Four of the NIU men’s soccer team’s 19 games this season were decided by more than one goal, and the final one proved to be its undoing.

A 2-0 loss to Buffalo in the semifinals of the MAC tournament Friday in Akron, Ohio, marked the second year in a row Buffalo dispatched the Huskies from the conference tournament.

But NIU coach Steve Simmons said the score did not reflect the effort NIU gave in making it past the first round of the MAC Tournament for the first time in five years.

“It wasn’t for a lack of effort today because we certainly left it all on the field,” Simmons said. “In the end we just weren’t accurate enough.”

Unfortunately for NIU, Andrae Clarke was accurate enough for the opposition. Buffalo’s leader in points with 29, Clarke scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season on a header 7:38 into the match. The Bulls scored their second goal with 2:38 left in the game.

Simmons said the early goal by Buffalo altered NIU’s outlook on the match.

“That certainly changed the game in that it meant we were chasing them from then on,” Simmons said. “We had our opportunities and even increased the pressure in the second half, but our passes were just a little off the mark or our free kicks were just a little off.

“In a semifinal between two good teams, that can be enough. Buffalo was real solid on that goal, but most of the match was played in the middle or at their end.”

The Huskies, who beat Buffalo 1-0 in the regular season to knock the Bulls out of their No. 20 ranking, outshot their opponent 8-5 in the second half. NIU also had four corner-kick chances in the second half to Buffalo’s none.

“It’s very disappointing to have your season come to a finish,” Simmons said. “But the boys played real hard and we’ve still got a lot of positives to hang our hats on.”

Buffalo fell 7-6 after penalty kicks in the tournament final to No. 1 Akron.