Sunday Women’s Soccer Quarterfinals Results
Kent State 4, Toledo 2
Buffalo 2, Central Michigan 1
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Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Kent State 4, Toledo 2
Boxscore
(KENT, Ohio) - Sunday afternoon, the third-seeded Kent State women's soccer team faced off with sixth-seeded Toledo in a Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinal match at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium. The Flashes won, 4-2, advancing to the semifinal round of the tournament, where they will face off with second-seeded Ohio on Thursday at Bowling Green.
Kent State showed resiliency in this one, fighting off a talented Rockets offense and finding a way to survive and move on to the next round. After Toledo scored the first goal of the match in the 16th minute off of a shot by sophomore forward Ellie Pool (assisted by McKenna Schultz and Olivia Dault), the Flashes responded mere minutes later, when freshman midfielder Siena Stambolich scored to even the score at one (assisted by redshirt senior Cameron Shedenhelm).
Both sides would have their offenses stymied for over 50 minutes after the goal by Stambolich, with no one scoring again until senior defender Betsy Lueck picked up her first goal of the season for the Rockets, giving Toledo a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining.
At the 79 minute mark, sophomore midfielder Giulia Giovinazzi took the assist from redshirt senior defender Karly Hellstrom and put it in the back of the net, evening the score once more and giving Kent State a new lease on life.
Toledo scrambled to recover from goal, but were unable to stop the Flashes. In the 83rd minute, Hellstrom found herself with an opportunity to give the Flashes their first lead of the game, at a time when they could use it most, and she took full advantage of it. Hellstrom's successful penalty shot made the score 3-2 with only a few minutes left to play.
The Rockets, sensing that time was running out, shifted into desperation mode. But it was to no avail, as Kent State was able to reclaim possession and keep the ball away from Toledo. In the 89th minute, with time winding down, Shedenhelm broke free and scored her 11th goal of the season, putting the game on ice for the Flashes. And as she was subbed out just prior to the end of the match, the sizable crowd present gave Shedenhelm a standing ovation as she jogged off the field at Dix Stadium for the last time in her illustrious career at Kent State.
Buffalo 2, Central Michigan 1
Boxscore
Buffalo, NY – University at Buffalo women's soccer junior midfielder Payton Robertson scored the game-winning goal in the 105th minute of double overtime to defeat Central Michigan 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at UB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Bulls improve to 13-3-3 on the year and advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals where they will face off against the top-seeded Bowling Green Falcons on Thursday, November 4 at 4pm in the first of the two semifinal matches.
It was a physical game early on and the Bulls rose to the challenge as Marcy Barberic had a great look from the top of the box just a few minutes in, but her shot sailed just high and out of play.
Buffalo would continue to attack in the ninth minute, and it would pay off as Gianna Yurchak got taken down in the box and Barberic converted on the ensuing penalty kick to give UB an early 1-0 lead.
Central Michigan had their first look of the game in the 11th minute as Tess Ford was called for a foul in the box resulting in a penalty kick, but Emily Kelly made a fantastic save.
The Chippewas then tied the game in the 16th minute as Yurchak was called for a handball in the box and Samii Kaye-Toral converted the penalty kick goal to even the game 1-1.
The Bulls continued to maintain possession the rest of the half and would have another scoring opportunity in the 35th minute as Kaitlyn Walsh slid a ball through to Katherine Camper in front of the net but Allison LaPoint made a great save, and the game remained tied at the break.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the second half as neither team had many scoring chances, and the game would head to overtime knotted 1-1.
The first overtime period was a battle with each team recording just one shot as the contest headed to a second extra period. UB had a pair of great looks less than 30 seconds in off the feet of Annie Judasz and Barberic before the Bulls took their 12th corner kick of the game and this time capitalized as Abbey Callaghan played a perfect ball into the box and Robertson leaped up and flicked a header into the top right corner of the net for the game-winner.
The Bulls outshot the Chippewas 15-9 overall, including a 7-3 edge in shots on goal, while also holding a 12-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities. Kelly made a pair of saves on the day while LaPoint made five stops for Central Michigan. There was nothing tricky in deciding the Player of the Game as the UB coaches deservedly gave the nod to Robertson.
