Bowling Green State University Athletics
Rieman Rallies Falcons For 4-2 Win
September 28, 2001 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2001
DeKALB, Ill. - Freshman Beth Rieman had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a road victory at Northern Illinois University Friday (Sept. 28). The Falcons posted a 4-2 win in the Mid-American Conference match at Huskie Soccer Field.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 4-2-2 overall and 1-1-1 in MAC action. The host Huskies drop to 1-6-1 and 1-3-0, respectively.
The four-goal output by the Brown and Orange is the team's best single-match effort in over two years, since a 5-1 win over Valparaiso on Aug. 29, 1999. Rieman's five-point match was the highest-scoring effort by a Falcon player since that same Valpo contest.
NIU got on the board first, as Jane Mucci scored with just 4:19 gone in the match. The host school doubled its lead on a Jill Heikkila marker with 17:10 elapsed. Things looked bleak for the Falcons, who had never rallied from a two-goal deficit to win in the history of the program.
Six-and-a-half minutes later, however, senior tri-captain Mandy Smith cut the deficit in half, scoring her first goal of the year. Rieman drew the assist on the goal.
Then, Rieman got on the board herself, tying the contest after a corner kick by sophomore Kasey Freeman. The goal, the first of Rieman's career, came at the 39:25 mark, and sent the teams into the halftime break knotted at 2-2.
BGSU and NIU battled through nearly 20 scoreless minutes of the second half before Rieman struck again. She scored on a long shot at 64:20 for her second goal of the night, which would prove to be the first match-winning goal of her collegiate tenure.
Senior Annmarie Aparo provided some insurance for the Brown and Orange at the 72:11 mark, receiving the ball from junior Jill Conover and scoring her first goal of the year.
The Falcon defense held the Huskies off the scoreboard for the final 72:50 of the contest. BGSU junior Erika Flanders made six saves in the contest, including four in the second half.
The teams were tied, 15-15, in shot attempts, with the hosts holding a narrow 8-7 margin in the shots-on-goal department. NIU 'keeper Akiko Iwabuchi made three saves, all i nthe first half of the contest.
"It was a good, fighting performance against a spirited, hard-working team today," said BGSU second-year coach Andy Richards, who saw his team score four goals in a match for the first time in his tenure.
"Northern Illinois is very well-coached by Frank Horvat," Richards added. "We really showed good character to come back from two goals down to win, and by two goals at that.
"The coaching staff asked the team to see if we could get some contributions in the scoring department by people other than our forwards. It was particularly pleasing to get four goals from people other than forwards. All three of our goal-scorers scored their first goals of the year today.
"There were a lot of plusses today -- rallying from two goals down, coming back on the road, getting contributions from some other people -- but the biggest plus is that we got our first MAC win. Northern is not an easy team to play."
The Falcons will stay on the road, heading to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a Sunday (Sept. 30) match against Western Michigan University. That match is scheduled to begin at noon.
FALCON NOTES:
