Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Soccer Wins At Toledo, 2-1
September 22, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2000
TOLEDO, Ohio - Senior Stephanie Heller's goal midway through the second half proved to be the winner as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team posted a 2-1 victory over arch-rival Toledo Friday (Sept. 22). The match was held at UT's Scott Park Field.
Junior Beth Wechsler also scored for the Falcons, who improve to 4-3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Corrie Hasenjager scored the lone goal for the Rockets, who drop to 2-5-0 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Hasenjager got the Rockets on the board early, scoring her sixth goal of the year in the first minute. Off a UT corner kick, the ball deflected to the Rocket sophomore, who turned and fired a shot that skittered past BG sophomore goalie Erika Flanders. The home team led, 1-0, with just 56 seconds gone in the match.
Just over seven minutes later, however, the Falcons evened the contest. A Toledo player was called for tripping in the box, and the Brown and Orange capitalized. Wechsler drove a penalty kick past diving UT 'keeper Elise Donovan at the 8:13 mark.
Neither team would score again until midway through the second stanza. Wechsler took a free kick, and sent a ball to sophomore Jill Conover in the box. Conover could not get a shot off, but the ball careened into the path of a charging Heller, who scored what would be the winning goal at the 64:39 mark. Conover picked up her fourth assist of the season on the play.
For Heller, who was slowed by injuries at the beginning of the season, the goal was her first of the year.
The Rockets had several more scoring chances, but Flanders turned them aside. She made seven saves en route to the victory. Donovan also had seven stops for the home team.
The teams each took 14 total shots, with BG holding a slight 9-8 advantage in shots on goal. A total of 37 fouls were called in the match, including 20 on the host Rockets.
"It was essentially a good, battling performance," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "It was an intense kind of game, and local rivalries are often like that.
"I think we just took our chances a little bit better than they did. Having said that, their goalkeeper had an excellent game. She made four or five very good saves, and deserves a lot of credit.
"Steph's goal was a great reward for her. She has had a struggle with injuries this year. She has played herself back into the lineup, and it is nice for her to come up with a big moment like that.
"As I said, it was a battling performance, but good teams tend to battle through and get results. I'd like to think we're starting to get a bit of a winning habit now."
Richards also credited Falcon assistant coach Ashlee Orr with several innovations implemented in practice which paid off in the win over the arch-rivals.
Next up for the Falcons is a Sunday (Sept. 24) trip at defending MAC champion Eastern Michigan. That match will begin at noon in Ypsilanti, Mich.
"We have a very, very tough game coming up against last year's champs. It will be a real test for us. But, we believe in these kids, and they keep doing things that we expect of them. They keep getting better and better, and I think the key is that we really believe in what we've got going here, and we're very excited by it."
