Thursday’s Women’s Soccer Results
Western Michigan 4, UMass 0
Toledo 1, Ohio 0
Kent State 2, Buffalo 1
Ball State 1, Central Michigan 0
Eastern Michigan 0, Akron 0
Bowling Green 2, Miami 2
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Western Michigan 4, UMass 0
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich – The Western Michigan Broncos earned their fourth straight MAC regular season championship with a 4-0 victory against UMass.
Reese Lynn scored her first collegiate goal, while Irelyn Sheldon added another goal to her season. Kaiya Stewart scored two second half goals to secure the victory.
FIRST HALF
In theme with the Broncos season so far, they established their offense early. Simone Sharpless, Tessa Fagerson, and Meredith Vance all recorded shots on goal within the first 20 minutes of the contest.
Building off that energy, a set piece opportunity from June Mullen found Taryn DeShane in the box, who dished it to her teammate Reese Lynn right in front of the net for a 1-0 WMU lead and the first collegiate goal for Lynn.
The Brown and Gold continued to dominate possession in their attacking third of the field, earning six corner kicks throughout the half.
After a hydration break, the Broncos continued their great play as Irelyn Sheldon broke away from the pack and sent a uncontested shot attempt right past the Massachusetts goalkeeper for a 2-0 Broncos lead in the 43rd minute.
At the end of the first half the Broncos led the shots category with 13 shots to zero for UMass, with six of those shots being on goal. WMU led 2-0 after the first 45 minutes.
SECOND HALF
The Broncos picked up where they left off in the first half as Tessa Fagerson put the 14th shot up for WMU in the 52nd minute.
Six minutes later Kaiya Stewart created an opportunity for herself at the top of the goalie box and sent a rocket past the UMass goalkeeper for a 3-0 Bronco lead.
WMU continued to dominate possession, heavily limiting opportunities for UMass. The Minutewomen would not record a shot on goal until the 62nd minute of the contest.
Keeping the trend going, the Broncos continued to fire shots on net. In the 70th minute, another Kaiya Stewart shot would trickle past the goalkeeper in the very bottom left of the net for a 4-0 lead and Stewart's second of the match.
As the half concluded, the Broncos led the shots battle with 24 shots to six for UMass, with 11 of those shots being on net.
With a 4-0 victory, the Broncos locked up their fourth straight MAC regular season championship and will head to Columbus as the first seed.
Toledo 1, Ohio 0
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – A first-half goal and a shutout defensive effort were enough for the Toledo women's soccer team to take all three points in a 1-0 triumph over Ohio in Mid-American Conference action at Chessa Field on Thursday.
After three early saves, the Rockets (6-5-6, 2-3-5 MAC – 11 PTS) got a goal in the 19th minute from Abby-Lee Sanogo, her first of the season. Then, the Rockets held off six shots and three corner kicks from the Bobcats (5-9-2, 2-6-2 MAC – 8 PTS) in the second half. The victory keeps Toledo alive for a chance to make the MAC Tournament, pending tonight's league results.
Toledo finished the regular season unbeaten over its last eight road matches, with a 4-0-4 road record in that span. The road unbeaten streak moved to eight, now outright for second-longest in program history. The Rockets also posted their seventh shutout of the season and fourth in MAC play.
Shots favored Ohio, 12-7, though shots on goal were even, 5-5. Corner kicks favored the Bobcats, 8-1. Paige Dornheggen made five saves on the afternoon.
Kent State 2, Buffalo 1
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to five games on the road on Thursday night with a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Bulls in Mid-American Conference play.
The Flashes got the offense flowing early in the first half as senior Samantha Miller was able to put the ball in the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season off an assist from Allison Burkey in the 10th-minute.
The Bulls would answer 18 minutes later with good offense themselves in front of the net as Maya Galko scored. Both teams held their opponent scoreless throughout the remainder of the first half to keep tied heading into the break.
The blue and gold took no time to respond in the second half as they seized the opportunity in the 48th-minute. Freshman defender Mia Mc Lean Mercier was able to score the first goal of her career on a superb touch from a set-piece assist by Miller. That was enough to put the Flashes over the edge in their third straight game-winning goal in a contest that ended 2-1.
Shots from both teams were relatively even as the Bulls outshot the Flashes by a count of 10-8, but Kent State finished with six shots-on-goal compared to Buffalo's five. UB also won in the corner kick category over KSU by a count of 4-2.
Senior Goalkeeper Leah Shaffer played all 90 minutes in net for the Flashes in her return back to Western New York. On 10 shots faced, she was able to produce four saves while giving up just one goal.
Though the win did not clinch the Flashes a spot in the MAC Tournament, it kept the Flashes alive to potentially earn a first-round bye if they can win along with an Eastern Michigan tie or win against UMass on Sunday.
Ball State 1, Central Michigan 0
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Behind the first goal of Caiya Clemons' career, the Ball State soccer team grabbed a 1-0 win at Central Michigan on Thursday night in Mid-American Conference action.
The Cardinals (7-5-5, 4-2-4 MAC) secured the victory over the Chippewas (2-10-5, 0-6-4 MAC) in the 85th minute of the contest. Clemons booted a ball in the back of the net off an assist by Kaelyn Valleau for the winning decision.
Valleau also notched five shots on goal for the Cardinals offense. LG Moncrief and Clemons added two shots each with Moncrief including another shot on goal.
Junior goalkeeper Kate Pallante kept a clean sheet with five saves on the day to earn the win. Moncrief, Audrey Goodyear, Ainsley Schaufele, Grier Isaacson, Jordyn Klaasen and Valleau all joined Pallante as Cardinals playing the full 90 minutes.
Ball State led in shots on goal (7-5) and generated more corner kicks on the day (6-3). The team was also whistled for more fouls in the match (13-11).
