Women's Soccer

WMU Clinches Share of Third Straight Regular Season Title

Sunday’s Women’s Soccer Results
Ohio 4, UMass 1
Buffalo 3. Toledo 1
Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 1
Eastern Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 2
Miami 2, Ball State 1
Akron 1, Bowling Green 1
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Ohio 4, UMass 1
Box Score
Amherst, Mass – The Ohio Women's Soccer (5-9-5, 3-5-4 MAC) ended the regular season in the win column with a 4-1 road win over UMass (5-7-4, 3-5-2 MAC). Four different Bobcats scored in the victory, including Ella Deevers, Hailey Jeng, Maia Kaufman, and Kate Robinson.
 
Overall, Ohio had a dominating offensive performance, outshooting UMass 31-12, with the Bobcats having 13 shots on goal compared to the Minutewomen's eight. The Bobcats had three corner opportunities, while the Minutewomen had four.
 
Individually, senior Ella Deevers (Streetsboro, Ohio) led the team offensively with one goal and four shots, three of which were on goal. Deevers also registered an assist on the day.  Senior Maia Kaufman (Westerville, Ohio) and junior Kate Robinson (Madison Heights, Mich.) both scored one goal, had two shot attempts, and had one shot on goal. Senior Hailey Jeng (Centerville, Ohio) scored one goal on 4 shot attempts and one attempt on goal. Seniors Rayann Pruss (Perrysburg, Ohio) and Scout Murray (Chicago, Ill.) both had two shots on goal, with Pruss having four attempts and Murray having eight attempts. Juniors Anna Burchett (Prestonburg, Ky.) and Rylee Mensel (Westerville, Ohio), and sophomore Iro Fakinou (Athens, Greece) each had one shot on goal.
 
Senior Celeste Sloma (Columbus, Ohio) played all 90 minutes in the net for the Bobcats. Sloma faced 12 shots and made seven saves on the day.  
 
The Bobcats got the offense started quickly, with Jang putting Ohio on the board 1-0 in the seventh minute.  
 
In the 18th minute, Deevers had two shots on the goal, but both were denied by the Minutewomen keeper.  In the 20th minute, Burchett attempted to extend the lead, but was blocked by the UMass defense. Later in that 20th  minute, Murray took another stab at the net, but was shut down.  
 
In the 37th minute, the Deevers extended the Bobcats' lead off a ball from Kaufman, putting Ohio up 2-0.  
 
UMass responded quickly, cutting the deficit in half in the 38th minute, bringing the score to 2-1 with little time left in the first half.
 
At the half, Ohio leads UMass 2-1, with Ohio outshooting UMass 15-8 with five shots on goal.
 
Coming out of the half, it did not take long for the Bobcats to find the back of the net. Robinson was able to beat the UMass Keeper in the 53rd minute, putting the Bobcats up 3-1 early in the second half.
 
Ohio kept the offensive pressure on the Minutewomen, with Burchett making another attempt in the 57th minute, but was denied by the UMass defense. 
 
The Bobcats did not let up on offense in the second half. Kaufman was able to find the top left corner of the net in the 60th minute, giving Ohio the 4-1 lead midway through the half.
 
Robinson tried to extend the Bobcat lead further in the 63rd minute, but was stopped by the Minutewomen keeper. Pruss and Murray made offensive attempts in the 68th and 69th minutes, but were unsuccessful. 
 
In the 75th minute, Fakinou attempted a shot to the bottom left of the net, but her shot was saved by the UMass keeper. Ohio's last two opportunities came in the 77th and 80th minutes by Mensel and Pruss, but the UMass keeper defended both shots, keeping the score 4-1.
 
Ohio was able to maintain possession for the rest of the half and claimed the dominating offensive victory over UMass, 4-1.
 
Ohio ends the regular season 5-9-5 overall and 3-4-5 in MAC.

Buffalo 3, Toledo 1
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – The University at Buffalo women's soccer team (12-3-2, 8-2-1 MAC) scored two goals in the final five minutes of play to secure a big 3-1 road victory over Toledo at Paul Hotmer Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Bulls remain in second place in the Mid-American Conference standings and will have a chance to play for the regular season title on Wednesday against Western Michigan. It would be the third regular season title in program history with the previous two coming in 2014 and 2022.

Sophomore Carolyn Hinkle scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute for her first goal of the season while freshman Maddy Murphy recorded her first career goal a few minutes later. Graduate student forward Jasmine Guerber rounded out the scoring for UB, tallying her seventh goal of the season in the first half.

The Bulls had their first scoring chance of the game in the 26th minute as Carolyn Hinkle got a shot off and then Adriana Victoriano tracked down the rebound, got into the box and fired a shot that sailed just wide of target.

Buffalo would get on the board two minutes later as Maya Ikewood won a tackle and played a beautiful ball through to Guerber who beat Toledo's goalkeeper Paige Dornheggen and drilled a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to give UB a 1-0 lead and that would be the score at the half.

The hosts evened the game in the 55th minute as the Bulls were called for a foul in the box and the Rockets converted on the ensuing penalty kick goal.

After managing just two shot attempts over 40 minutes in the second half, the UB offense exploded as Ashley Reyes slid a pass across the field to Hinkle who settled and drilled a shot into the bottom right corner to give the Bulls the lead.

Less than three minutes later, Murphy took advantage of a defensive miscue from the Rockets and beat a charging Dornheggen, before firing a shot in stride into the back of net for an insurance goal to secure the victory.

The Bulls outshot the Rockets 12-9 on the afternoon, including a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Junior Lexie Thompson made two saves in the win.

"This team keeps finding a way," said head coach Shawn Burke. "Even when we lost control in the second half, they found a way. What I like most about our team is that individuals are stepping up when it hasn't always been their number. Good team win today and now we have a chance to play for a regular season title."

Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 1
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team clinched the MAC regular season championship, defeating rival Central Michigan, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. 

The Broncos are the first team in MAC history to win the regular season championship three seasons in a row. The Brown and Gold have now earned a bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament, which will take place in Columbus, Ohio this season. 

Madi Canada, Avery Peters and Abby Smothers found the back of the net, while Drew Martin added a pair of assists. Reagan Sulaver collected her 13th win in net. 

FIRST HALF
WMU came out fast, getting a shot from Martin in the opening minutes. That look was blocked out front. However, Canada was able to get the Broncos on the board moments later, scoring her second goal of the season in the 15th minute. 

From there, Ava Beckett had a ball cleared off the line by CMU's defense and Smothers fired a great shot on net. Eventually, Western Michigan would add a second tally, thanks to a great ball into the box from Smothers. Peters was able to get a head on the ball and make the score 2-0 in favor of the home team. 

Down the stretch of the half, Justina L'Esperance and Martin were able to get a couple more quality looks. Central Michigan would keep the ball out of the net, and WMU carried a two-goal lead into halftime. 

SECOND HALF
It didn't take long for the Brown and Gold to add a third goal, as Werthman got a nice feed from Martin in open space. She went on to hit the corner of the goal for a 3-0 Bronco lead. 

Canada nearly added to the lead in the 61st minute, but her shot just missed over the bar. Then, Meredith Vance took aim at net. She had her shot miss just over the top. After some back-and-forth action, CMU would get on the board. 

From there, Western Michigan would control the game. L'Esperance fired two more shots on net in the late stages of the match. CMU would keep them out of the net, and the Brown and Gold went on to win the game by a final score of 3-1. 

Eastern Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 2
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan soccer team got a much-needed win over Northern Illinois University Sunday, Oct. 26 at Scicluna Field to keep their MAC Tournament aspirations alive, propelled by a two-goal day from Olivia Sipsock.
 
Sipsock (Medina, Ohio/Medina) scored two equalizer goals in the 23rd and 63rd minutes. Sophomore Maya Marolly (Montreal, Québec/Ecole Secondarie Des Sources) scored the game-winner in the 65th minute. 
 
There are three scenarios in which Eastern would qualify for the MAC Tournament with the conference's final games coming Wednesday, Oct. 29, against Central Michigan at 3 p.m.:

» EMU win: BGSU draw/loss OR Buffalo win over WMU.
» EMU draw: BGSU loss OR BGSU tie with a Buffalo win over WMU.
» EMU loss: BGSU loss AND Buffalo win over WMU. 
 
Redshirt junior Ella Holland (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody/Samford) made four saves in the victory, playing all 90 minutes in net.
 
How It Happened
NIU struck in the sixth minute as a cross was deflected into the Eastern net.
 
The Eagles responded about 15 minutes later as a service from junior Rosalie Takacsy (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) found the head of Sipsock and went into the top-left corner of the net to level the match at 1-1 at the 22:32 mark.
 
NIU countered with a goal in the 26th minute to take the lead, which it held heading into the intermission.
 
Eastern put forth a desperate offensive attack coming out of the half. They got a break when Sipsock drew a penalty in the box in the 63rd minute, giving herself a penalty kick opportunity to tie the game. Sipsock's shot towards the left post beat the goalkeeper's diving attempt, earning Sipsock her second goal of the game.
 
With the Eagles offense rejuvenated, junior Aniyah Mack (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/Austin Peay) launched a high cross towards the far post. The ball bounced off an NIU defender, where Marolly was waiting to strike with a shot of her own, scoring the game winner less than two minutes after Sipsock.
 
With the pressure flipped on NIU, Eastern locked down its defense after Marolly's goal, allowing only two shots in the final 15 minutes of play.

Miami 2, Ball State 1
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind.— The Miami University soccer team posted a 2-1 win against Ball State University during a Sunday away match. The RedHawks move to 10-5-2 (7-2-2 MAC) and stretch their unbeaten streak to eight matches (the program's longest since a nine-game stretch in 2021). The Cardinals fall to 9-6-2 (6-4-1 MAC) with the result, snapping their four-match winning streak.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Ball State opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a rebound scored by Delaney Caldwell, assisted by Tori Monaco.
  • Miami's best chance in the first half came from a Katie O'Malley shot at the top left corner that was saved by Kate Pallante.
  • The RedHawks leveled the score at one with a beautiful chip from Kayla Perfect that was headed in by Morhéa Hoefen in the 55th minute.
  • Miami took the lead in the 74th minute after a long cross from Perfect that bounced in the box and was tapped in by O'Malley.
NOTES
  • Before BSU's opening goal, Miami had not allowed an opponent to score in the past 290:47 of game action.
  • Perfect recorded her first career multi-assist game and now has a three-game point streak, collecting eight total points in that span.
  • Morgan Longacre made her second start of the season and the third of the her career.
  • Miami is now 5-0 when O'Malley finds the back of the net.
  • The RedHawks had 10 corner kicks, their most of the season.