Saleman Salim
Jessica Doolittle
1
SUNY Geneseo GEN (10-7-2, 5-4-0)
2
Winner Buffalo St. BSC (13-5-1, 5-3-1)
SUNY Geneseo GEN
(10-7-2, 5-4-0)
1
Final
2
Buffalo St. BSC
(13-5-1, 5-3-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
SUNY Geneseo GEN 1 0 1
Buffalo St. BSC 0 2 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Second-half surge lifts men’s soccer in 2-1 SUNYAC Quarterfinal victory over Geneseo

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Co-captains Saleman Salim (Nairobi, Kenya/Hutch Tech) and Theo Pencic (Oslo, Norway/Heltberg) helped supply the offense for the fourth-seeded Buffalo State men's soccer team, turning a nail-biting 1-0 halftime deficit to a thrilling 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded Geneseo in the SUNYAC Quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 2, Geneseo – 1
LOCATION:  Coyer Field – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS:  Buffalo State (13-5-1), Geneseo (10-7-2)
UP NEXT: #4 Buffalo State at #1 Cortland – Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. (SUNYAC Semifinal)
 
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
  • Pencic led the team with three points, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
  • Salim's game-winner in the 68th minute was his third goal of the season.
  • Zak Shaibi (Buffalo, N.Y./McKinley) assisted on Pencic's goal, his second of the year.
  • Max Shoemaker (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) made nine saves, including five in the second half to earn his 10th victory of the season.
  • Buffalo State out-shot Geneseo by a narrow 17-15 margin.
  • The Bengals are 5-2-1 in their last seven matchups against Geneseo.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Set piece magic put Geneseo on the board in the seventh minute, as Stefen Nikolic curled a chance outside the penalty box on target that grazed off the head of a Bengal defender into net.
  • The Bengals had a hard time solving the Geneseo defense, as the visitors maintained a 56-44 possession advantage and outshot the Bengals 9-1 in the first half.
  • The Bengals flipped the script in the second half, timing more runs to the outside as Shaibi found Pencic on a cross in the 60th minute, but the chance just missed wide.
  • Three minutes later, the Shaibi-Pencic combination struck gold, as Pencic headed Shaibi's curling cross past the Geneseo keeper, tying the game at one.
  • The goalposts denied the Bengals twice in the 64th minute, as Pencic shot the free kick opportunity against the post, with Agastya Dharamarj (Bangalore, India/Inventure Academy)'s rebound hitting the inside of the crossbar, but falling outside the goal line.
  • A Pa Lu (Buffalo, N.Y./International Prep) shot set up a corner opportunity for the Bengals in the 68th minute, and Pencic took advantage, sending a low kick to the right corner of the goalpost. Salim made a late run and knocked the chance in as the Bengals took the lead.
  • Shoemaker and Salim combined to deny the Knights' best second-half chance in the 73rd minute, as Justin Arilotta's shot was tipped high by Shoemaker, but fell in front of an open net. Salim kicked the ball from the goal line, away to safety.
FOR THE FOES
  • Nikolic tallied the lone goal for the Knights.
  • Will Price made three saves in 90 minutes in the loss.
  • Geneseo earned an advantage in corners (7-4) and shots on goal (9-5).
NOTABLES
  • Pencic's goal was the 101st point of his career, becoming the first Bengal to do so in a three-year career. He now has 102 points in 50 career games.
  • The Bengals defeat Geneseo in the SUNYAC tournament for the first time, avenging a 2-0 loss in the 2019 quarterfinal.
  • The Bengals have won quarterfinal matchups in back-to-back tournaments (2019, 2021).
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