Sunday's Scoreboard
USC 5, Western Michigan 0
Ball State 3, IPFW 1
Eastern Kentucky 3, Ohio 1
Marshall 2, Akron 0
Eastern Michigan 2, Morehead State 1
Northwestern 3, Kent State 2
Buffalo 1, Binghamton 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
USC 5, Western Michigan 0
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team fell at home for the first time this year, losing to No. 24 Southern California, 5-0 on Sunday afternoon at a packed WMU Soccer Complex.
The Women of Troy took a very early lead when reigning PAC-12 Forward of the Year Penelope Hockey scored her first of two goals on the day in just the third minute.
The Broncos were able to shut down the high-powered USC attack for the rest of the first half with freshman Lauren Boafo making four saves in her collegiate debut. Boafo ended up with nine saves total in the game.
The Women of Troy made it 2-0 in the 59th minute on Hocking's second of the game. Croix Bethune, Hannah White and Simi Awujo all added goals in the 72nd, 78th and 84th minutes.
The Broncos were able to fire off six total shots, landing two on goal.
Western Michigan has next week off before heading to Butler to take on the Bulldogs and wrap on non-conference play on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.
Ball State 3, IPFW 1
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - - A little home cooking was just what the Ball State soccer team needed Sunday afternoon, as it snapped a two-match losing streak with a dominating 3-1 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne at the Briner Sports Complex.
"One of the things we took away from Purdue is that we have to show up and play for 90 minutes," head coach Josh Rife said. "That's one of the things we've really harped on, you have to bring a certain level of energy and intensity each time you step on the field. It was great to see them put that into practice against Cincinnati, even though we were unlucky not to get a result there, and to continue that into today was great. Our pressure from everyone who stepped on the field was pretty amazing."
That pressure was evident as soon as the Cardinals (2-2-0) took to the Briner pitch. Ball State drew a pair of corner kicks in the opening five minutes and never looked back.
In all, the Cardinals tallied 28 shots, including 13 on goal, over the 90 minutes of action. BSU also held a commanding 9-1 advantage in the final corner kick tally, while limiting the Mastodons (1-2-3) to just five shots.
A total of 23 different fielders saw action for the Cardinals, with 13 recording at least one shot. Senior Alex DeRuvo earned the win in goal, playing the entire 90 minutes in net.
"A huge strength of our team is that we have some depth," Rife continued. "We have some young players who are hungry. It's the environment we want to create, that this is going to be competitive for everybody."
After 11 shots, four of which were saved and three of which were blocked, Ball State's pressure finally paid off in the 36th minute when sophomore Avery Fenchel notched her first career goal to give BSU a 1-0 edge. Fenchel ripped a shot from just outside the box, beating the Purdue Fort Wayne keeper to the high left.
While the Cardinals continued to pour on the pressure, a little bit of bad luck struck early in the second half. Ball State was called for a handball in the box in the 48th minute, setting up a Purdue Fort Wayne penalty kick. The 'Dons Zoe Greenhalge would proceed to score on the PK, tying the score at 1-1.
That was the only shot on goal for the Mastodons in the match, however, as the Cardinals ratcheted back up the pressure.
A little over 10 minutes after the equalizer, Ball State senior Chelcy Ralph gave the Cardinals the lead for good with her second goal of the season. In the 59th minute, she took a crossing pass from freshman Maya Millis and used a toe poke to deposit the ball into the goal from roughly 19-yards out. It was Ralph's third career goal and Millis' first career assist.
Ball State would then tally an insurance goal in the 80th minute when senior Tatiana Mason drew a foul in the box after blasting a shot off the goal post. That sent redshirt senior Nicky Potts to the penalty spot. Potts did not disappoint, scoring her second penalty kick goal of the season, putting a slow roller past the Mastodon goalie.
With the goal, Potts is now tied with Mason as BSU's active career goal scorer with 12 career goals.
Eastern Kentucky 3, Ohio 1
Box Score
RICHMOND, Ky. --The Ohio soccer team returned to action on Sunday (Sept. 5) as they travelled to Eastern Kentucky for their fifth game of the season. The Bobcats (3-1-0) were defeated by Colonels (3-2-0), 3-1. Olivia Sensky scored the goal for Ohio.
Both teams had multiple shots turned away in the early going of the first half, before Eastern Kentucky got on the scoreboard first in 28th minute. Ohio responded quickly however, as Sensky blasted a free kick into the back of the net from distance.
In the second half, Eastern Kentucky made a strong offensive push. Two additional goals were scored by the Colonels in quick succession, one in the 67th minute and then the third and final goal of the match coming in the 74th minute. The Bobcats saw a potential second goal clang off the post on a shot attempt by Shae Robertson in the 83rd minute.
"These are moments that shape teams, we were up against a very motivated and physical team in EKU," head coach Aaron Rodgers said. "Their game plan must have been to disrupt our rhythm which we have been so affective with this season. We struggled to respond. Congratulations to EKU for the hard fought win."
Ohio finished the match with seven shots on goal compared to Eastern Kentucky's five, but strong goalkeeper play by the Colonels was able to keep the Bobcats off the scoreboard for the most part. Sensky led the team in shot attempts with three, closely followed by Paige Knorr and Isabella Ginocchi who both had a shot of their own. Sam Wexell saw her shutout streak end at almost 300 consecutive minutes, but still logged mulitiple saves for the Bobcats.
"Our team has faced some adversity this past week and we have met it head on," added Rodgers. "Just as the previous games have helped prepare us for MAC play, this one does as well. We have to be ready to face all styles of play. This team has a great future. Especially when we grow from moments like this."
Marshall 2, Akron 0
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio- A pair of goals in in the first half lifted Marshall (2-3-1) past the Akron women's soccer team (0-5-0) on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium.
"Collectively we weren't at our best today," Akron head coach Noreen Herlihy commented. "We didn't control the ball well enough today and look to put that right for the next game. We just have to keep grinding."
Cassidy Bell broke open the scoring contes in the seventh minute (7:54) for the Thundering Herd. Kat Gonzalez capitalized on a penalty kick at the 39:37 mark that extended Marshall's lead to 2-0.
Freshman Katie Stafford (Gahanna, Ohio) and redshirt junior Aislinn Meaney (Ennis, Ireland) directed the Zips' attack with a team-high two shots, including one on goal, while freshman Sarah Nguyen (Irwin, Pa.) added another strike for Akron. Gonzalez led Marshall with a game-high seven shots.
Freshman goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier (Mionnay, France) registered two saves for the Zips.
Eastern Michigan 2, Morehead State 1
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team earned its first win of the 2021 campaign today, defeating Morehead State by a score of 2-1 at Scicluna Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles' offense strained Morehead State's offense throughout the entirety of the match, collecting 13 total shots, eight shots on goal, and five corner kick chances.
Freshman Jamie Lefebvre (London, Ontario-A.B. Lucas Secondary) and redshirt junior Madeline Olson (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) led the Green and White's attack as the pair both scored goals for Eastern. Lefebvre tallied a game-high four shots (two on goal) while Olson earned a game-high three shots on goal.
Senior Lindsey Shira (New Baltimore-Anchor Bay) notched two shots on goal and redshirt junior Chloe Chatzis (Macomb, Mich.-Henry Ford II) earned a shot on target for EMU' offense on Sunday.
Senior Chelsea Abbotts (Ottawa, Ontario-Mother Teresa) recorded two saves in the victory.
Northwestern 3, Kent State 2
Box Score
(EVANSTON, Ill.) - On Sunday afternoon, the Kent State women's soccer team lost on the road to Northwestern, 3-2. This puts the Golden Flashes' record at 3-2 for the season.
Heading into this game, head coach Rob Marinaro knew that topping the favored Wildcats would be a challenge. However, his Golden Flashes did anything but roll over against Northwestern, coming out with poise and determination to pull off the upset.
In the 20th minute, Kent State became the first team of the day to get on the board, when freshman midfielder Siena Stambolich knocked through a goal, assisted by fellow freshman midfielder Alisa Arthur.
But that lead would double in size less than three minutes later, when senior forward Khyla Porter launched a ball of her own into the back of the net, with assists coming from Dalaney Ranallo and Karly Hellstrom. 21:47 in to the game, the Flashes were shocking everyone.
But facing a team like Northwestern on their own turf, it was only a matter of time before the Wildcats responded. And at the 32:53 mark, they did just that, when Josie Aulicino cut the lead in half, assisted by Regan Steigleder and Aurea Martin. Another quick score less than two minutes later, by Steigleder on an Aulicino assist, made things deadlocked going into halftime.
But they would only stay that way for five minutes after the teams returned from their locker rooms. At exactly the 50 minute mark in the game, Northwestern grabbed their third unanswered goal, this time by Ingrid Falls and again assisted by Aulicino. This made the score 3-2 Wildcats with 40 minutes to play.
The Flashes attempted to even things back up over that time, but Northwestern's defense stood tall, and not another goal was scored on either side the rest of the way. Despite a promising early portion of the game, Kent State would end up falling to Northwestern, 3-2.
Kent State's totals were similar to Northwestern's in shots (six to nine) and saves (one to two). But where the Wildcats separated themselves from the Flashes was in saves, of which they had double the amount that Kent State did (10 vs. five), along with fouls, of which the Flashes sustained three times as many as Northwestern (18 vs. six).
Additionally, Kent State was given two yellow cards over the course of the match, while Northwestern played card-free ball for all 90 minutes.
Now the Flashes will have a full week to prepare for their next game, which will be at Oakland next Sunday. That match is set to kick off at 1 P.M.
Buffalo 1, Binghamton 0
Box Score
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