Bowling Green State University Athletics
Women's Soccer Beats Eastern Michigan, 1-0
September 24, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2000
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Tracy Gleixner's overtime goal gave the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team a 1-0 victory at Eastern Michigan University Sunday afternoon (Sept. 24). The Falcons and the defending Mid-American Conference champion Eagles did battle at Scicluna Field.
Sophomore goalkeeper Erika Flanders made numerous key saves, including a stop of a penalty kick in the first half and a point-blank save with just 30 seconds remaining in regulation, to keep the match scoreless until Gleixner's heroics.
Sophomore Jill Conover and senior Janice Mentrup had assists on the winning goal, which came at the 108:22 mark.
The Falcons improve to 5-3-0 overall and 3-0-0 in MAC play, while the Eagles drop to 4-3-2 overall and 2-1 in conference action.
The host Eagles outshot the Falcons by a 25-15 margin, but both teams put 10 shots on goal. Flanders earned her second shutout of the season by making a number of spectacular saves. Her 10 stops included the thwarting of a penalty kick by EMU's Brandy Jones.
With 17:41 remaining in the first half, a Falcon defender was called for a foul in the penalty box. Flanders made a dive to her left to stop the PK attempt by Jones, and held onto the ball to prevent a rebound.
Flanders described the save as "just a reaction play," but Falcon head coach Andy Richards had praise for his 'keeper.
"We never would have made it (to the overtime) if Erika had not made that save," said Richards. "She not only got to the ball, she held on to it as well."
At the other end of the field, EMU goalkeeper Sarah Willis made several impressive saves of her own, as she and Flanders combined to keep opposing strikers frustrated.
The Eagles had a scoring chance in the final minute of the second half, but Flanders stopped Stacie Tokasz on a point-blank attempt with just 33 seconds left in regulation.
"Again, a lot of those (saves) are just reaction," Flanders said. "It wasn't just me out there, it was the whole team making plays in front of me.
"One thing that (her saves) can do is to give the team a rush of adrenaline. We were so exhausted when we took the field (for the overtime), but we kept making plays and doing the little things."
The Eagles kept the pressure on in the first OT, outshooting the Falcons by a 6-2 margin, but neither team could put a ball into the net until early in the second overtime.
The winning play came with three-and-a-half minutes elapsed in that second OT. From the left side of the field, Mentrup slid a crossing pass to Conover in the box. Conover, in heavy traffic and facing away from the goal, shielded the ball from the defenders and slid the ball to Gleixner. Gleixner one-timed a roller past Willis, a 1999 All-American, and into the left corner of the net, in the process sparking a wild celebration by her Falcon teammates.
"Jill made a great play on the goal," said Richards. "She kept her back to the goal, instead of trying to score herself, and made a great pass to Tracy, who did what she needed to do and placed the ball in exactly the right spot."
Gleixner agreed with Richards' assessment of the winning play.
"Jill did a really good job of getting through a couple defenders," said Gleixner. "I just tried to overlap and let her know that she had someone to pass to.
"Then, I just wanted to keep the ball low."
Gleixner now has four goals in five total shot attempts this season. She now holds the BGSU career record with 16 goals in just 24 matches as a Falcon.
The match marked the first-ever home loss in MAC regular-season play for the Eagles. Prior to Sunday's setback, EMU had been 11-0-2 in conference home action since the MAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 1997.
Gleixner's goal was the first scrimmage goal scored by a MAC opponent against the Eagles at Scicluna Field since the 1998 season. The last MAC player to score against EMU in Ypsilanti was BG's Cari Combs in the 1998 MAC Tournament, also resulting in a 1-0 BGSU win.
Prior to Sunday, the Eagles had allowed just one goal in the last 13 home matches.
"We came to EMU and got exactly what we thought we would get, a tough, tough game. They have a great team, and (head coach) Scott Hall has done just a tremendous job. So, to win here is not only a great achievement, but also a great honor.
"I said to the team before the overtime that we would get at least one chance to win. I told them that all we had to do was keep our composure.
"We keep challenging our team, and they keep stepping up. I think we have achieved a new height as a program, because we beat a great, great team today."
The Falcons move to 3-0 in conference play for the first time in school history.
BGSU, after eight consecutive matches away from home, now prepares for a pair of matches at the friendly, if unfamiliar, confines of Cochrane Field. The Falcons will open the home portion of the schedule with a Friday (Sept. 29) contest vs. Northern Illinois, with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m. Two days later, the Brown and Orange will host Western Michigan. That Sunday (Oct. 1) contest is set for a 3:00 p.m. start.
