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ATHENS, Ohio -- The third-seeded Ohio soccer team (11-4-4) travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. on Thursday, (Nov. 7) to take on No. 2 Buffalo (10-1-7) in the Mid-American Conference Semifinals hosted by regular season Champions, Western Michigan. First touch is set for 11 a.m. at the and can be seen on ESPN+. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's match-up will be the 30^th  time Ohio and Buffalo will face each other on the pitch. The Bobcats have an even record with the Bulls, with a 14-14-1 count. This will be the second time the two programs will face off in the MAC Tournament, the last time being in the MAC Quarterfinals in 1999, where the Bobcats took down the Bulls, 2-1 after double overtime.
 
LAST MATCHUP
This will not be the first time Ohio and Buffalo have faced off this season. The Bobcats traveled to Buffalo earlier this year and fell to the Bulls, 2-0.  
 
The Bobcats and Bulls battled in the first half, with neither team able to capitalize on offensive chances, sending the game to the half tied at 0-0. 

The Bulls opened the second half pushing in the offensive zone, recording four-straight shots that forced a save from Celeste Sloma (Columbus, Ohio). The two teams continued to battle, with a shot from Eve Berish (Hudson, Ohio) coming in the 67^th minute, forcing a save from the UB keep and keeping the match knotted at 0-0. Buffalo struck in the 75^th minute, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead. The Bulls added on six minutes later, taking a 2-0 lead with under 10 minutes to go. 
 
Ohio totaled three shots, three of which were on target, and two corner kicks. On the other end, Buffalo had 13 shots, five shots on goal, and one corner.

ALL-MAC HONORS
On Nov. 5, five Bobcats earned All-MAC Postseason Awards. 

Junior Norah Roush (Dublin, Ohio) was named Defensive Player of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the All-MAC First Team alongside junior Eve Berish (Hudson, Ohio) and sophomore Jaimason Brooker (Powell, Ohio). Additionally, juniors Maia Kaufman (Westerville, Ohio) and Celeste Sloma (Columbus, Ohio) were selected for the All-MAC Second Team.
 
SCOUTING BUFFALO
Buffalo wrapped up the regular season with a 10-1-7 overall record and a 5-1-5 mark in MAC play, making it into the tournament as the second seed. 
 
Buffalo is led by sophomore goalkeeper Lexie Thompson, who started and played all 18 games for the Bulls. Thompson has played all 1,620 minutes, allowing eight goals and recording a 0.44 goals against average. She also has 65 saves and 11 shutouts. 
 
Offensively, Jasmine Guerber led UB with five goals and one assist for 11 points, while Arianna Zumpano added four goals, and eight points. Overall, UB scored 25 goals this season, recording a 1.39 goals per game average. 
 
SCOUTING OHIO
The Bobcats ended the regular season with an overall record of 10-4-4 and a  5-3-3 mark in MAC play. 

Overall, this season, Ohio scored 35 goals for a 1.84 goals per game average, while holding opponents to just 12 goals and a 0.63 goals per game average. 
 
Ohio continued to prove to be one of the best defensive teams in the MAC this season, only allowing seven goals in 11 matches during conference play. This was helped by stellar goalkeeping from Sloma, who finished the year with 60 saves, a GAA of 0.573, and ten clean sheets. 
 
Offensively, Jaimason Brooker (Powell, Ohio) led the Bobcats with seven goals, six assists and 20 points overall, with five goals one assist and 11 points coming in conference play. Rayann Pruss (Perrysburg, Ohio) added 10 points for Ohio during the season, with three goals and four assists, while graduate student Aubrey Rea (Akron, Ohio) added four goals and one assist and nine points, with five of those points coming during conference play.  
 
MAC TOURNAMENT
The winner of Thursday's Semifinal match will face off with the victor of the other Semifinal for the Mid-American Conference Championship title on Sunday, Nov. 10.
 
Find a full breakdown of the MAC Tournament structure and schedule here. 

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