The men’s soccer team (4-2-1) has shown resilience early this season. After losing their best offensive weapon for the season, Luke Pavone, in a 1-0 loss to RIT, they went on to win three straight. This past weekend, they bounced back from a 1-0 loss to University of Rochester by crushing D’Youville College 5-0 on Friday.

After a tough loss to No. 14 University of Rochester (5-0), Buffalo State dominated a D’Youville team that had only scored one goal the entire season.

Defeating D’Youville is nothing new for the Bengals. Since 2009, the Bengals are 8-0 against the Spartans and have outscored them 40-1.

Buffalo State used the game against D’Youville to rest some starters and give some younger players game experience. It only took the Bengals four minutes to get on the board with a goal from sophomore forward August Finn.

Junior forward Tristan Myers and sophomore Drew Johnson led the attack for the Bengals with great play all over the field. Both players stood out offensively, and D’Youville had no answer for them. Myers and Johnson showed tremendous skill and touch with a combined four shots. Each player had a goal and an assist.

Coming into the game, head coach Mark Howlett emphasized the need to “keep a clean sheet.”

“It’s always nice to score, but it’s better not give up goals… We really played great defensively, and if we continue to play like that defensively, no one can break us,” Howlett said. “We know that we are talented offensively and that we can score goals, so as a team, if we play good defensively we should be successful.”

Defensively, the Bengals shut out a D’Youville team allowing a mere two shots on goal. Sophomore Robert Williamson and junior Devonte Black were just two of many defenders who did a fantastic job of clearing any chance of a successful Spartan attack.

Andreas Queen showed promise in goal as he made his first start for the Bengals, recording two saves. SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week William Banahene switched positions and played some forward for the Bengals. Banahene was all over the field and showed great energy and enthusiasm.

Even though the game was out of reach for almost the entire contest, the most exciting moments were when the Bengals were trying to set up Banahene for a goal.

“I always wanted to get a chance to play up top since freshman man year,” Banahene said. “Coach Howlett promised me a chance to play striker my freshman year when we were at SUNY Canton, so I didn’t let him forget it. I give credit to all the strikers, because that wasn’t easy by any means.”

With a win over D’Youville and the Clarkson game cancelled due to weather conditions, Howlett sees this as a chance for some players who are hurt to rest up and get ready for the next chunk of the season.

“It’s a blessing in disguise. We have a lot of guys beat up after a tough game with University of Rochester, and the long weekend allows us to get rest and get right for some big games next weekend against Brockport and Geneseo.”

Buffalo State finished non-conference play against Alfred State on Tuesday. However, the stats were not available at time of press. The team will start SUNYAC conference play with a pair of games at home against Geneseo on Friday Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. and Brockport on Saturday at 4 p.m.

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