Thursday’s MAC Women’s Soccer Results
Ball State 2, Northern Illinois 0
Ohio 3, Kent State 1
Central Michigan 2, Western Michigan 0
Eastern Michigan 3, Toledo 2
Bowling Green 2, Miami 0
Buffalo 0, Akron 0
 
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information
 
 
Ball State 2, Northern Illinois 0
Box Score
 
 
MUNCIE, Ind. – A goal on either side of halftime from Melissa Diceman helped Ball State to a 2-0 victory over the Northern Illinois University women's soccer on a wet and windy Thursday afternoon (March 18) at the Briner Sports Complex. 

Ball State (2-1-1, 2-1-1 MAC) had the first chance of the contest as Chelcy Ralph's right-footed effort went just wide from near the top of the box in the sixth minute.

The Cardinals went in front in the 22nd minute as Diceman converted from the penalty spot, giving Ball State a 1-0 lead that it would take into halftime.

Just four minutes into the second half, Ball State created a turnover near the edge of the NIU box and Ralph whistled a shot just wide of the far post. 

Near the hour mark, NIU (1-3-0, 1-3-0 MAC) had a spell of possession that led to a cross from sophomore Nicolette Gossage (Moneka, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) that was misplayed at the back by the Cardinals before they eventually scrambled it away to safety. 

Moments after the chance for NIU, Ball State doubled its lead. Diceman ran on to a flicked header from Nicky Potts in midfield and finished past Huskie senior goalkeeper Megan Donnally (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) to give the Cardinals a lead in the 59th minute.

In the 89th minute, freshman Kierah Meier (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) collected the ball just inside the corner of the Ball State box and had a low shot that went just wide of the near post as the Huskies were unable to find a way past the Cardinal defense. 

Donnally finished with four saves in goal for the Huskies after coming on in the second half for junior Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) who recorded one stop in the first half. 

NIU will return home on Sunday, March 21, when the Huskies host Central Michigan. Kickoff against the Chippewas is scheduled for 3 p.m. 
 
 
Ohio 3, Kent State 1
Box Score
 
 
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State soccer team (2-2-0) got off to a slow start Thursday night as they lost 3-1 to the Ohio Bobcats.
On a rainy day in Kent, it took Ohio five minutes to open the scoring as Jenni Santacaterina nodded home a corner to put the Bobcats up 1-0. They scored their second just before the half-hour mark to go up 2-0 heading into the half-time break. Out of half-time, they added a third in the 63rd minute to go up 3-0.

Kent State battled back, forcing the Ohio goalkeeper into five saves and threatening the box with some dangerous balls being played in. The team got a goal back in the 76th minute as junior defender Tianna Harris poked a loose ball in from inside the 18-yard box. The team were pushing for a second to get back into the game but ran out of time.

Goalkeeper Sarah Melén again played the full 90 minutes for the Golden Flashes, making three saves in the loss.

Kent State will face a quick turnaround as they travel to Bowling Green on Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Falcons.
 

Central Michigan 2, Western Michigan 0
Box Score
 
 
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Central Michigan scored both goals in the second half on Thursday in beating in-state rival Western Michigan, 2-0, in an important Mid-American Conference game at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
 
The win, CMU's third straight, lifted the Chippewas to 3-1-0 and it moved them ahead of the Broncos and into first place in the MAC West. It was the first loss of the season for Western, 2-1-1, which fell out of the top spot in the West and in the MAC overall.
 
It also marked the first time this season that Western Michigan has surrendered a goal.
 
"We made a good point today with this win that we are taking the right steps forward with our performance," CMU coach Jeremy Groves said. "It was a great showing of our potential for the rest of the season, and I am really happy for the team."
 
The Chippewas dropped their season opener at Eastern Michigan, 2-1. They have outscored their opponents, 6-2, during their win streak.
 
"We have been playing really well," Grove said. "The way we have bounced back from that (loss to EMU) has been great. We are obviously still playing well, and now turning them into wins."
 
Amanda Britain scored in the 49^th minute on a pass from Natalie Belsito to put the Chippewas in front, and then Samantha Kaye-Toral scored an insurance goal in the 81^st minute. It was the second goal of the season for Britain and the first for Kaye-Toral.
 
The game was played under extremely windy conditions, which had a major effect on the game.
 
"The entire first half we had the wind with us, and (the Broncos) were going against it," he said. "They were trying to play long ball and we just shut it down with help from the wind."
 
With the wind, CMU outshot the Broncos 11-0 in the first half. Western had a 9-5 advantage in shots in the second half, but the Chippewas made the most of their opportunities by scoring twice.
 
CMU finished with a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.
 
CMU freshmen Allison LaPoint made three saves for the victory.
 
The Chippewas go to Northern Illinois, 1-3, on Sunday for a MAC game.
 
 
Eastern Michigan 3, Toledo 2
Box Score
 
 
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Led by another two-goal performance from redshirt senior Sabrina McNeill (Whitby, Ontario-Henry Street), the Eastern Michigan University soccer team defeated the University of Toledo, 3-2, Thursday, March 18, inside the St. Joe's Sports Dome.
 
The Eastern (3-1, 3-1 MAC) offense was led by McNeill, recording her second brace of the season after recently doing so against Northern Illinois, March 14. In addition, sophomore Amanda Cripps (Bradford, Ontario-Trinity Catholic) found the back of the net for the first time this season to record points for the Eagles.

Starting off with a quick goal for the second consecutive game, EMU took the lead on a seventh-minute scoring chance by reigning Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week McNeill, who blasted a shot from the left hash past the keeper after getting the ball from senior Marla Cobetto (Trenton, Mich.-Trenton).
 
After a Toledo (0-4, 0-4 MAC) chance missed wide right in the 19th minute, the Eagles took advantage of its regained possession, with McNeill breaking away from the Rocket defense to score her second goal of the contest in the 20th minute and put the Eagles up, 2-0.
 
With a two-goal lead, the Green and White went into defense mode, as the Rockets found some momentum late in the first half. Toledo received a corner kick at the 40-minute mark, which was cleared by the Green and White, and hit the crossbar in the 44th minute in its attempts to get on the board. In the end, EMU was able to keep Toledo scoreless and take a 2-0 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of the break, EMU stayed strong on the attack. Approaching 58 minutes on the clock, Cripps found the ball at her feet from redshirt junior Lindsey Shira (New Baltimore, Mich.-Anchor Bay), and proceeded to power a shot past the Toledo keeper, increasing the EMU lead to 3-0 early in the second half.
 
Just a few minutes later, however, Toledo was awarded, and converted, a penalty kick, cutting Eastern's edge to 3-1 with 28 minutes remaining in the contest. Capitalizing on their momentum, the Rockets would score once again in the 76th minute to pull within one, 3-2.
 
The Green and White battled with Toledo in the final 15 minutes, but the EMU defense would ultimately hold strong enough to close out the match and seal the win for the Eagles, 3-2.
 
Aided by the EMU defense, senior goalkeeper Chelsea Abbotts (Ottawa, Ontario-Mother Teresa) finished the contest with three saves. Toledo finished with the advantage in shots, tallying 16 to EMU's nine, with each side putting five of those shots on goal.
 
The Eagles will be back in the St. Joe's Sports Dome this Sunday, March 21, hosting Ball State University at 1 p.m. 
 
 
Bowling Green 2, Miami 0
Box Score
 
 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team contolled Thursday evening's (March 18) match for all 90 minutes en route to a 2-0 win over Miami University. The Mid-American Conference matchup was held at Cochrane Stadium.

BGSU (3-1-0, 3-1-0 MAC) got goals from Kennedy White and Madi Wolfbauer, and the Falcon defense limited the RedHawks (2-2-0, 2-2-0 MAC) to just one shot attempt in each half.

The Falcons had advantages of 24-2 in total shot attempts and 12-1 in shots on goal on the night. Lili Berg made one save for the home side to earn the clean sheet.

At the other end of the pitch, MU goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari had 10 stops.
 
Kennedy White, in just her second season with the Falcons, now has 13 goals. Her goal on Thursday night was her third in four matches this year.

White now has 28 points in 27 career matches.
 
Thursday's goal was her second game-winning goal of the season and the fourth of her young career.

White converted Ruby Linton's cross at the far post with just under 10 minutes gone in the match. Then, after a foul on the RedHawks in the box, Wolfbauer scored from the penalty spot in the 57th minute.
 
 
Buffalo 0, Akron 0
Box Score
 
 
AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (2-1-1) played to a scoreless draw at Akron on Thursday night.

The Zips would have the first good look of the game in the 24^th minute as Aislinn Meany fired one on net but Emily Kelly made a diving save to knock the ball away.

It would be all UB from there as the Buffalo defense allowed just one shot the rest of the half. Freshman Olivia Bizzoni had a great look in the 29^th minute as she shot from point blank range but it was right at Libby Harper who made the save. Later, Annie Judasz got the pass in stride and ripped one on net, but Harper made the save, and in the 37^th minute, Leah Wengender found herself in the middle of the field just outside the box but Harper came up with her fourth save of the half and the game would be scoreless at the half.

The Bulls would continue to stay aggressive early in the second half as Barberic got a pair of good looks 20 minutes apart but the first sailed wide and Harper made a great save on the second shot. Later in the 78^th minute, Wengender fed a ball through to Ashlyn O'Shea in the middle of the field and she ripped a shot on net but it sailed just high over the crossbar and that would be it as the Bulls were unable to get a shot off for the rest of regulation and overtime.

In net, Kelly finished the day with two saves while Harper had have stops. Sophomore Emily Lazenby was named Player of the Game by the UB coaching staff.

"Every game in this conference is tough," said head coach Shawn Burke. "We weren't mentally where we needed to be at kickoff, but our players still found a way to get a point on the road. We've had a lot thrown at us in this short season and I've been impressed with the way they have handled everything."

The Bulls return home to host Ohio at UB Stadium on Sunday at 12pm.