Bowling Green State University
IPFW
Falcons Fly Past IPFW, 4-0, For First Win
September 05, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-IPFW Boxscore in PDF Format 
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team exploded for its highest offensive output in nearly three years, getting two goals in each half en route to a 4-0 win at IPFW Friday night (Sept. 5). The non-conference match was held at the Hefner Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 1-2-1 on the season, while the Mastodons drop to 0-4-0.
BGSU broke a scoreless drought in a big way, and three Falcon freshmen each picked up the first points of their collegiate career in the win. BG newcomer Alyssa Zuccaro's first career goal proved to be the game winner, while classmates Megan Amann and Leah Johnson each had an assist on a first-half marker.
Junior Stacey Lucas, senior Kristin McDonald and fifth-year senior Gina Rossi also scored goals for the Falcons, while redshirt sophomore Alexa Arsenault combined with senior Christy Zabek for the shutout in goal.
The four-goal total was the Falcons' highest in nearly three years, since a 4-0 win over Buffalo on Oct. 16, 2005. BGSU had not scored as many as four goals in a road game since Oct. 1, 2004, in a 5-1 triumph at Cleveland State.
The Falcons broke on top in the 34th minute, as two freshmen combined to give BG the lead for good. Johnson's centering pass found Zuccaro for the latter's first collegiate goal.
Another freshman, Amann, picked up her first point as a Falcon at 40:16, as her ball found the head of Lucas. Lucas' goal doubled the lead as the teams headed into the intermission.
McDonald picked up BGSU's third goal of the night, at the 69:19 mark. Rossi concluded the scoring with just over four minutes left, stealing the ball from an IPFW defender and beating IPFW goalkeeper Meagan McLaughlin for her team-leading second goal of the season.
Arsenault made four saves in 76:55 of action Friday, while Zabek played just over 13 minutes and had one stop. McLaughlin played all 90 minutes for the 'Dons, making a total of eight saves.
"We are very excited to get our first win of the season, and to do it in such style," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "I am equally impressed by the performance of the team tonight.
"It was particularly pleasing that the four goals were scored by four different players, and were a product of the things we worked on in practice this week. Those situations came up in the course of the game, and we handled them very well. It is very encouraging to the coaching staff.
"We are also pleased to get the shutout, and that is a credit to our two goalkeepers, Alexa and Christy, as well as to the defenders in front of them.
"At halftime, with a two-nil lead, we challenged the team to go back out there and win the second half, which they did comfortably. In addition to the two goals, we missed two other golden opportunities in the second half.
"Again, we are obviously pleased to come away with a road win. It has given our team a lot of confidence, and we look forward to heading down to Ohio State for Sunday's match."
BGSU held an 18-12 advantage in shot attempts, including a 12-5 margin in shots on goal. The teams combined for 24 fouls, with 13 whistled on the Falcons, but no cards of any color were issued.
The Falcons return to the road Sunday (Sept. 7), heading to Columbus to face Ohio State in a 1:00 p.m. match.
FALCON NOTES
* As mentioned, Alyssa Zuccaro's goal broke a rather lengthy scoring drought for the Falcons ... BGSU's only 2008 goal prior to Friday came off the foot of Gina Rossi, just 18:22 into the season opener at Cincinnati (Aug. 22) ... BG then went 305:06 without scoring, prior to Zuccaro's marker vs. the Mastodons.
* Junior Stacey Lucas scored BGSU's second goal of the night ... Lucas now has eight career goals and 20 points as a Falcon, ranking second behind senior Corbie Yee among active BG players.
* Rossi's goal was her seventh as a Falcon, the third-highest total among active players ... she now has 17 points at BGSU.
* Rossi has topped her scoring total for each of the last two seasons ... the fifth-year senior had one goal for two points in both 2006 and 2007, and now has a pair of goals and four points this fall to date ... Rossi scored nine points (three goals, three assists) as a freshman in 2004, before missing the '05 season due to injury.
* Senior Kristin McDonald's goal was the fourth of her career, and her first since her freshman season of 2005 ... McDonald now has 11 career points.
* Ironically, McDonald's last goal came the last time BGSU scored four goals in a game, on Oct. 16, 2005, vs. Buffalo at Cochrane Field.
* Freshman Megan Amann picked up her first career assist on the Lucas goal Friday ... Amann's assist came less than two minutes after she had checked into the match.
* Redshirt Alexa Arsenault got the win in goal, the eighth of her Falcon career in 17 starts ... she now has a career record of 8-5-4 and a goals-against average of 0.97.
