Bowling Green State University
TOLEDO
Moran's Late-Game Heroics Lift Falcons Past UT, 2-1
November 01, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2007
Final Stats
Video highlights, courtesy BCSN
2007 MAC Tournament bracket in PDF Format 
TOLEDO, Ohio - Freshman Meagan Moran scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation, lifting the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 2-1 win over the arch-rival University of Toledo Thursday afternoon (Nov. 1). The Mid-American Conference game was held at UT's Scott Park Field.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 9-9-1 overall and finish the regular season with a 6-5-0 MAC record. More importantly, the Brown and Orange have clinched a top-four seed in the final standings, and a home game in Sunday's (Nov. 4) MAC Tournament quarterfinal round. The Falcons, the tourney's fourth seed, will host fifth-seeded Eastern Michigan University in a match scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
Toledo drops to 13-5-1 overall and 8-3-0 in the MAC, and the Rockets finish second in the final regular-season standings.
Moran scored her first goal with just 1:44 remaining in the second half. Before the excitement had died down, the freshman hit a bullet for the winning goal with only 23 seconds left in the contest.
"Credit must certainly go to Meagan Moran today," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "She got two excellent shots on target in the waning minutes of the game today. That is something that she has worked very hard on, not just in practice but on her own, and I am delighted to see her get the fruits of her labor.
"The never-say-die attitude that is prevalent in the psychological makeup of our team right now is extremely encouraging, and vital if we are to achieve success in the postseason tournament. The understanding to compete hard against all teams, and to compete for the entire game, is very encouraging to see, as a coach. I hope we can keep that going."
UT's Sarah Schulte gave her team the lead early in the second half, and the Rocket defense held the Falcons off the scoreboard for the first 88-plus minutes.
Moran, however, tallied the equalizer, taking a pass from senior Danielle Cygan and firing a shot from approximately 20 yards out. UT goalkeeper Andrea Plewes got her fingertips on the shot to slow it down, but the ball ricocheted off the goalpost and trickled along the goalmouth before ending up across the line on the other side of the net. Cygan got the lone assist on that goal.
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MAC STANDINGS(through end of regular season)Team (Overall) MAC Pts. Ball State (12-5-1) 9-1-1 28 Toledo (13-5-1) 8-3-0 24 Northern Ill. (9-5-4) 6-3-2 20 Bowling Green (9-9-1) 6-5-0 18 Eastern Mich. (7-7-4) 5-4-2 17 Ohio (5-10-3) 5-5-1 16 Kent State (7-10-1) 5-6-0 15 Miami (6-9-3) 4-6-1 13 Buffalo (7-10-2) 4-6-1 13 Central Mich. (8-10-0) 4-7-0 12 Western Mich. (4-11-3) 2-7-2 8 Akron (6-7-6) 1-6-4 7 THURSDAY'S RESULTS MAC TOURNAMENT Semifinals - Fri., Nov. 9 Championship - Sun., Nov. 11 |
The Rockets started the match strong, and had the first solid scoring chance of the match in the fifth minute, as Erin Flynn flicked a shot that sailed just wide.
Nine minutes later, BG had a quality scoring chance, as Cygan received a pass deep in UT territory and drilled a shot. Plewes, however, was able to make the save.
Toledo's Suzi Siwinski played a corner kick in the 36th minute, finding the head of teammate Brittany Hensler. Hensler's shot sailed just over the crossbar.
Several minutes later, UT's Tara Witt blasted a shot, but Falcon redshirt freshman made a diving stop on the 28-yard effort to keep the contest scoreless.
The Rockets, as mentioned, broke through on a cross by Flynn to Schulte at the back post. The Rocket senior headed the cross into the net for her sixth goal of the year.
Sophomore Samantha Bland nearly equalized just minutes later, with a header of her own off a BG free kick. Bland's shot from approximately eight yards out went just over the bar.
Moran blasted a 12-yard shot in the 68th minute, but Plewes was able to make a diving save. The freshman, of course, would make no mistake on her other two shots of the second half, with her third and fourth goals of the season.
"We are very excited with this win, of course," said Richards. "We are thrilled to clinch a home berth. Now, as we enter the MAC Tournament, we have to refocus and make sure that we come out ready to compete against Eastern Michigan on Sunday. We know that every time we take the field from here on out, it will be a must-win game.
"We had an excellent result and a great finishing performance in front of a lot of our fans who made the trip to Scott Park today. I am very proud of everyone associated with the program."
The Falcons, riding a season-best four-game win streak, now look toward Sunday's (Nov. 4) league tourney quarterfinal match. The winner of the BGSU-EMU match will advance to the semifinal round, which will be held on Friday, Nov. 9, at the site of the highest remaining seed.
NOTES
* The Falcons have won a season-high four consecutive games ... that marks the longest current streak in the MAC.
* BGSU now leads Toledo, 7-4-2, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Falcons are now 6-1-0 in road matches vs. the Rockets, including a perfect 6-0-0 at Scott Park Field ... the home team has won only twice in the 13 series meetings.
* Thursday's match marked the Rockets' first home loss this season ... Toledo had won eight consecutive games this season at home ... UT had won 10-straight gamees at Scott Park and had been undefeated in the last 12 (11-0-1) dating to Oct. 1, 2006.
* Freshman Meagan Moran's two goals came 1:21 apart ... that ranks her third on the BGSU list for 'fastest two goals' by an individual ... but, it could be argued that Moran's two goals were the most dramatic ... Moran's feat marked the fastest two goals by an individual in a MAC game in school history ... Tracy Gleixner set the record with a pair of goals just 17 seconds apart vs. Detroit just over nine years ago (Oct. 27, 1998) ... Kristy Coppes scored two goals just 1:10 apart against the same school, in a BG win over UDM on Sept. 4, 2002.
* Toledo's goal on Thursday snapped a BGSU shutout streak at 346:56, the third-longest such streak in school history ... redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault was in goal for that entire time, the fourth-longest shutout streak by an individual in BG history.
* BGSU posted a winning record in MAC play for the third consecutive season, and for the fourth time in school history ... the Falcons went 7-4-1 in the MAC in 2002, and have gone 9-2-0, 7-4-0 and now 6-5-0 over the last three seasons ... BGSU also has posted three seasons of .500 records in league action (2000, 2003 and 2004).
