LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Ohio Bobcats (1-0) opened up the 2021 season on Thursday (Aug. 19), shutting out the VMI Keydets 1-0 at Patchin Field. Shae Robertson was the lone goal scorer for the Bobcats. It was the first meeting between the two schools.
Ohio got off on the right foot quickly, scoring their first goal of the season just 15 minutes into the contest. Abby Townsend's crafty play on the edge of the 18-yard box put the ball in front of the net before it was eventually slotted home by Robertson, with the official assist being credited to Madison Clayton.
There was plenty of action after the intermission, but no additional goals were scored. The Bobcats had several chances early in the second frame, but were unable to put away a second goal. VMI was presented with an opportunity to equalize shortly after, but the Keydets' shot bounced off the goalpost. Clayton was able to head in a second goal for the Bobcats in the 75th minute of the match, but saw it waved off due to an offsides call.
"Always great to get the season started with a win, especially on the road," head coach Aaron Rodgers said. "Credit to VMI for having a game plan and sticking to it well. We created many chances that I know we will begin to finish as the season progresses."
Sam Wexell played all 90 minutes in goal, making a total of four saves en route to the shutout. Five other Bobcats (Ella Bianco, Olivia Sensky, Isabella Ginocchi, Carsyn Prigge, and Morgan Collica) logged 90 minutes of play.
The Bobcats began regular season play with a shutout victory for the first time since 2018.
"Defensively, we got the shutout by defending very well in the midfield and limiting their chances," Rodgers explained. "The back 4 have a lot of experience and I know we can count on them to be strong."
Overall, Ohio outshot the Keydets 21-8. The Bobcats put seven shots on goal, with Paige Knorr and Haley Miller leading the attack with two each. Ohio's attacking presence was felt all game long, as they picked up 11 corner kicks compared to just one for the Keydets.
Kent State 2, Cleveland State 0
Boxscore
(CLEVELAND, Ohio) - On Thursday night, the Kent State women's soccer team defeated Cleveland State on the road in its 2021 fall season opener, 2-0.
The scoring started early for the Golden Flashes, as redshirt senior forward Cameron Shedenhelm put one into the back of the net in the eighth minute to give Kent State the advantage out of the gate. No more scoring would occur for the rest of the first half, and the Flashes came back onto the field for the second half looking for an insurance goal to widen their lead. And in the 64th minute, that insurance goal came, off of the foot of freshman midfielder Alisa Arthur, who picked up the first point of her collegiate career. She received the assist on the play from redshirt sophomore forward Lauryn Arruda, who also got the assist on the Shedenhelm goal.
The goals were two of eight total shots that the Flashes took in the contest, compared to Cleveland State's three (they also took six shots-on-goal to CSU's zero). Thus, Kent State goalkeeper Sarah Melen had a relatively easy night, despite the fact that Cleveland State was able to advance the ball into Flashes territory to the point of taking four corner kicks on the night. But Kent State took five corners on the night and found ways to get on the scoreboard that the Vikings could not replicate, which made the difference in the game and gave the Golden Flashes the victory.
Next up on the schedule for Kent State is the home opener against Dayton, Sunday at 1:00 P.M. from Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.
Toledo 0, IPFW 0 (2 OT)
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo opened its 2021 season with a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday night.
The Rockets and Mastodons played a closely contested game through 90 minutes of regulation and an an extra 20 minutes of overtime. Both teams had chances to score but the contest remained in a scoreless deadlock, giving each team a tie to begin the season.
"I am proud of how our team played tonight," said Head Coach T.J. Buchholz. "It is never easy to go on the road and get a result against a quality Purdue Fort Wayne team. We had some great opportunities to score, but just couldn't put it away. Defensively, I was very proud of how well our back line played tonight. McKenna Schultz and Emma Boutorwick played the entire game for us and they both played tremendously well. We will build on today and get better going forward."
The Rockets play at Cincinnati on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. before returning to Paul Hotmer Field for the home opener on Thursday, Aug. 26 to host Detroit Mercy in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
Loyola-Chicago 2, Miami 1
Boxscore
Oxford, Ohio– Despite a feverish last few minutes, the Miami University women's soccer team fell 2-1 to the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers on Thursday evening at Bobby Kramig field. It was a quiet first half for the RedHawks, Miami had two shots but couldn't connect. At the 39:27 mark, Loyola took a 1-0 advantage. Loyola scored 13 minutes into the second half making it a 2-0 deficit for Miami. In the last two minutes of the match, Haley Anspach scored making it 2-1 but Miami could get no closer with the expiring clock. The RedHawks will be away at the University of Tennessee at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug 22.
West Virginia 4, Buffalo 0
Boxscore
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team dropped its season opener at West Virginia 4-0 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Thursday night.
After a slow start to the game for both teams, West Virginia struck first in the 25th minute as Dilary Heredia-Beltran found Julianne Vallerand in the box and she converted to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
Freshman Arianna Zumpano got off the first shot of her career and the first shot of the night for UB just a couple minutes later, but the Mountaineer defense cleared it away.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Kelly made her first save of the game off a West Virginia set piece in the 29th minute but the Mountaineers would tack on another goal just two minutes later to take a 2-0 lead at the half.
West Virginia had a good look early in the second half with a point blank look in the box but Kelly made a fantastic leaping save to knock the ball out of play.
Buffalo had their best look of the game in the 52nd minute as Leah Wengender found Gianna Yurchak in the box and she fired a ball on net but it clanged off the crossbar and that miss would prove to be costly as the Mountaineers quickly took the ball the other way and Maya McCutcheon converted on the goal to give West Virginia a 3-0 lead.
The Bulls continued to fight late in the game as Marcy Barberic broke free and fed a ball across to Katherine Camper but her shot from just outside the box sailed high and wide and that would be it for Buffalo as West Virginia added an insurance goal in the 87th minute to seal the 4-0 victory.
Camper was awarded Player of the Game by the UB coaching staff.
"This is a great game for us with our aspirations," said head coach Shawn Burke. "We were punished for our mistakes and we will learn from it. This is one of the best programs in the country and we weren't afraid to play. We knew this was a tall task coming in but we showed a lot of character competing until the end."
Buffalo returns to action on Sunday as they host Big 4 foe Niagara in their home opener at 7pm.
Illinois State 4, Eastern Michigan 0
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team fell to Illinois State University by a score of 4-0 on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 18, at Scicluna Field.
The Redbirds out-shot the Eagles 23-7, including 11 shots on goal to the Eagles' two. Senior Lindsey Shira (New Baltimore, Mich.-Anchor Bay) led EMU's offense with three shots and two shots on goal. Freshman Jamie Lefebvre (London, Ontario-A.B. Lucas Secondary) added two shots while fellow freshmen Chloe Rajewski (Midland, Miich.-Midland) and Maddie O'Farrell (Haslett, Mich.-LansingCatholic) each recorded a shot for the Green and White.
Seniors Chelsea Abbotts (Ottawa, Ontario-Mother Teresa), Haley Tausend (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington), and junior Sarah Ash (South Lyon, Mich.-South Lyon) played all 90 minutes for the Eagles. Junior Simone Chiodo (Oshawa, Ontario-Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic) and freshman Sophia D'Ambra (Geln Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard South) each led Eastern with 45 minutes off the bench.
Illinois State got out to an early one-goal advantage when the Redbirds netted their first score in the eighth minute.
The Redbirds went into the half with a 1-0 lead. Illinois State out-shot the Eagles in the first half, 11-3, including four shots on target to Eastern's one. The Redbirds also tallied four corner kick opportunities in the first 45 minutes of play.
The Redbird offense continued their attack immediately after the break, scoring goals in both the 48th and 49th minute. The back-to-back scores gave Illinois State the three-goal advantage to begin the second half.
Illinois State would add another score in the 86th minute on a breakaway opportunity that would ultimately secure the victory for the Redbirds.
Eastern Michigan will now look ahead to the team's first road match of the regular season, Sunday, Aug. 22, against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. inside DeMartin Stadium.
Dayton 2, Akron 0
Boxscore
AKRON, Ohio - A pair of late second-half goals lifted Dayton (1-0) past the University of Akron women's soccer team in the season opener for both schools on Thursday, Aug. 19 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Marlee Taylor broke open a scoreless contest in the 84th minute (83:41) for the Flyers with the first of two goals over a 3:01 mark. She completed scoring a brace with her second tally at the 86:42 mark.
Redshirt junior Aislinn Meaney (Ennis, Ireland) directed the Zips' attack with a team-high two shots, including one on goal, while freshman Morgan Pentz (Broadview Heights, Ohio) added another strike for Akron (0-1). Taylor led Dayton with a game-high five shots.
Freshman goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier (Mionnay, France) registered a game- and career-high eight saves for the Zips.
Akron travels to Columbus for an in-state showdown with Ohio State on Sunday, Aug. 22. Game time at Jesse Owens Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
Louisville 6, Western Michigan 2
Boxscore
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team fell in its season-opener on the road at Louisville, 6-2, on Thursday night.
The Broncos (0-1) picked up two goals from sophomore winger Jenna Blackburn but were unable to slow down the Cardinal offense. UL outshot the Broncos 25-8 overall, including an 11-4 edge on goal. Fifth-year senior Maggie Rogers made five saves for Western Michigan.
Louisville jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals in the ninth and 17th minutes. Nina Nicosia gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead on her first goal of the season, slotting it into the net from just in front. Brooke Dardano headed a goal in from the far post for the team's second.
WMU responded on Blackburn's first of the night. Senior outside back Kai Sugiyama sprung Blackburn in the run of play and the speedy Grand Blanc, Mich., native beat a UL defender to the ball and fired it into the left side of the net for her first collegiate goal.
Louisville pushed the lead back to two, making it 3-1 on a goal by Julia Simon in the 50th minute and then added another in the 57th to move ahead 4-1.
Blackburn's second of the night came just minutes later to cut the lead in half but Emma Hiscock and Nicosia added late goals to seal the game.
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo to host Detroit Mercy on Sunday at 2 p.m. Prior to the start of the match the Broncos will honor its senior class of Sugiyama, Morgan Otteson, Emily Dahl, Claudia Schilling and Victoria Kyriakopolous.
Milwaukee 6, Northern Illinois 0
Boxscore
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Three goals in the opening half-hour helped lift Milwaukee to a 6-0 victory over the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team on Thursday night, Aug. 19, in the season opener for both teams.
"Milwaukee is a very good team that was pretty clinical in its finishing," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "I also think we didn't do a great job of limiting second chances. We were able to create some quality chances against a quality opponent, which was good, something to build off. It was good to see some of our freshmen play significant minutes and impact the game.
"Kali Stock played 90 minutes, Maddie Macon played a big amount, Edith Delgado created some things in midfield, so those were some positives from tonight."
Milwaukee opened the scoring in the 11th minute as Taylor Hattori's initial shot cannoned back off the crossbar to the feet of Jelena Sever who found the back of the net on the rebound to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, NIU goalkeeper Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) made a nice double save, stopping an initial shot from Gaby Schwartz and the rebound from Maggy Henschler.
Natalie Auble doubled the lead for Milwaukee in the 21st minute as a cross from Rafferty Kugler was bobbled by Lentz and poked home by Auble to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Auble added her second goal of the contest for the Panthers with a shot from just outside the box that snuck inside the near post in the 29th minute to give Milwaukee a third.
Lentz was credited with four saves in the opening 45 minutes as the Panthers took a 3-0 lead into the intermission.
In the opening moments of the second half, Kierah Meier (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) had a chance as she collected the ball just inside the box on the left side and tested Milwaukee goalkeeper Elaina LaMacchia.
Just past the hour mark, Meier had another look at goal as a curling effort from just outside the box was collected by LaMacchia.
Milwaukee added a fourth goal in the 65th minute as a low cross from Auble ran all the way through the box to the back post where Mackenzie Schill finished to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead.
In the 78th minute, Milwaukee scored again as Kat Van Booven's left-footed effort from outside the box found the back of the net for the Panthers.
The Panthers added another goal in the 84th minute when Lainey Higgins slipped a ball into the run of Brooke Parnello who smashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in.
Lentz was credited with five saves in the contest, LaMacchia made four stops and Milwaukee reserve goalkeeper Allie Strottman made one save.
NIU will be back in action on Sunday, Aug. 22, when the Huskies host Indiana State in the home opener. Kickoff against the Sycamores is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Notre Dame 3, Bowling Green 1
Boxscore
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In a regular-season opener that extended well into the night, the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team fell, 3-1, on the road vs. the University of Notre Dame Thursday night (Aug. 19) at Alumni Stadium.
Olivia Wingate put the Fighting Irish on the board with a goal just over seven minutes into the match, and – after a lightning delay that lasted nearly two and a half hours – Sammi Fisher doubled the lead for the hosts in the 29th minute.
Brianna Martinez capped the scoring for the hosts with just over 67 minutes gone, before Madi Wolfbauer blasted home a free kick from distance to provide the final margin.
Marquette 4, Central Michigan 3
Boxscore
MILWAUKEE – The Central Michigan soccer team made a valiant second-half comeback before eventually falling, 4-3, to Marquette in the season opener for both schools on Thursday at the Golden Eagles' Valley Fields.
The Chippewas scored all three of their goals in the second half, making a game of it after trailing, 4-0, at halftime.
Addie Brown, Amanda Britain, and Laila Arab scored CMU's goals. It was the first career goal for both Brown and Arab.
Arab scored in the 54th minute off an assist from Jaelyn Dobrowolski, the reigning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. The goals by Britain and Brown came on penalty kicks; Britain's in the 61st minute, Brown's in the 71st.
Marquette finished with a 13-10 advantage in shots including 11-9 in shots on goal. Eight of the Chippewas' shots came in the final 45 minutes, during which they outshot the Golden Eagles, 8-3.
The Golden Eagles seized a 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute and then scored three more goals during a 14-plus minute stretch later in the first half.
CMU goalkeeper Allison LaPoint made seven saves.
The Chippewas are scheduled to entertain Michigan State in their home opener at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex on Thursday, Aug. 26 (7 p.m.).
