BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Houghton men's soccer is still looking for its offensive spark, as the Highlanders were held scoreless for the fourth time in five outings, losing to Buffalo State, 4-0, on the road Tuesday.

The Bengals scored twice in each half. They opened the scoring in the 10th minute and then capitalized on a Highlander own goal in the 36th minute to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Shots were just 8-4 in advantage of Buffalo State at the half, but the hosts upped their attack and stiffened their defense over the last 45 minutes. They outshot the Highlanders 16-0 in the second half and finally broke through for goal #3 in the 84th minute and didn't let up down the stretch, finding the back of the net a final time with just over a one minute to play.

Corners kicks went 10-0 in favor of Buffalo State.

James Fay led Houghton with two shots. Pedro Ruz-Welker (45 minutes, 2 GA, 4 saves) and Joshua Smith (45 minutes, 2 GA, 5 saves) split action in the net. Welker picked up the start and the loss.

The loss evens the series record between the two sides to 5-5-2 over the last 12 matchups. Buffalo State has won the last three, all by shutout.

COACH'S CORNER
"A team's ability to consistently achieve positive outcomes is correlated to their development in the technical, tactical, cognitive, physical and emotional aspects of the game. Our highlanders improved significantly in the above categories and emptied the tank tonight against an excellent opponent. The implementation of our match model is ongoing, and while the score line attempts to obscure our progress, we made substantial improvements tonight. Tomorrow, the sun will rise and we will go again."

Houghton hosts Utica on Saturday, September 20 at 2 p.m. for their first E8 game of the season.