In the final two games of the regular season, Buffalo State men’s soccer (10-4-1/5-2)  accomplished their main goal heading into the season: securing a playoff berth. Coming into the weekend, the Bengals were in a three-way tie and had to fight to stay on top.

Buffalo State started the weekend with a solid win over Plattsburgh (9-5-1/2-4-1), 2-1. The game was physical and ended in a scuffle between the two teams after a hard foul. Sophomore midfielder Bass Sarr netted the game-winner in the 61st minute from a through-in from junior forward Tristan Myers.

The Bengals finished the weekend and sealed a playoff berth with a 1-0 win over Potsdam (7-5-2/2-4-1). Buffalo State started off hot with several would-be goals against Potsdam negated by offside calls. The Bears put the Bengals on their heels for a good portion of the second half, but the Bengals would ultimately prevail after a game-winning goal from junior forward Brandon Galanti in the 71st minute.

“It’s a lot of fun where we are, to see how high we can come in the league. We’re just taking every game as it comes,” said Buffalo State head coach Mark Howlett. “We’re just making sure we can continue put our best foot forward, and we’ll how long we can prolong the season.”

The Bengals may have clinched a playoff berth, but there is still plenty left in the season to fight for. They have a chance to secure a home playoff, something that hasn’t happened in the program’s history. They also will face one of the toughest opponents they have all year, No. 22 SUNY Oneonta.

With two games left, the Bengals will look to build on weekend sweep and use that momentum going into two road games to finish off the year.

The Bengals’ next matches are away against Oneonta is on Friday at 3 p.m., then the season finale is away against New Paltz on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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