Sunday's Women Soccer Results
Bowling Green 1, Akron 0
Buffalo 2, Eastern Michigan 0
Kent State 3, Western Michigan 1
Northern Illinois 2, Ohio 0
Miami 2, Central Michigan 0
Toledo 3, Ball State0
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Bowling Green 1, Akron 0
Box Score
Akron, Ohio – Bowling Green State University freshman forward Skylar Fleak notched her fourth goal of the season in dramatic fashion, as the score came in the 95th minute of the overtime period to give the Falcons a 1-0 win over the Akron Zips on a very chilly Sunday afternoon in Northeast Ohio at First Energy Stadium at Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio.
"This was a big win for us today and a huge moment in moving our process along. I'm so proud of this team's commitment to the unknown and doing the daily work to put them in a position to have success," stated head coach Lindsay Basalyga.
The overtime win pushes the Falcons to 2-9-0 on the season and 1-3-0 in the MAC. The loss drops Akron to 5-6-1 overall and 1-3-0 in conference play.
Fleak's game-winning goal gives the Falcons their first MAC win since defeating Northern Illinois 2-0 at home on Oct. 23, 2011. The conference road win on Sunday is the first MAC road win for the Falcons since BGSU won at Buffalo 2-1 on Sept. 23, 2011.
"Our backline and Lauren (Cadel) did a great job shutting down a dangerous Lani Smith and we had a lot of fun in the attack," continued Coach Basalyga. "The composure on Skylar's (Fleak) game-winning goal was a perfect way to end the fight on the day."
With both teams having played a well-balanced 90 minutes during regulation, the Zips looked to put the game away early in the overtime period with a shot from Lani Smith from the top of the box in the 92nd minute. However, BGSU goalkeeper Lauren Cadel made a stop on the play to keep the Falcons alive.
That save proved to be vital, as Fleak, who missed wide left of the goal on a shot attempt in the 94th minute, put her next shot from in close on the left side of the box past the Akron keeper and into the back of the net for the game-winning goal in the 95th minute.
"We had our chances to score, but we knew we had to keep going with everything we had and that it would all fall in to place. We have been working on the process and working hard every day in practice so we knew it (the win) would come," stated Fleak. "It was just an awesome feeling when the ball found the back of the net."
Like the match at Buffalo on Friday night, the Falcons' defense found itself under some early pressure as Akron fired off four shots over the first 21 minutes of the contest. Cadel made saves on the first and third shot attempts, while the BGSU defense blocked the second scoring chance inside the box to keep the match scoreless.
Both Sarah Quimby and Leah Runkle looked to put the visitors in white on the scoreboard first in the 30th minute. Quimby's shot from the far left wing was halted by Akron's Klaire Adee, while Runkle's attempt from the right side just under 20 seconds later was again stopped by the Zips' Adee in goal.
The Falcons' defense would come up big again in the 33rd minute with a block of a Smith shot from close in on the right side of the goal, while less than a minute later Cadel tallied yet another save on a Loreana Lonigro laser in the box to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
Bowling Green had four more chances to get on the scoreboard over the final 10 minutes of the opening half. Sophomore Paige Amodio had a shot from the top of the box stopped by the Zips' keeper in the 37th minute, Alexa Cheripko saw her try blocked by a defender in the 44th minute, while both Madison Schupbach and Quimby had their attempts knocked away by the Akron defense in the final minutes of the half to send the contest into the halftime intermission tied at 0-0.
The two teams' traded shots to start the second period, as Bowling Green's Fleak put a shot wide left of the goal from the right side in the 48th minute and junior Haley Parkinson missed wide right from close in on the right side in the 55th minute for the Falcons.
Following a save from Cadel on a Karin Norman shot in the 59th minute and three straight shots from the Zips, which all sailed offline, over the next three minutes, the Falcons' Schupbach looked for the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute that flew wide left and out of play.
Refusing to give in, the Falcons weathered three straight shots from the Zips once more, including another stop by Cadel in the 78th minute, and again looked to break the scoreless tie with a shot from Fleak in the 80th minute which was hauled in by Adee for Akron.
Another save from Cadel in the 83rd minute on a shot from in the box from Akron's Sarah Sivic would send the game into overtime where Fleak would give the Falcons the 1-0 win in the 95th minute.
Cadel registered her second win of the season, as the redshirt-sophomore total seven saves for the game.
"We as a defense stayed disciplined for the entire 90-plus minutes and gave a solid effort for the entire match," commented Cadel. "Everyone played hard for the entire 90-plus minutes and everyone gave it all their effort and played with a lot of heart."
Despite being outshot 21-13 for the game, the Falcons placed six shots on frame which was just one less than the Zips seven shots on goal.
BGSU held a 7-5 advantage in saves and an 8-2 edge in fouls, while Akron totaled six corner kicks to the Falcons' three on the afternoon.
It is also the Falcons' first win over Akron since winning 2-0 at Akron back on Oct. 5, 2008.
"We can't wait to spend the next four conference games at home in front of our family and friends," ended Coach Basalyga.
Bowling Green will return home to host Central Michigan on Friday night, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. at Cochrane Field. Friday night's match will kick-off a four match home stand for the Falcons over the next two weeks.
Buffalo 2, Eastern Michigan 0
Box Score
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (8-2-1, 4-0-0 MAC) collected their fourth straight conference victory on Sunday in a rain filled afternoon at UB Stadium. The Bulls defeated Eastern Michigan by the score of 2-0 to give them their first 4-0 conference start since the 1999 season.
With the win, UB improves to 5-0 at home this season and they have surpassed last year's total in wins (eight) and conference victories (four). The five goal weekend for UB's offense helps them surpass last season's goal total of 14, as they Bulls have now tallied 16 goals on the season with seven games remaining.
"We had another great team performance," said head coach Shawn Burke. "I am very happy with our midfield defending and the back four completely eliminated their dangerous forwards. Another positive was we were not affected by the conditions today, the girls actually embraced the cold and the wet. In the end, we did everything we needed to get results."
Julia Benati scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Bulls in the 14th minute of action on UB's second shot of the game. Benati took a nice feed from Celina Carrero and fired a shot from 20 yards out and beat the diving goalkeeper to the top left corner of the net for her third of the season and second game-winning marker. Carrero now has three assists on the season, tying her for the team lead with Benati.
The Bulls felt very comfortable heading into the locker room with the 1-0 lead as they have been one of the most dominant second half team's in the MAC, holding a 98-54 advantage in shots in the final 45 minutes of play.
The UB offense continued to push the pace in the second half as the rain did not affect the Bulls pressure. In the 56th minute, senior forward Katie Roberts stayed hot for the Bulls as she worked hard to force an Eagles turnover, took the ball away and buried a perfect shot in the top right corner of the net to give UB the 2-0 lead. Roberts continues to be one of the hottest players in the country as she now has six goals in five games and leads the MAC in goals with seven.
Buffalo pressed on after taking the 2-0 lead as Kristin Markiewicz had a great chance in the 60th minute but her shot attempt was saved by the leaping Eastern Michigan keeper. Over the next 15 minutes, the Bulls continued to push as Kassidy Kidd had a pair of shots just go wide and Roberts and Carrero each saw their attempts saved by the Eagles keeper.
Offensively, Benati led the Bulls with six shots while Roberts had four and Kidd finished with three in the victory. Markiewicz also had a pair of dangerous chances for the Bulls as she finished with two shots on goal.
Defensively, the Bulls were once again outstanding on the back end as they secured their eighth shutout of the season as a unit. The backline of Jackie Hall, Sophie Therien, Markiewicz and Angel Hart helped eliminate any dangerous chances by some of the best offensive players in the MAC on Eastern Michigan.
Laura Dougall was able to earn her eighth career victory as she finished with five saves for the Bulls. Her five save effort was awarded with her seventh shutout of the season, ranking her third in program history for shutouts in a season. Dougall now owns a 0.39 goal-against average for the season.
For the game, UB dominated most of the play as they held the 18-8 advantage in shots while Eastern Michigan earned the 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. The Bulls had five players with at least two shots for the contest.
Following the match, Carrero was awarded the "Player of the Match" award by the UB coaching staff after a great game offensively for the Bulls. Carrero assisted on the game-winning tally for the Bulls and also finished with two shots on the afternoon.
When asked about the play of Carrero, head coach Shawn Burke stated, "her stats may not stick out on the score sheet, but her ability to hold up play and let players link up with the attack was phenomenal and it was hands down her best performance of the year."
Kent State 3, Western Michigan 1
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Kent State women's soccer team defeated Western Michigan, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. The win improves Kent State to 7-3-2 overall with a 2-1-1 record in the Mid-American Conference, while the Broncos dropped to 8-4 with a 2-2-0 mark in league play.
After a 1-1 double overtime draw vs. Northern Illinois on Friday evening, the Golden Flashes came out hot this afternoon against western division favorite, Western Michigan. Kent State tallied the first goal of the game just 7:27 into the game on a counter off a corner kick. Junior Stephanie Senn (Grand Island, N.Y.) collected the WMU service and got the ball to sophomore forward Jenna Hellstrom (Sudbury, Ontario). Hellstrom found senior forward Stephanie Haugh who scored to give the Golden Flashes an early 1-0 edge.
Western Michigan evened the score less than five minutes later when Rachel Chaney stole the ball at midfield and put one past Senn at the 12:18 mark. Once again, the Flashes came back to take a 2-1 lead at 16:20 when sophomore Abbie Lawson (Stow, Ohio) fed Hellstrom the ball, who then beat both her defender and the goalkeeper.
The Broncos had a 7-2 advantage in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first period. Senn was busy in goal for the Golden Flashes, tallying six saves.
Kent State maintained control of the ball throughout most of the second period, and had a 6-2 lead in shots. After WMU midfielder Kylie Nylen was ejected in in the 68th minute after a hard foul to Lawson, Kent State tacked on a third goal in the 73rd when senior midfielder Renee Loya (Penn Hill, Pa.) blasted a shot in from 20-yards out in the right corner of the net.
Senn picked up eight saves in goal for the Golden Flashes and earned the win in net to improve to 7-3-2. WMU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Collin earned three saves in goal and dropped to 3-4-0. WMU ended the game with a 9-8 lead in shots, and a commanding 12-2 lead in corner kicks.
Kent State is back in action this weekend when it hosts Miami University (OH) at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10 and Ball State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Northern Illinois 2, Ohio 0
Box Score
DeKALB, Ill. – Two late goals from substitutes Maggie Renfro and Jess Wooldridge propelled the Northern Illinois University women’s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Ohio on Sunday afternoon at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
After a closely contested game that had few scoring chances, Renfro (Chaska, Minn./Holy Family Catholic) broke the deadlock in the 78th minute before Wooldridge (Center Point, Iowa/Center-Point Urbana) scored with a fantastic chip in the 82nd minute to seal the three points for the Huskies. Both players came off the bench to lift NIU.
NIU head coach John Ross was thrilled to see the Huskies (5-6-1, 3-0-1 MAC) remain unbeaten in the Mid-American Conference.
“It’s great to keep this nice run we’re on going,” Ross said. “Our team is playing extremely hard and just found a way to win today. We’re taking it one game at a time, and that’s been working well for us.”
With a 3-0-1 record in the MAC after the win, NIU now has 10 points in its first four games in conference play for the first time in school history.
Neither team could find a breakthrough in a tight first half as the two saves leaders in the MAC – Ohio’s Nicole Amari and NIU’s Amy Annala (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) – went mostly untested.
As the second half wore on, NIU slowly started to push the Bobcats (5-7-0, 2-2-0 MAC) back into their own defensive box. The Huskies had several shots blocked before their late scoring blitz decided the match.
Lauren Gierman (Prospect Heights, Ill./John Hersey) played a great cross to the back post where Renfro slid to reach the ball, directing it towards the goal. Wooldridge pressured a Bobcat defender to deflect the ball into the net, resulting in Renfro’s second goal of the season.
With momentum in NIU’s favor, Wooldridge then sealed the match a few minutes later. She received the ball in the right edge of the box and deftly chipped the ball over Amari and into the top left corner of the net for her first goal of the season.
“I’m really happy that I was able to score that goal,” Wooldridge said. “Any time I can help my team win it feels good. We really worked hard for that win and it feels good to be undefeated in the MAC still.”
The Huskies host Buffalo on Friday night in a top-of-the-MAC clash as the only two undefeated teams in the league play each other at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Admission is free for all fans.
“That game will be very exciting for us,” Ross said. “It’ll be a night game, and we know our fans will come out and make it a great atmosphere.”
Miami 2, Central Michigan 0
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio—For the third time in as many games, the Miami University soccer team collected a 2-0 victory, topping the Central Michigan Chippewas on Sunday afternoon at Miami Soccer Field. It also was the third-straight shutout for the RedHawks as they improved to 9-2 on the season and 3-1 in Mid-American Conference play as the Chippewas dropped to 2-9-1 overall and 0-4 in MAC action.
At the 17:07 mark, freshman forward Kat Zalar knocked a loose ball that came off a CMU defender past the Chippewas goalkeeper to give Miami an early 1-0 lead. It was Zalar’s third goal of the season. Neither team scored for the remainder of the half and went through nearly all of the second half without a goal. With just under six minutes to go, the RedHawks added an insurance goal when senior midfielder Kelsey Dinges notched her seventh goal of the season off an assist by junior midfielder Jess Bronke.
Miami was on the attack throughout the contest, amassing 18 shots over the 90-minute match with 12 of those on goal. The Chippewas tallied seven shots with three on goal.
Making her fourth-straight start, sophomore goalkeeper Vic Maniaci collected her fourth solo shutout, saving two shots.
After a seven-game home stretch, the RedHawks hit the road for two matches next weekend, beginning with a 4 p.m. contest at Kent State on Friday, Oct. 10. The Red and White wrap up the road swing with a 1 p.m. match at Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Toledo 3, Ball State 0
Box Score
MUNCIE, IN - The Rockets throttled Ball State, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in Muncie, IN to improve to 4-7-1 on the season. Redshirt freshman Hannah Scafaria and sophomore Kiersten Johnson each tallied a goal while UT was also assisted by a Ball State own goal early in the match.
"I'm thrilled for everyone to come away with a hard earned victory,” UT head coach Brad Evans said. “As we regain players lost through injury and finally add a bit of depth, you could see some of our quality shine through during the second half. Alexis Tice, Isa and Hannah played extremely well today. We have six games remaining and I hope we continue to improve and stay focused on the task at hand."
Each team recorded 14 shots with Toledo holding a 6-5 edge in shots on goal. Freshman forward Sophie Pohl paced the Rockets with five shots while fellow newcomer Bethany Thomas followed closely with three.
Junior goalkeeper Sam Tiongson was great between the posts, registering five saves for her fourth shutout win of the season.
The Toledo win snaps a six-game skid and is their first conference win of the season.
The Rockets opened up the game with some offensive pressure and forced the Cardinals into a critical mistake. Scafaria sent a cross into the box after a nice touch on the left side and the ball deflected off of a BSU defender and into the back of the net to give UT the early 1-0 lead.
Toledo continued to apply the pressure and broke through again in the 29th minute. Scafaria once again found space and fired a cross into the box to Johnson who converted the goal, giving the Rockets a two goal lead.
The second half was more of the same for the Ball State defense as Toledo tallied another goal just 15 minutes after the break.
Pohl dribbled down the left sideline and sailed a cross intro a sea of bodies. After a moment of chaos, Scafaria was able to get a touch and send it past the BSU keeper and into the net.
Tiongson and the defense kept the Cardinal attack at bay for the remainder of the game to earn an important three points in conference play.
“Today was a whole team effort,” Scafaria said. “We all came together and focused on what we had to do to get in behind the defense. We were able to get passes in behind the defense and get crosses off into the box, which created the scoring opportunities. I'm so proud of the team effort today.”
Toledo hits the road once again next weekend kicking things off with a match at Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 10 at 4:00 p.m. and then will travel down I-75 for a battle with archrival Bowling Green on Sunday Oct. 12 at 1:00 p.m.
