with a power play goal in the opening period. From there, defense took over, leaving both teams off the board through the rest of the first period and the entirety of the second period.
Another goal wasn’t scored until the early part of the third period, when St. John Fisher’s Mitchell Ferras put one into the net to give the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage with little time remaining. Refusing to go away, Bengals freshman Lucas Signoretti knocked in his first career goal on a power play.
Down but not out, Buffalo State tried one last push to even the score, but the Cardinals did just enough to hang on and grab the win – advancing to the Championship game in the process.
The following day, the Bengals competed in the consolation game against Hiram College, with a third-place finish on the line. Motivated to find a win on the weekend, the Bengals overwhelmed the Terriers right away, leaving the defense out of sorts. In the sixth minute of the opening period, the Bengals jumped on top with a goal by sophomore forward David Tolan. The Hiram defense eventually settled in, keeping the Bengals offense at bay for the rest of the first period.
To open the second period, the Bengals went right back on the attack, adding to their lead with a goal by senior forward Tyler Penree at the 2:58 mark. The constant pressure brought more scoring opportunities for Buffalo State, but again, the Terriers held strong to keep the score at 2-0 going into the third and final period.
The final frame was more of the same by Buffalo State, inevitably extending their lead in the 13th minute. The Bengals defense remained stout throughout the entire 60 minutes, keeping Hiram off the scoreboard and completing the shutout to secure the first win of the season, and third-place in the Buffalo State Bengals Classic.
The men’s hockey team hits the road next, heading to Brockport for their first away game of the season against the Golden Eagles on Friday night.
Women’s Hockey:
The men weren’t the only ones to get their season started this past weekend, as the women’s hockey team hosted a pair of games against King’s College at the Ice Arena. From the opening puck drop, the Bengals looked to be out to make a statement at the Monarchs’ expense – and did they ever.
Buffalo State immediately attacked the net, firing off shots to take the early lead – a plan that seemed to work against them as King’s College drew first blood with a goal at the 5:55 mark of the first period. Quickly, the Bengals responded with their goal, scored by freshman forward Taylor Masterson. That goal would be far from the last scored by the Bengals in the opening period, as by the time the first twenty were up, their lead had ballooned to 5-1.
The second period provided more dominance by the Buffalo State offensive attack, rattling off three more goals to make it 8-1 with twenty minutes still left to be played. One more goal in the third period gave the Bengals a more than convincing 9-1 dismantling of the Monarchs, with both teams scheduled to play once more the following day.
Game two between the Bengals and Monarchs wasn’t much different from their first. The Bengals set the tone early, netting two goals in the first period to, this time, avoid an early deficit. King’s College found the back of the net in the second period, but it paled in comparison to Buffalo State’s two goals that gave them a 4-1 lead. One last goal in the third period gave the Bengals another dominant win, 5-1, outscoring the Monarchs 14-2 over the weekend series.
The women’s hockey team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, and they’ll have the chance to outdo themselves when they’re back on home ice next weekend for a two-game series against Chatham University.
Women’s Soccer:
To cap off this packed edition, the women’s soccer team’s lone game of the week came with season-altering stakes: a SUNYAC Tournament first-round clash with SUNY New Paltz at Coyer Field. Anticipation was sky high for this contest, as the Bengals aimed to bounce back from their Senior Day loss and make a run towards a SUNYAC Championship.
The opening whistle sounded, and the Bengals were off, with freshman forward Olivia Kilmer wasting no time finding the back of the net. 1-0, Buffalo State took the lead in the blink of an eye. The Hawks looked for their opportunity to counter, coming up empty. Before they knew it, Olivia Kilmer scored again to make it 2-0 Bengals just 12 minutes into the game. The freshman was making as big a statement as one could possibly make.
The second half came around, and the Bengals were on the hunt to put the game away. However, SUNY New Paltz stayed alive with a 69th-minute goal. It felt like it could be anyone’s ball game now, at least until Olivia Kilmer got hold of the ball. Just 3 minutes later, Kilmer completed a hat-trick to seal the deal – clinching Buffalo State’s first playoff win in nine years.
A performance like no other by Olivia Kilmer booked the Bengals a ticket to the SUNYAC Tournament semi-finals this Wednesday, where they will travel to Cortland for another win-or-go-home match-up against the one-seed Red Dragons.
To wrap up this week’s Buffalo State Sports Round-up, we would like to give a shout-out to Olivia Kilmer (women’s soccer), Dakota Carlson (women’s hockey), and Kaylee Cadez (women’s hockey) for their outstanding performances that earned the three of them SUNYAC Athlete of the Week honors. Congratulations! See you next week.
