Bowling Green State University Athletics
Buffalo Downs Women's Soccer In Overtime
September 23, 2001 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Nicole Olszewski's goal early in overtime lifted the University at Buffalo to a 2-1 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23). The Mid-American Conference match was held at BGSU's Cochrane Field.
With the win, the visiting Bulls improve to 4-4-0 on the season. UB, the defending MAC regular-season champions, move to 3-1 in MAC action. The Falcons, who lost for the second consecutive match, fall to 3-2-2 and 0-1-1, respectively.
If time of possession were used to determine the winning team, Buffalo would have held a commanding lead after 80 minutes of play. On the scoreboard, however, the teams were deadlocked at 1-1.
The teams had battled through a scoreless first half, with UB holding a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal through the first 45 minutes. The Falcons' best scoring chance of the half came just 11:30 in, when junior Jill Conover carried the ball along the end line and sent a cross from the right side of the field toward the middle of the box. Freshman Kristy Coppes made a sliding effort, but just missed getting a foot on the ball.
BGSU did score first, however, on senior Beth Wechsler's goal at the 59:30 mark. A UB player was whistled for a foul (and a yellow card) just outside the penalty box in the center of the field. Wechsler took the ensuing free kick, and her blast hit a UB defender and trickled into the right side of the goal. The shot eluded Bulls goalkeeper Emily Cox, who had started to her right, then saw the shot deflected the other way. The goal was Wechsler's second of the year.
The visitors wasted no time responding, however, scoring just 1:08 later. Lauren West's through ball found Paula Sinclair, who had found a seam in the Falcon defense. Sinclair poked the ball past BGSU goalie Erika Flanders. The tally was Sinclair's third of the season.
The Falcons, who had had trouble maintaining possession of the ball for the first 80 minutes, came to life in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Coppes sent a shot whistling just wide right of the net with 8:17 remaining. Then, less than a minute later, freshman Katie Piening blasted a shot that Cox managed to block. The rebound caromed to senior Annmarie Aparo, who drilled a shot off the right post with 7:43 left in the half. Aparo had been inserted into the match just 1:06 earlier.
UB had a solid scoring chance late in regulation, as Olszewski had a pair of shots from point-blank range with just under three minutes left. Flanders stopped the first offering, while the second was blocked by the BG defense.
In the overtime, however, the Bulls needed just one scoring chance to end the contest. Erin McGarry attempted to send a ball through the BG defense, and her pass was deflected and caromed to Robin Aparo. Her pass sent Olszewski in all alone, and the UB sophomore scored the winning goal at the 93:05 mark. For Olszewski, the goal was her sixth of the season.
The Bulls held a 21-13 advantage in shots for the match, including a 15-6 margin in shots on goal. Flanders made 13 saves in the contest, her third double-digit effort of the season, while Cox had five stops.
The Bulls held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks, while each team was whistled for 18 fouls.
"Today's loss came as a result of missed opportunities and the lack of a killer instinct," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "The coaching staff accepts their part of the responsibility for today's result. We will back every player in the program 100 per cent in an effort to help them become better players and, collectively, a more successful team."
The Falcons return to action with a Friday (Sept. 28) match at Northern Illinois University, followed by a Sunday (Sept. 30) contest at Western Michigan University. BGSU then returns home for five consecutive matches, beginning with a match vs. Youngstown State University on Wed., Oct. 3.
