Championship Central
2018 Bracket
Video: BGSU HC Matt Fannon
Video: BGSU Defender Elisa Baeron
No. 1 Bowling Green 1 (5), No. 2 Ball State 1 (4)
BOX SCORE
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team battled Ball State University through 110 pressure-packed minutes, plus six nail-biting rounds of penalty kicks, but when the final shot of the day hit the back of the net, the Falcons had captured the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. Sunday afternoon's (Nov. 4) was played before a capacity crowd at BGSU's Cochrane Stadium.
Regulation ended with the teams tied at 1-1, and -- despite a surreal Falcon flurry early in the first overtime and a BGSU shot off the goalpost in each of the two OT sessions -- the Falcons and Cardinals played through 20 scoreless minutes of overtime.
The match went to penalty kicks, with the second-seeded Cardinals (14-3-3) shooting first. After each team scored in the opening round, BSU goalkeeper Tristin Stuteville made a save in the second round to give BSU the lead.
And, when Sammi Corcoran scored for the visitors, the Falcons (14-4-3) faced a 3-1 deficit. Senior Erica Hubert stepped up and converted her PK attempt, but BSU's Kerrigan Johnson began the fourth round with a successful PK.
Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox buried her shot for the Falcons, but BG trailed, 4-3, after four rounds. BSU's Jenna Dombrowski stepped to the spot, with both teams and the crowd surrounding the field knowing a successful kick would give the Cardinals a championship. BGSU junior goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve, however, kept her team's season alive with a diving save of Dombrowski's effort.
Senior tri-captain Morgan Abbitt went next, with BGSU needing a successful kick to extend the match. Abbitt calmly tucked her shot into the corner to tie the score and force a sixth round.
When BSU's Tatiana Mason rolled her shot wide of the left goalpost, the Falcons suddenly had the momentum, and fifth-year senior Elisa Baeron strode to the spot with a chance to win a MAC Championship for her club.
Baeron, who arrived at BGSU when the Falcons were coming off of a winless season, fired her shot into the back of the net to give her team the title and spark a wild celebration on the Cochrane Field turf.
The Falcons earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, and will learn their tourney fate on Monday. The NCAA Championships first-round matches will be played at campus sites from Nov. 9-11.
2018 MAC Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Tristin Stuteville, Ball State
Lauren Roll, Ball State
Taylor Pooley, Ball State
Jennifer Reyes, Bowling Green
Nikhita Jacob, Bowling Green
Nikki Cox, Bowling Green
Elisa Baeron, Bowling Green (MVP)
Mandy Arnzen, Ohio
Rianna Reese, Ohio
Alyssa Burke, Western Michigan
Paige Dobbs, Western Michigan
Courtesy of Bowling Green's Sport Information Department
