Cygan's First-Half Buzzer-Beater Gives Falcons 1-0 Win

Friday, September 22

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

September 22, 2006 | Women's Soccer

Sept. 22, 2006

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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Junior Danielle Cygan's goal just before the first-half horn sounded lifted the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois University Friday afternoon (Sept. 22). The game, the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, was held at BGSU's Cochrane Field.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 4-5-0 overall and 1-0 in MAC action, while the Huskies fall to 1-5-2 and 0-1, respectively.

Junior Karie Sahly picked up the lone assist on Cygan's goal. Cygan took Sahly's pass about 25 yards away from goal, just toward the left side of the penalty area. Cygan took one touch and fired, and the ball bounced once on the wet surface and scooted past NIU goalkeeper Lindsey Curnock into the left side of the goal.

The game began in breezy, but dry, conditions, but it began to sprinkle with about 10 minutes elapsed. The rain increased for a period of time later in the first half, but stopped not long before the intermission.

Neither the Falcons nor the Huskies had a great many scoring opportunities throughout the match, as NIU held a 9-8 advantage in shot attempts, but BG had a 5-2 margin in shots on goal. The first good chance came when Northern played a right-side cross into the box. In traffic, BGSU junior 'keeper Tiffany Hansen made a diving effort to deflect the ball, and junior co-captain Janie Babich kicked it over the end line and out of immediate danger.

The Falcons' first shot did not come until nearly 33 minutes were gone. Junior Tiernay Tilford's long attempt from the right side was right at Curnock.

With just under 10 minutes left before halftime, NIU's Karen Enockson played a ball ahead for Cara Stutler midway through the first half. But, the pass was just a little too long, and Hansen raced out of her goalmouth to beat Stutler to the ball.

Hansen corralled a long shot by Katie Sturges with five-and-a-half minutes left before the break, grabbing the ball with a leaping effort. From there, neither team had another scoring opportunity until Cygan's last-second goal.

In the second half, Falcon sophomore Brianne Eisenhard was at the center of a pair of scoring chances. First, Eisenhard fired a shot off of a deflection in the box. Her 18-yarder was headed for the vicinity of the left post, but Curnock was able to make the save with four-and-a-half minutes elapsed in the half.

Eight minutes later, Eisenhard sent a through-ball to a streaking Corbie Yee, but Curnock was able to beat the BG sophomore to the ball by a split-second.

With approximately 20 minutes left, Enockson, the Huskies' leading scorer with five goals on the year, made a long run and fired a shot from just inside the penalty box, but the ball sailed high.

The second half was marked by physical play, and the teams kicked the intensity up a notch in the final 15 minutes. With 5:46 left in the match, the Huskies replaced goalkeeper Curnock with Maddie Lehman, normally a midfielder, as an '11th attacker.' Almost immediately, Lehman was called upon to make a save, as Cygan gathered a Huskie clearance try after her own corner kick and fired a shot at the 'keeper with 4:40 left.

The Falcons very nearly got an insurance goal with under two minutes on the clock. Tilford's right-side cross was redirected by freshman Kayleigh Zajaros in the box, but the ball was right at Lehman.

Northern had a header sail well wide in the final 30 seconds of the match, and Hansen and the Falcon defense had the shutout. Hansen made a pair of saves on the afternoon, while Curnock and Lehman made two stops apiece.

"We are extremely happy with our first MAC win of the season," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "I am especially pleased for Danielle Cygan for a great goal, just before halftime.

"But, I am also happy for the rest of the team, as we have been encouraging them all week -- all season, really, but this week in particular -- to compete for every single second. And, what a great example for Danielle to score with a second to go.

"We have also encouraged the team to be more offensive-minded and take more shots. So, it really was a wonderful teachable moment for us today, in that we played hard right to the very end of the first half, and got what proved to be the winning goal off a long shot that, frankly, skidded off the wet surface and into the net.

"It is ironic that we probably didn't play as well today as we did here last Friday against Michigan State, yet here we are with a win (after losing to MSU). But, we also recognize that, at this time of year, it is not necessarily about performances or style points. As much as we want to play well, we need to defend well, and I was very pleased with the way we finished the game off. We did not give Northern any strong opportunities, and defended very well. We are ecstatic with the win, and now we will get ready for Sunday and try to get another positive result."

On Sunday (Sept. 24), the Falcons continue a season-long four-game homestand, taking on Western Michigan in a 2:00 p.m. start. The game is the second half of a soccer doubleheader at Cochrane, as the BGSU men host Evansville at 11:00 a.m.

NOTES APLENTY
* The Falcons have a record of 17-2-3 against MAC opposition since mid-October of 2004 ... during that time, BGSU is 13-2-1 in regular-season league contests and 5-0-2 in the conference tournament, picking up one regular-season and two tourney crowns along the way.

* BGSU extended two impressive home streaks vs. conference foes ... the Falcons have not lost at home to a MAC school since Oct. 10, 2004 (a 2-1 setback to Ball State) ... BGSU is now unbeaten in the last 10 matches at Cochrane Field vs. conference opposition, having gone 7-0-3 in that span ... that includes three matches in the 2005 MAC Tournament.

* The Falcons have not allowed a goal to a conference rival at Cochrane since Oct. 24, 2004, the last time Western Michigan played in BG ... in that match, the Falcons' final home match of the 2004 season, BG trailed by a 2-0 score with less than 14 minutes remaining in regulation, before rallying for a 2-2 tie ... the Falcons' home shutout streak stands at 810:52 heading into Sunday's WMU game ... the Falcons, who went 5-0-2 vs. league opponents at Cochrane last year, have scored 14 unanswered goals vs. MAC foes at home.

* The Falcons now lead Northern Illinois, 6-5-0, in the all-time series between the teams ... believe it or not, Friday's match marked only the second time in series history that the home team emerged victorious ... BGSU is now 2-4-0 in home matches vs. Northern, having won the last two meetings with the Huskies at Cochrane ... overall, BG has captured the last four series meetings.

* The Falcons are now 6-3-1 in MAC openers in the program's history, and BGSU improves to 4-5-1 in conference home openers.

* BGSU had a season-low two freshman in the starting lineup on Friday.

* Nine of this season's 10 matches have been shutouts, with the Falcons on the winning side in four of those games.

* Danielle Cygan now has a career total of eight points ... both of her career goals have proven to be the game-winning marker (the other came vs. Miami in the 2005 MAC Tournament semifinals), and three of her four career assists have come on match-winning goals.

* Junior Tiffany Hansen, in her first year with the Falcons, now has three shutouts this season ... Hansen, a transfer from Louisville, has five career complete-game shutouts, with one in each of her two seasons with the Cardinals.

* Junior Karie Sahly's assist on Cygan's goal Friday was her first point as a Falcon ... Sahly, in her second season with the Brown and Orange, had five points during her freshman season (2004) at Valparaiso.