MEADVILLE, Pa. - Visiting Buffalo State used a corner kick goal in the 12th minute, along with a stifling second half defense, to defeat Allegheny 1-0 in non-conference action at the Robertson Athletic Complex.

The loss drops Allegheny to 4-6 on the season, while Buffalo State, who has now defeated the Gators by identical 1-0 scores in each of the past three seasons, improves to 3-7-1.

The first 10 minutes of regulation featured wide-open play, with both teams generating early scoring chances.  Gator keeper Alexis Brandon was forced to make a point-blank save just 40 seconds into play, while the Gators' Kelli Gaus narrowly missed giving her squad a 1-0 lead on a header at the 7-minute mark.

Following the Gaus attempt, the Bengals answered with a prolonged possession, and cashed in with a corner kick opportunity with 11:59 gone.  Paige Bly lofted an arching kick into traffic in front, where it was deflected by a leaping Victoria Colotti into the net to put give the Bengals the game's first goal.

The next two shots of the match belonged to the Gators, with Bengal keeper Taylor Corillo making saves on Sarah Donohue in the 16th minute, and Isabella Martinez two minutes later.  The majority of the next 20 minutes were contested in the middle third of the field, with neither team enjoying much success in advancing the ball deep inside enemy territory.  

With 30 minutes gone by, the Gators were granted a pair of corner kicks, and on the second, Donohue connected solidly from 15 yards out. However, her blast went just over the crossbar, and the Bengals were able to maintain the one-goal lead.  Ten minutes later, Bengal striker Lindsay Mahoney had two cracks to give her squad an insurance marker, but the first attempt was blocked by the Gator defense, before Mahoney's rebound attempt was gobbled up by Brandon.  

Allegheny had the final three shots of the half, two from Shannon McGuinn and the third by Taylor Renk, but they were unable to net the equalizer, and the Bengals held on to the 1-0 lead at the intermission. 

The halftime statistics reflected how evenly played the opening 45 minutes were, as both teams were credited with seven shots, with Allegheny putting five on goal, and Buffalo State four.  The Gators were granted two first half corner kicks to the Bengals' one.

The Bengals came out of the intermission with increased offensive pressure, and it resulted in three shots and a corner kick in the first eight minutes of the second half.  The Buffalo State defense continually prohibited the Gators from mounting any sustained pressure, while the Bengal offense maintained its pressure on the other end.  Their best chance of adding an insurance goal came in the 65th minute, when Kyndal Hetzel got loose in front, but Brandon would turn in the save of the game on her blast from less than 10 yards out.

With just inside 20 minutes remaining, the Gators were granted their first corner kick of the second half, but Martinez's effort was directed just over the crossbar by Blair Proteau.

Following the Gator corner kick, Buffalo State mounted another lengthy attack, again coming to fruition with a corner kick.  After the initial attempt was knocked away by the Allegheny back line, the carom was sent toward the goal, where Allegheny's Sam Brooks and Samantha Awe dove to knock it out of harm's way.   The Bengals were able to keep it in deep, with Brandon making her fourth save of the afternoon when she made a leaping deflection on a shot from 20 yards out to keep the deficit at one with just inside 12 minutes to go.

Allegheny was able to control possession for much of the final five minutes, but the Buffalo State back line prevented any real Gator scoring chances down the stretch to preserve the shutout win.

Buffalo State out-shot the Gators 11-3 over the second half, and ended with an 18-10 margin in the shot column for the game.  The Bengals were also granted four of the five second half corner kicks.

In just her second career start, Brandon turned in a season-high seven saves, while Colotti finished with five for the Bengals in the shutout.  McGuinn, Martinez, and Donohue shared the Allegheny team lead with two shots apiece. 

The Gators will now close out the regular season with seven straight matches against North Coast Athletic Conference foes, beginning with a 2:30 p.m. tilt at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 7.