Thursday’s MAC Women’s Soccer Results
Buffalo 2, Canisius 0
Central Michigan 1, IUPUI 0
Akron 1, Cleveland State 0
Northern Kentucky 1, Ohio 0
Miami 0, Bellarmine 0 (2 OT)
Green Bay 3, Northern Illinois 1
Xavier 1, Ball State 0
Illinois 5, Bowling Green 1
 
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
 
Buffalo 2, Canisius 0
Boxscore
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (4-1-0) picked up its fourth straight win and second shutout in as many games as the Bulls defeated Canisius 2-0 at the Demske Sports Complex on Thursday night.
 
Buffalo had a couple of scoring opportunities in the early going as Arianna Zumpano and Payton Robertson both had good looks on net but Jessica Jones made a pair of saves to stop the attack.
 
The Bulls got on the board in the 17th minute as Marcy Barberic found Katherine Camper who played a great ball through to Olivia Bizzoni and the freshman slid a shot into the bottom right corner of the net for her first career goal to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead.
 
Buffalo would add to their lead a few minutes later as Abbey Callaghan took the free kick and played a perfect ball into the box and right to the head of her sister Hannah Callaghan who knocked it home to put UB up 2-0 and they would maintain that lead at the break. The Bulls outshot the Golden Griffins 8-0 in the opening half.
 
After a slow start to the second half for both teams, the Golden Griffins had their first good look of the game in the 59th minute as Tiani Fonoti got the ball in the box and ripped a shot from point blank range but Emily Kelly made a fantastic save to knock the ball out of play.
 
Buffalo would counter as Barberic and Callaghan had a pair of good looks a couple minutes apart, but Jones was there to make the stops.
 
The game was paused in the 81st minute due to inclement weather but resumed after about a 30 minute delay and the Bulls were able to hold on to preserve the two goal victory.
 
Kelly finished the game with one save in her second straight shutout victory, while Jones had four stops for Canisius. Abbey Callaghan was named Player of the Game by the UB coaches for her efforts in the win.
 
"Really pleased with the effort tonight," said head coach Shawn Burke. "They made it really difficult for us and we had to solve what they threw. The first goal that we scored showed the level of our players and the class that they have and I'm so happy for Liv getting her first collegiate goal and then any time you score on set pieces it's a good day. A lot of credit goes to our players because in these types of games you can get frustrated and impatient and we didn't do that so we are quite pleased leaving with a 2-0 win tonight."
 
Buffalo returns to action on Sunday, September 12 as they welcome Duquesne to UB Stadium at 12pm.
 
Central Michigan 1, IUPUI 0 (2 OT)
Boxscore
INDIANAPOLIS – Jaelyn Dobrowolski scored four minutes into the second overtime on Thursday, lifting the Central Michigan soccer team to a 1-0 nonconference victory over IUPUI at the Jags' Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
 
It was the second-straight win, both by 1-0 scores, for CMU (2-3) which is scheduled to play at Eastern Illinois on Sunday (1 p.m. ET). IUPUI is 1-4-1.
 
It was the first goal of the season for Dobrowolski, a sophomore and the reigning MAC Freshman of the Year. The goal came on a rebound off a Laila Arab attempt.
 
The Chippewas outshot IUPUI, 33-11, including a wide 17-4 margin in shots on goal. But they could not break through until Dobrowolski's game-winner.
 
"It's one of our foundations, to never give in and always fight," CMU coach Jeremy Groves said. "I think that's how you win championships."
 
CMU goalkeeper Allison LaPoint made four saves in posting her second consecutive shutout and the fifth of her career.
 
Akron 1, Cleveland State 0
Boxscore
AKRON, Ohio- The Akron women's soccer team picked up their first victory of the season on Thursday evening with a 1-0 triumph over Cleveland State at FirstEnergy Stadium.
 
"It was a great performance by the team," Akron head coach Noreen Herlihy commented. "I felt we had control of the game and the energy and commitment was there. This team hasn't quit all season even when results were going against us. We are proud of the effort and fully deserved the win. We still have work to do, but they certainly can enjoy this win."
 
Freshman Katie Stafford (Gahanna, Ohio) scored the lone goal of the game in the first half at the 30th minute (30:30). Freshman Sarah Nguyen (Irwin, Pa.) served in the ball from the corner and Stafford headed in the goal for her first career goal. 
 
Redshirt junior paced the Zips' attack with a team-high two shots, including two on goal. Akron out-shot Cleveland State, 10-8, and had six shots on goal compared to the Vikings' two.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier (Mionnay, France) registered two saves for the Zips.
 
Akron returns to action as the Zips travel to Youngstown State on Sunday, Sept. 12 in a 1 p.m. contest at Farmers National Bank Field.
 
Northern Kentucky 1, Ohio 0
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio soccer team fell in a close match up against Northern Kentucky, 1-0, on Thursday (Sept. 9) at Chessa Field. The Bobcats (3-2-0) batlled to the final seconds of the match, but Northern Kentucky (2-3-2) secured the win with a blocked kick in the final seconds. 
 
"I give good credit to Northern Kentucky for being gritty and resilient, they fought hard throughout the game to get us and get the win," head coach Aaron Rodgers said.
 
Ohio and Northern Kentucky battled back and forth defensively the entirety of the first half, with the Bobcats making an effort to get the offensive push started in the early going. The Bobcats recorded three shots on goal in the first half compared to NKU's one. Neither team found the back of the goal in the first half, sending the game to halftime scoreless. 
 
In the second half, Ohio hit the gas and went on the offensive, tallying four corner kicks and taking seven shots, but strong goalkeeper play by the Norse kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard. The first and only goal of the game would be scored by the Norse in the 61st minute on a goal scored off a counter-attack by the Norse.
 
"It comes down to decision making," Rodgers said. "We created a few more chances in the second half, but our shape and movement had to be better. But it's the final decisions of, are we going to take the shot, are we making the right path, or do we have the bravery to get into the box to finish the crosses; those are the small, important details that are going to result in goals of the lack of."
 
Ohio finished the match with 10 shots on goal compared to Northern Kentucky's four, with Isabella Ginocchi and Haley Miller leading the team with 3 shots apiece. Following closely behind was Olivia Sensky who took two shots. Goalkeeper Sam Wexell held strong in another 90-minute battle but logged only one save. 
 
"Going into Sunday, we have to be a little gritter," Rodgers said. "If we can do that and be a little more decisive and have the right decision making in and around the box, we will score some goals." 
 
Miami 0, Bellarmine 0 (2 OT)
Boxscore
OXFORD, Ohio - In a back-and-forth clash against Bellarmine University, the Miami University women's soccer team tied 0-0 in double overtime on Thursday evening at Bobby Kramig Field. This puts Miami's record at 1-2-3 and Bellarmine at 0-0-5 for the year.
 
Both teams had opportunities in a hard-fought battle but could not find a spark in the opening half. In the second half, The RedHawks outshot Bellarmine 6-2, but neither team was able to connect with the net, forcing overtime. Miami and Bellarmine finished with a 0-0 tie in double overtime. Izzie Vaccari had three saves in the match for the RedHawks.
 
Green Bay 3, Northern Illinois 1
Boxscore
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Three goals from McKayla Kertscher in just nine minutes led Green Bay to a 3-1 victory over the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team on Thursday night (Sept. 9) at Aldo Santaga Stadium. Claudia Muessig (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) scored her second goal of the season for the Huskies in the contest.
 
"We came out and played poorly," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "We just didn't have any passion or energy. We didn't deliver on the small details that we know help us play well and we got punished for it. We didn't play how we are capable of in any way, which is super disappointing coming off of a good win."
 
NIU (3-3-0) had the first chance on the contest in the seventh minute as Kierah Meier (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) cut in on her right from the top of the box and forced a save from Green Bay goalkeeper Annie Mason. 
 
Two minutes later, NIU had another chance from a corner as Kali Stock (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) found Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) on the edge of the six-yard box, but Hoppe's header back across goal went just wide.
 
The Phoenix went in front in the 18th minute as the ball pinballed around in the NIU box before falling to Kertscher just inside the 18. Kertscher fired a shot into the upper corner past Huskie goalkeeper Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) to give Green Bay a 1-0 lead.
 
McGill then made two outstanding saves, first on Emily Murphy with her feet in the 19th minute and the second from close range on a shot by Sophie Heyboer four minutes later.
 
Green Bay (3-0-1) added a second goal in the 24th minute as Kertscher latched on to a ball near the penalty spot and poked a volley past McGill, giving the Phoenix a 2-0 advantage.
 
Three minutes later, Kertscher finished her hat trick. Sarah Teubner flicked the ball over her head into the box where Kertscher ran onto it and finished to put Green Bay in front by three just before the half-hour mark.
 
NIU pulled a goal back before halftime as Muessig snuck a free kick from wide of the 18-yard box just past Mason and over the goal line in the 38th minute. The goal was the second of the season for the midfielder from Paw Paw, Mich.
 
After the interval, good feet from Edith Delgado (Aurora, Ill./East Aurora) created space for a shot from distance that was saved by Mason in the 57th minute.
 
In the 70th minute, Jordyn Cook kept the ball in play for Green Bay along the end line, moved inside for a better angle and fired a shot off the crossbar.
 
With six minutes remaining and the Huskies still pushing, Hoppe collected the ball outside the box and moved her way past a Green Bay defender into the box before getting off a shot that required a save from Phoenix reserve goalkeeper Hannah Wheeler.
 
McGill made four saves for NIU in the first half before Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) came on after halftime and made one stop. Mason has a pair of saves for the Phoenix before Wheeler came on and also recorded two saves.
 
The Huskies will return home for the first time in the month of September on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12, when NIU entertains Illinois State. Kickoff against the Redbirds is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
 
No. 23 Xavier 1, Ball State 0
Boxscore
CINCINNATI, Ohio - - There were opportunities for the Ball State soccer team Thursday evening at No. 23 Xavier. Unfortunately, the Cardinals (2-3-0) could not connect with the back of the net in a 1-0 loss to the nationally-ranked and undefeated Musketeers (6-0-0).
 
Trailing by one after the half, Ball State had several opportunities in the second stanza, including a pair of quick shots between the 52nd (senior Tatiana Mason) and 53rd (senor Chelcy Ralph) minutes.
 
BSU would go on to get five shots in the second half and led in the category until a late push by Xavier. Perhaps Ball State's best chance came in the 66', when Mason's fourth and final shot from just inside the box was blocked by a Musketeers defender.
 
Overall, the Cardinals finished the match with nine shots, including six in the final 45'. Ball State's defense also did a solid job slowing the Xavier attack, holding them to 14 shots on the night. The Musketeers entered the contest averaging 16.6 shots and two goals a game.
 
Senior goalie Alex DeRuvo also turned in a solid performance, stopping six of the seven shots on goal she faced. The lone blemish was a 23' goal from Emma Marcus which proved to be the game-winner.
 
In the opening 45', the Cardinals answered an early Musketeers shot on net with one of its own, as senior Sammi Corcoran was denied by Xavier goalie Olivia Jenkins in the eighth minute. Ball State would get two more shots in the 12' and 13', to hold an early edge in the tally.
 
However, Xavier's defense stepped up, while the offense applied some heavy pressure on the Cardinals to limit them to one more shot over the final 32' of the opening half.
 
In addition to holding a 14-9 edge in total shots, Xavier also drew nine corners to Ball State's one.
 
The Ball State soccer team returns to action Sunday when it welcomes Butler to the Briner Sports Complex for its final non-conference match of the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. with SL Digital radio on hand to call the action live.
 
Illinois 5, Bowling Green 1
Boxscore
Story to follow…