Sunday's Women Soccer Results
Ball State 4, Akron 2
Buffalo 2, Miami 0
Eastern Michigan 1, Western Michigan 0
Central Michigan 1, Kent State
Toledo 3, Ohio 1
Bowling Green 0, Northern Illinois 0
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Ball State 4, Akron 2
Box Score
Ball State Soccer Gets Offense Going in 4-2 Win at Akron
Cardinals lock up spot in Mid-American Conference Tournament
AKRON, Ohio -- After several weeks of grinding out low-scoring games, the Ball State soccer team unleashed some offense Sunday in an important 4-2 Mid-American Conference victory at Akron.
Leah Mattingly scored the game's opening goal and assisted on two others as the Cardinals (10-5-2, 6-4 MAC) locked up a spot in the MAC Tournament. They will play for seeding Thursday against Miami with the opportunity to be as high as the No. 3 seed. The top four seeds host first-round games.
Cailey Starck, Victoria Jacobs and Gabby Veldman also scored as Ball State produced its highest goal output since a 5-0 win over Bowling Green in the conference opener. The six combined goals were the most of any Ball State game this season.
"We had a lot more intensity up top and created more opportunities to score today," Ball State head coach Craig Roberts said. "We had very good possession, we finished when we needed to, and the defensive back line did a very good job for the most part."
Akron (6-11-1, 2-8 MAC), playing to keep its MAC Tournament hopes alive, fought to level Sunday's game at 2-2 early in the second half. But Ball State responded with two more scores to put it away.
Jacobs scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 68th minute with a header off a corner kick from Mattingly. It was her third goal of the season with all of them coming in the past five games. Veldman then added her goal on a deep strike from 30 yards out in the 80th minute to provide some insurance.
The Cardinals have now reached the 10-win mark in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and posted six league victories for the first time since 2007.
"We put together more of a complete performance today," Roberts said. "We knew what was at stake in terms of making sure we were in the tournament, and we met the challenge."
Mattingly started the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the eighth minute, and then the teams went back and forth. Lani Smith tied the game for Akron in the 23rd minute, but Starck answered with her first goal of the season on an overhead kick in the box to put Ball State back on top before halftime.
That lead held until the 59th minute when Smith scored her second goal of the day to bring the Zips even once again. But Jacobs came through less than 10 minutes later with the seventh game-winning goal of her career, tying for fourth in the Ball State record book.
The Cardinals have now won four of their past five games after starting 2-3 in conference play. They will close out the regular season at 3 p.m. Thursday against Miami at the Briner Sports Complex. The RedHawks have already secured the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament.
Buffalo 2, Miami 0
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The State University of New York, Buffalo women's soccer team (12-2-3, 8-0-2 MAC) claimed their second Mid-American Conference regular season championship in program history on Sunday afternoon in front of the home fans at UB Stadium. The Bulls dominated second place Miami (OH), defeating them by the score of 2-0 to earn their first regular season MAC championship since 2000.
When asked about winning the program's second-ever MAC regular season championship this afternoon, first-year head coach Shawn Burke said "What a tremendous accomplishment for the girls. I am so proud of their effort and to clinch against one of the top teams in the MAC says a lot about our team. Miami is a tremendous team and we still have our work cut out for us as we enter the MAC tournament."
With the win, the Bulls clinched the one seed and will host the eighth-seeded team in the MAC Championships at UB Stadium on Sunday, November 2. The win for the Bulls extended their program record unbeaten streak in the MAC to nine matches. Currently UB has an unbeaten streak of nine matches, which is their longest streak since the 1999 season.
The Bulls opened up the scoring almost midway through the opening 45 minutes as the UB attack earned a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, Kassidy Kidd sent a perfect ball into the box, where sophomore Angel Hart fought through the mess and buried her first goal of the season in the right corner of the net. The goal for Hart was the second of her career and her first game-winner.
Early on in the second half, UB leading scorer Katie Roberts took the match into her own hands as she buried a rocket of a shot into the top left corner of the net to ice the game for the Bulls. Roberts took a nice feed from Celina Carrero and then took a blast from 15-yards out that snuck in the top corner of the net for her 10th on the season. The assist for Carrero was her team-leading fifth of the season as she now has 17 points in her sophomore campaign.
Down the stretch, freshman goalkeeper Laura Dougall was asked to make a couple of big saves as the Miami attack began to press for their first goal of the contest. In the 70th minute, Dougall made a nice save on a dangerous shot by Kelsey Dinges, the conference's second leading scorer. In the final five minutes, Dougall cut off a couple dangerous crosses to preserve her MAC-leading 11th clean sheet of the season.
Dougall improved to 12-1-3 on the season and is now tied for first place in program history in wins in a season with Jamie Adams. Dougall also earned her 11th clean sheet of the season, breaking the program record for shutouts in a season. On the year, Dougall has accumulated a goals-against average of 0.36 and a save percentage of .915.
Roberts kept her hopes alive for MAC Player of the Year honors on Sunday as she netted another highlight reel goal and now ranks first in the MAC with 10 goals on the season. The two-time MAC Player of the Week now has three goals in her last two matches.
The outstanding team defending that won the Bulls multiple games this season was at it once again on Sunday afternoon as the best backline in the conference, Sophie Therien, Jackie Hall, Kristin Markiewicz and Hart, preserved the Bulls 12th shutout of the season, tying the program record for clean sheets in a season.
Offensively, Roberts and Kidd led the team with four shots while freshman Julia Benati finished off her afternoon with three shots. Dougall finished the game with four saves in the victory while her counterpart Vic Maniaci made two saves in the loss.
Prior to the match, the Bulls honored their eight player senior class as part of senior day. The eight players that were recognized were Roberts, Hall, Mann, Megan Giesen, Therien, McKenzie White, Sarah Moore and Megan Abman.
The Bulls will close out their 2014 regular season on Thursday afternoon at UB Stadium as they play host to Akron at 3:00 pm. UB will be aiming for their first-ever unbeaten MAC season in program history.
Eastern Michigan 1, Western Michigan 0
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A goal by redshirt sophomore Ellie Tillar in the 39th minute was all the Eastern Michigan University soccer team needed to soar past rival Western Michigan University, 1-0, Sunday afternoon, Oct. 26, at the WMU Soccer Complex. With the victory, the Eagles (10-6-1, 6-4-0 MAC) not only clinched a Mid-American Conference Tournament berth, but they also control their own destiny in capturing the MAC West Division title.
Megan McCabe (9-5-1) made three saves to earn her seventh shutout of the season and 12th of her career, moving her into a tie for fourth on the EMU all-time shutouts list with former keeper Erin Norton. The junior Eagle was assisted by the back quartet of Emily Dzik, Hallee Kansman, Marisa Kozikowski and Rachel Washburn, who all played 90 minutes apiece to pitch in the clean sheet.
Tillar scored her third goal of the season on a back post finish as Dzik picked up the assist on the smooth pass to her teammate. Three of EMU's five shots throughout the match were on target, while the Broncos (10-7-1, 4-5-1 MAC) attempted three shots, including three on goal. In between the posts, WMU keeper Stephanie Herber allowed the game's lone goal in the first half and stopped two other shots in the final 45 minutes.
Western Michigan started the contest by controlling the ball on its offensive side of the pitch. The Broncos took the game's first six shots but were unable to score past the stiff EMU backline. After playing primarily defense for the first 37 minutes, Angela Vultaggio attempted Eastern's first shot to try and spark the EMU attack. With the field flipped, the Eagles found the back of the net just over one minute later to take the 1-0 lead. At the start of the 39th minute, Dzik found Tillar closing in on the back post, making the pass to the redshirt sophomore, who finished the scoring opportunity.
Despite holding the one-goal advantage, the Green and White were out-shot by the Broncos, 7-2. Western also had two corner kicks, while not allowing such an opportunity for the Eagles. McCabe stopped both of WMU's attempts that landed on goal.
In the second half, the Eastern defense held strong by limiting the Broncos to a pair of shots. Washburn came up from her position to blast a shot in the 59th minute in an attempt to double the lead, but it found the hands of Herber.
With less than 30 seconds to play, Western had one last chance for the equalizer by earning a corner kick. Nicole Hatcliffe fired a shot on net with 16 seconds left, but McCabe made the save to preserve the narrow 1-0 victory.
The Eagles will close out the 2014 regular season with a trip south, crossing the state border to battle the Bowling Green State University Falcons on Thursday, Oct 30. The cross-divisional matchup is set to begin at 3 p.m. A win over the Falcons would give EMU the MAC West Division title as well as the No. 3 seed for a MAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Central Michigan 1, Kent State 0
Box Score
KENT, Ohio - Senior Jennifer Gassman scored the goal Sunday as Central Michigan defeated Kent State, 1-0, in a Mid-American Conference women's soccer match.
Samantha Maher and Emily Basten assisted on Gassman's goal, which came in the 65th minute and lifted CMU to 6-11-1, 4-6-0 in the MAC. It was CMU's third consecutive win.
CMU closes the regular season with a league match at Toledo on Thursday, Oct. 30. The Rockets are 7-10-1, and 4-6-0 MAC. The winner of Thursday's match could very well land a spot in the MAC Tournament.
"I couldn't be prouder, they did a really good job today executing the game plan and displayed the character, resolve and grit that was necessary to secure points today," CMU coach Peter McGahey.
CMU goalkeeper Heather Laeufer made four saves in posting her third consecutive shutout.
The Flashes outshot the Chippewas, 15-11, and held a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
"I thought her performance was really good,'"McGahey said of Gassman. "Her play in the build-up was excellent. The thing that's missed in the boxscore that you can't overlook is she cleared the ball off the line in the second half to keep the game 1-0.
"So again it's another performance in terms of (Gassman) leaving a legacy in the end of her career and really leaving a defining performance out there."
"I think we are playing better, I think we're finding our stride, I think that you want all of those things to come together and the reality is that right now it's not a bad moment for them come together."
Toledo 3, Ohio 1
Box Score
ATHENS, OH - Redshirt freshman Isa Echeverri powered the Rockets to a 3-1 victory over Ohio in Athens on Sunday afternoon. The Medellin, Colombia native tallied a pair of goals to help the Toledo improve their record to 4-6-0 in the Mid-American Conference and 7-10-1 overall.
The Bobcats held a 15-14 shot advantage but the Rockets fired 10 shots on goal compared to Ohio’s seven. Echeverri fired a game-high five shots on goal while junior Geri Siudzinski followed with two blasts and a goal of her own.
Junior goalkeeper Sam Tiongson tallied five saves in her seventh win of the season including a point blank stop of an Ohio header in the first half which UT head coach Brad Evans called a crucial point in the match.
"That's a great team win. I'm proud of the team, we played loose and relaxed in what was in essence a knockout game,” Evans said. “Isa and Geri stepped up and took the lead in the middle of the field. Sophie (Pohl) came off the bench and played very well and opened up the game for us quite a bit. Sam made a great save off a point blank header in the first half to maintain the lead for us and that was a turning point in the game."
The Rockets attack was jump started by a pair of early free kicks just outside the Ohio box. The first try in the 17th minute was just off the mark as Hannah Scafaria just missed the net with a header attempt. However, three minutes later Echeverri made her mark.
The crafty midfielder lined up a free kick from 20 yards out and bent a shot around the wall of defenders inside the back post to make it 1-0 Toledo in the 20th minute.
Tiongson’s big time save in the 22nd minute was the only real quality chance the Bobcats were able to find in the first half and the Rockets took the slight 1-0 lead into the second half.
Toledo lit the scoreboard again in the 59th minute off of a corner kick. Junior defender Megan Connor played a nifty header pass to Echeverri who then lifted a shot to the back post to give UT the 2-0 lead.
The offensive attack of Toledo continued to pressure the Ohio defense and the Rockets broke through again as Siudzinski fired a shot past the Bobcats keeper and rippled the net to give UT a commanding 3-0 lead with 25 minutes left to play.
The shutout was not meant to be however as Ohio eventually tallied a goal of their own in the 86th minute off of a penalty kick.
The Rockets will conclude their regular season on Thursday at Scott Park against Central Michigan with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m.
"I am proud of the team and how we played under the circumstances today,” Echeverri said. “It was a hard game and it feels great to win again. Now we are focusing on Thursdays game and I believe my team will make it to the tournament."
Bowling Green 0, Northern Illinois 0
Box Score
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women’s soccer team clinched a berth in the postseason with a 0-0 draw against Bowling Green on Sunday afternoon at the NIU Soccer Complex.
The Huskies (6-9-3, 4-3-3 MAC) outshot the Falcons (4-12-1, 3-6-1 MAC) by a 21-13 margin but couldn’t find a breakthrough on Senior Day on a beautiful sunny day in DeKalb.
After seeing the other results around the MAC on Sunday, NIU discovered that the point was all it needed to secure its place in the quarterfinals of the MAC Championship. NIU moved up to fifth place overall in the MAC standings with 15 points. The Huskies can finish as high as third in the final standings and as low as seventh, depending on the result of Thursday’s match at Western Michigan.
"It’s great to know we’ll be in the postseason for a third consecutive season,” NIU head coach John Ross said after the game. “But we still want to go to Western Michigan and get a result because seeding will be very important in the conference tournament.”
Before Sunday’s game, NIU’s four seniors – Gwen Sabo (Alton, Ill./Alton), Ashley Neubeck (Lindenhurst, Ill./Lakes Community), Allie McBride (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Lauren Noonan (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) – were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Neubeck then almost had the perfect start to her Senior Day game, narrowly heading wide an early corner kick from Lauren Gierman (Prospect Heights, Ill./John Hersey).
The rest of the first half saw very little scoring opportunities as both teams defended stoutly.
In the second period, the contest became increasingly stretched with the Huskies and Falcons each chasing the opening goal.
NIU goalkeeper Amy Annala (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) made an incredible reaction save on a shot by Bowling Green forward Skylar Fleak before seeing Fleak’s close-range rebound attempt somehow skim the outside of the post.
Then the Huskies found the woodwork when Alex Elias (Phoenix, Ariz./Boulder Creek) headed a loose ball in the box off the crossbar.
Both teams had opportunities in the two overtime periods, but the MAC’s two top goalkeepers in saves – Annala and Bowling Green’s Lauren Cadel – refused to be beaten, resulting in the Huskies and Falcons sharing the spoils.
Ross credited Bowling Green's defense while also applauding his own team's efforts at both ends of the field.
“They sat back and pinched the game to the middle of the field really well,” he said. “We needed to have more patience and attack the flanks, but we'll work on improving. Winning three points would’ve been nice, but both teams fought very hard in what was a tough Sunday game.”
The Huskies conclude the regular season with a trip to Western Michigan on Thursday at 3 p.m. A win would give NIU a chance to finish in the top four of the MAC, which would result in the Huskies hosting a postseason game in DeKalb next Sunday.
