Women's Soccer

Fly the Flag! Western Michigan Defeats Michigan in Ann Arbor

Sunday's Women's Soccer Results
Western Michigan 2, Michigan 1
Toledo 3, Saint Francis 0
Miami 3, Tennessee Tech 0
Ball State 1, IU Indy 0
Eastern Michigan 2, Robert Morris 0
Akron 2, Green Bay 0
NIU 2, Eastern Illinois 1
UMass 0, UMass Lowell 0
Kent State 1, Cornell 1
Bowling Green 0, Cincinnati 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Western Michigan 2, Michigan 1
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team improved to 2-2 overall with a 2-1 victory over rival Michigan on Sunday afternoon.

Mikayla Coore-Pascal and Drew Martin provided the goals for the Broncos, while Avery Peters added an assist. Reagan Sulaver picked up her second consecutive win in net.

FIRST HALF
The Broncos got off to a fast start, as Coore-Pascal found the back of the net in the ninth minute. The goal was her first of the season. It didn't take long for the Brown and Gold to strike again, with Martin burying a shot in the bottom right corner of the net to make it 2-0. That tally was her second of the season.

From there, WMU kept its foot on the gas. In the middle of the half, Martin had a shot just miss over top of the net. Following a corner kick, Madi Canada had a shot blocked out front. A little bit later, Peters nearly added a third goal, having a shot saved just over top of the net.

SECOND HALF
The Broncos kept up the intensity in the second 45 minutes, getting a corner kick in the early stages. The ball would bounce around out front, but Michigan would get the clearance.

Coore-Pascal would get another look on net in the 59th minute, but Michigan was there to make the stop. Not too long after that, Justina L'Esperance nearly got her first goal of the season. Her shot was saved out front.

Michigan got one back in the 79th minute, but the Broncos were able to clamp down from there. The Wolverines would get just one more shot the rest of the way, and WMU closed out a 2-1 victory. 

Toledo 3, Saint Francis 0
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo women's soccer team controlled every phase of play over Saint Francis, winning its second-straight match in a 3-0 victory at Paul Hotmer Field on Sunday.
 
The Rockets (2-1-1) were on the attack throughout the first half before scoring late in to push ahead heading into the break. Toledo kept up the pressure in the second half, scoring twice in the final 20 minutes to put the match away.
 
Toledo led 26-1 in shots, including 15-0 in the first half. UT had all 11 shots on goal in the match. The Rockets' 26 shots were the most in a match since taking 31 attempts on Sept. 7, 2023 against Northwood.
 
Miami 3, Tennessee Tech 0
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio— The Miami University soccer team posted a 3-0 win over Tennessee Tech during a Sunday matinee at Bobby Kramig Field. The RedHawks move to 3-2-0 with the result in their second home game of the season. TTU is now 0-5-1.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Chaos in the box caused by a Kailyn Morrison cross led to a TTU handball and a Miami penalty kick. The RedHawk goal from the spot came courtesy of Sophia Penegor in the 44th minute.
  • A stepover cross combination from Katie O'Malley created an easy tap-in goal for Millie Cook in the 57th minute to make it 2-0.
  • Five minutes later, a perfect pass by Caroline Mortonson from midfield set up a left-footed goal for O'Malley in the 62nd minute.
                                   
NOTES
  • Penegor scored the first goal of her career.
  • O'Malley found the back of the net for the second match in a row.
  • Mortonson's assist was the first of her career.
  • The RedHawks haven't lost at home dating back to Oct. 5, 2023, extending the streak to 13 consecutive home matches unbeaten.
  • Popa recorded her second clean sheet of the season, the 14th of her career.
  • Miami out-shot TTU 10-1 in the second half and 17-3 throughout the whole contest.

Ball State 1, IU Indy 0
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS – The Ball State soccer team rode another Addie Chester goal and a shutout performance in goal by Grace Konopatzki to a 1-0 win at IU Indy on Sunday afternoon at Michael Carroll Stadium.

The Cardinals (2-2) won their second straight match, both on the road, with the decision.

Chester broke loose in the 31st minute and scored for what proved to be the only goal of the day. The reigning Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week upped her season total to four goals in only four matches with the game-winner.

Konopatzki collected four saves on her way to Ball State's first solo shutout of the season. The senior faced three shots on goal in the second half without allowing a score from the host Jaguars (1-4).

The two teams were each credited with 12 shots, while Ball State placed more on goal (7-4). The visitors earned four corner kicks to one for the hosts, while the Cardinals committed more fouls (10-5).

Fiona Kilian joined Chester as the Cardinals with two shots on goal, as Delaney Caldwell, Lexi Watkins and Kaelyn Valleau also forced the IU Indy goalkeeper to make saves. Defenders Delaney Ahearn and Audrey Goodyear played the full 90 minutes.

Ball State next returns home to host Butler at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7 in what will be its first home match in three weeks. There will be a pregame Senior Day ceremony, and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Eastern Michigan 2, Robert Morris 0
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team earned its second-straight win Sunday, Aug. 31, against Robert Morris University with a 2-0 victory at Scicluna Field to celebrate Senior Day.

Junior Aniyah Mack (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/Austin Peay) scored the match's first goal in the 13th minute while junior Olivia Sipsock (Medina, Ohio/Medina) scored in the 47th minute.

How It Happened
Sophomore Maya Marolly (Montreal, Québec/Ecole Secondarie Des Sources) and senior Secora Johnson (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) set up Mack for a goal with her left-footed shot slipping past the goalkeeper and inside the far to put Eastern up at the 12:39 mark.

EMU took its 1-0 advantage into halftime.

The Eagles added to their lead in the 47th minute as junior Sarah Van Euwen (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) launched a deep pass to Marolly who split a defender to allow Sipsock a straight line path to beat the goalkeeper to the bottom-left corner of the net, extending EMU's lead to two at the 46:11 mark.

With a multi-goal lead in the latter half, Eastern's defense allowed only one shot-on-goal. Holland dove for the save in the 48th minute to keep EMU's lead secure as the Eagles held the Colonials without a shot for the final 42 minutes of the match.

Game Notes
» Eastern improved to 2-2-0 overall while Robert Morris is 2-2-0.
» EMU held a 22-4 advantage in shots with 16 in the first half.
» EMU's 22 shots were the most since registering 26 vs. Northern Illinois, April 4, 2024.
» Eastern's 12 shots on goal is the best since posting 12 vs. Central Michigan, Aug. 22, 2022.
» The Green and White's shot margin of 18 is its most since having a margin of 20 at Youngstown State, Sept. 13, 2019.
» Van Euwen played all 90 minutes for the fourth-straight match.
» Sipsock notched her second goal in two games, and recorded a career-high six shots, three on goal. Sipsock's goals in back-to-back games is the latest since she had three goals in two games against UIC, Aug. 22, and Youngstown State, Aug. 25, in 2024.
» Austin Peay transfer Mack scored her first goal as an Eagle.
» Holland with the 2-0 victory earned her first shutout of the season, the 11th in her career.
» St. Bonaventure transfer Marolly assisted on both goals, the first Eagle to post a multi-assist game since Kate Robinson at Purdue Fort Wayne in 2023. Marolly's assists were her first career assists.
» Johnson and Van Euwen each tallied their first career assists.
» Johnson, Sophia Baumann (Romeo, Mich./Romeo), Mary Grimes (Commerce Township, Mich./Walled Lake Central), Meghan Heath (Medina, Ohio/Medina/Canisius), Lily Spotak (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd), and Hannah Thompson (Schoolcraft, Mich./Schoolcraft) were honored in a pre-match Senior Day ceremony.

Akron 2, Green Bay 0
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's soccer team garnered second-half goals from senior Emma King (Akron, Ohio) and freshman Olivia Pilato (Rochester, N.Y.) in a 2-0 shutout win against Green Bay (0-3-1) on Sunday (Aug. 31) at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Zips (3-1-1) honored a quartet of seniors prior to the game in Rielly Chesna (Chicago, Ill.), Kaylen Goddard (Mechanicsville, Md.), King and Kylie Schiemann (Geneva, Ohio) in Senior Day Festivities.

How it Happened

Akron broke the scoreless tie when King recorded her first goal of the season on a successful penalty kick for what proved to be the game-winning tally in the 49th minute (48:31).

The Zips tacked on another score on a goal from Pilato - her first collegiate goal - in the 71st minute (70:17), assisted by Oberhaus.

Game Notes
  • Junior GK Sara Bower (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded a pair of saves for the Zips out of seven total Phoenix shots en route to earning her third shutout of the season.
  • King posted a game-high three shots, while Oberhaus added a pair of strikes.
  • Akron registered four shots on goal.

NIU 2, Eastern Illinois 1
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. -- Tyra King (Menifee, Calif./Metea Valley) scored in the 84th minute and Alyssa Stephenson (Oakville, Ontario/St. Ignatius of Loyola) scored with less than 20 seconds left as the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team came from behind to beat Eastern Illinois, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 31) at the NIU Soccer Complex.

"Crazy game," said NIU head coach Michael O'Neill. "Delighted with the second half performance, I thought we deserved to get the win with our effort and our energy. We limited them to very few chances, just caught on the counter (for the goal), which we spoke about at halftime. This is why you coach, when things are going against you and you feel like it's not your day, but you have a group of players who are still fighting and giving everything they have. Today was a testament to them and their character."

The Huskies controlled the majority of play throughout the 90 minutes but still found themselves behind in the waning moments before King's second goal of the season tied the game. Katie Bennett's (Liverpool, England/Carmel Sixth Form) free kick from midfield was flicked on by Zoe Mclauchlan (Gatineau, Quebec/Collège Nouvelles Frontières) in the box toward King. The junior forward just beat an Eastern Illinois defender and goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil to it, heading it down past Kratochvil from five yards out to equalize for the Huskies.

After getting the tying goal, NIU continue to push looking for the winner which came in the final seconds as Stephenson scored the first goal of her collegiate career. Stephenson collected the ball from Kelsi McLaughlin (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) on the right wing, drove toward the top of the box and fired a left-footed shot from 20 yards that had Kratochvil rooted to the spot as it curled inside the far post.

"Alyssa has been really good for us," said O'Neill. "It was her first career goal; people might find that hard to believe with how impactful she has been. She embodied everything that we were today and was the hero at the end. It gives me a good feeling about the team moving forward in terms of our resilience because the MAC is going to be a grind. There are going to be close games and if we have that resilience, and we can lean on that, it will put us in good positions."

NIU (2-2-1) outshot Eastern Illinois, 7-2, in the opening 45 minutes but it was the visitors that had the lead against the run of play. Abby Reini opened the scoring for the Panthers in the 23rd minute and Ella Onstott slipped a ball in behind the Huskie defense and Reini scored from about 15 yards out to give the visitors the lead.

In the 32nd minute, Mya Newcombe (Carlisle, Ontario/Waterdown District) had an excellent chance from just outside the box that was tipped over the bar by Kratochvil as Eastern Illinois took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

After the interval, NIU continued to create most of the chance as McLaughlin fired a shot from the top of the box that was parried over the bar by Kratochvil in the 55th minute.

From a corner in the 69th minute, Aubrey Robertson (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) had a chance that was cleared off the line by the Eastern Illinois defense as NIU continued to push for an equalizer, which finally came six minutes before full time.

NIU will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 4, when they travel to Madison, Wis., for the final non-conference contest of the season against the Wisconsin Badgers. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.