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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Late WMU Goal Downs Women's Soccer, 2-1
October 01, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Jessica Pattison's late goal lifted Western Michigan University to a 2-1 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Oct. 1). The Mid-American Conference match was held at BGSU's Mickey Cochrane Field.
After a scoreless first half which saw a total of just seven shot attempts, the Falcons (now 5-5-0 overall, 3-2 in the MAC) got on the board first. Junior Mandy Smith gathered the ball at midfield, took a few dribbles and blasted a long shot which nestled neatly into the upper-left hand corner of the net, past a leaping Megan Ramey. The goal, which came at the 52:24 mark, was Smith's first of the season and the third of her career. One of her previous two goals came in last year's WMU contest, in Kalamazoo.
The Falcon lead was short-lived, however, as the Broncos (7-3-1, 4-0-1 MAC) came back to tie the contest just 3:17 later. Mary Gignac scored on a header, redirecting Amber Scyphers' corner kick past BG goalie Erika Flanders.
The match stayed deadlocked until Pattison's heroics at the 86:19 mark. Scyphers started the play, sending a ball toward the center of the field from the left side. Brandi Buschhausen slid the ball to Pattison, who gave the Broncos the lead with just 3:41 left in the second half.
The Falcons had several chances in the waning moments of the match, but could not get the equalizer. For the match, BGSU held a 13-9 advantage in shot attempts, including a 7-6 margin in shots on goal. Ramey made six saves in earning the win, while Flanders made four stops in the BG net.
"Despite the loss, there were still some positives," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "We all were a little surprised we lost, because we did play pretty well. It was just the timing of their last goal. They scored so late that we didn't really have a chance to recover.
"We were pretty flat in the first half, and at halftime we challenged our team to play with passion and fire. We also asked them to take some long shots when they had the chance. Mandy Smith capped a great performance with a long shot and a great goal. She was the best player we had out there today. But, we gave away goals once again, and we can't keep doing that.
"Despite the loss, though, I am proud of the way the team played. I think it's a good sign for the program that we are very disappointed, yet we are 3-2 in the MAC. It is a sign of the effort the girls have put in, and the progress they have made.
"We are an attractive team to come and watch, and these kids are good enough and strong enough to come back from the two losses this weekend."
Bowling Green will step outside of MAC play with a Wednesday (Oct. 4) night contest at Wright State. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Following that match, the Brown and Orange will begin a four-match homestand with a Friday (Oct. 6) tilt vs. visiting Miami. That contest starts at 3:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
Sunday's complete MAC results and updated standings:
MAC RESULTS FROM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1
Western Michigan 2, Bowling Green 1 Miami 3, Ohio 2 (2-OT) Marshall 3, Ball State 0 Buffalo 3, Eastern Michigan 1 Central Michigan 2, Kent State 1 Toledo 5, Northern Illinois 0
MAC STANDINGS (through Sunday's matches)
Team (Overall)___________MAC____Pts. Western Mich. (7-3-1) 4-0-1 13 Buffalo (8-4-0) 4-1-0 12 Miami (6-4-0) 4-1-0 12 Ohio (6-5-0) 4-1-0 12 Bowling Green (5-5-0) 3-2-0 9 Toledo (3-6-1) 2-3-1 7 Central Mich. (4-8-0) 2-3-0 6 Eastern Mich. (4-6-2) 2-3-0 6 Marshall (6-5-0) 2-4-0 6 Northern Ill. (3-8-1) 1-3-1 4 Kent State (5-5-1) 1-4-0 3 Ball State (4-6-2) 0-4-1 1
