Toledo 1, Ohio State 0
Cleveland State 3, Akron 1
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Toledo 1, Ohio State 0
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo junior midfielder Geri Siudzinski buried the Buckeyes with an absolute rip from just outside the 18-yard box in the 105th minute of the second overtime period. The Rockets improve to 3-1-1 on the season with the 1-0 victory over Ohio State on Tuesday night.
“I knew I had no pressure on my back and I saw a gap in the defenders,” Siudzinski said. “I looked up, put the ball in front of me and sort of side swiped it. Then, boom, back of the net. I knew it was going in as soon as I hit it.”
“Geri played a great game today,” UT head coach Brad Evans said. “She was in the zone. She closed gaps well defensively and making some runs in behind on offense. In overtime, we decided to put her in at forward because of her composure and the craft in her game. It paid big dividends.”
UT has now recorded a shutout in three of their last four games, including a 1-0 win over Big East foe Xavier on Sunday. Junior goalkeeper Sam Tiongson earned her third win of the season. The Carmel, IN native has been a solid force between the posts with 0.37 goals-against average and 15 saves, including six stops against the Buckeyes.
“Sam made some big saves today,” Evans said. “You are not going to win games if your keeper can’t make one or two key saves. I am excited for her and I think she has gained some confidence.”
The Rockets offense was once again aggressive and up-tempo. Toledo held a 19-14 shot advantage and took 11 corner kicks in the contest. Sophomore forward Kiersten Johnson led the team with six shots while Siudzinski followed with three blasts on the night.
The Buckeyes were the aggressors early in the match, firing three shots within the first five minutes of play. Back on their heels, the Rockets were able to flip the field position in a blink of an eye and had a chance to take the early lead in the 29th minute.
Senior Kirsten Catloth found the head classmate Meghan Topolewski on a corner kick but the header from Topolewski was rifled right at the OSU keeper for an easy save.
Just ten minutes later it was Johnson with a stop-and-go move deep in Ohio State territory that freed her up for a shot on goal. The blast was on target but Buckeye keeper Megan Geldernick was once again in position for the save.
The Buckeyes answered with a great chance of their own late in the first half. OSU’s Taylor Schissler found herself in behind the Toledo defense with a clear shot on goal but the blast was too strong and ricocheted off the crossbar.
Ohio State picked up the pressure in the second half and nearly took the lead on multiple occasions but Tiongson stood tall and made save after save to shutdown the Buckeye attack.
“This win was a total team effort,” Siudzinski said. “We knew we just had to keep grinding. Our backs were great, our midfielders kept us together and I just happen to get the game winning goal.”
Toledo has played three games in a five-day stretch but will need to recover quickly as a matchup with Michigan on Friday night in Ann Arbor is next on the schedule. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
“This stretch has taught us that we have grit and that we can grind it out,” Siudzinski said. “This win feels great but we still have to play Michigan, Notre Dame, Dayton and then right into conference play with Western Michigan. We are hoping to do well.”
Cleveland State 3, Akron 1
CLEVELAND - After scoring in the 25th minute to tie the game up at one a piece, the University of Akron women's soccer team allowed two second half goals on their way to a 3-1 loss at Cleveland State on Tuesday.
The Zips had strong possessions early as both senior Lani Smith and junior Sydney Blomquist took shots on goal in the first ten minutes.
The Vikings struck soon after, though, as Chloe Fadenholz took a pass at the top of the box and quickly netted Cleveland State's first goal of the match, pushing the ball by senior goalkeeper Alex Luevano-Harden's right side in the 12th minute.
Sophomore Sarah Sivic brought Akron (1-3) right back into the game with the equalizer in the 25th minute, shooting from the right side at the top of the box and darting it to the left corner. Sivic's first goal of the season knotted the teams up at one a piece.
Sivic would take a shot on goal again in the 32nd minute, but her attempt was saved by goalkeeper Sarah Wood. Wood tallied three saves in the match for the Vikings.
Cleveland State (2-3) went on to take nine shots in the first half, while the Zips only managed four.
The Vikings found a rhythm in the second half, as Haleigh Shingary and Amanda Sivic, sister of Akron forward Sarah Sivic, each tacked on goals of their own as the Vikings went on to win 3-1.
Luevano-Harden, playing all 90 minutes in her first start of the season in net for UA, made six saves.
The Zips took six corner kicks in the contest opposed to five for Cleveland State, while the Vikings rattled off 15 total shots compared to just six for Akron.
The Zips return to action later this week as they take on St. Bonaventure at home on Friday, Sept. 5, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
