Bowling Green State University Athletics
Anderson's Goal Tops Flashes, 1-0
September 29, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 29, 2002
KENT, Ohio - Freshman Britt Anderson's first collegiate goal lifted the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over host Kent State University Sunday afternoon (Sept. 29). The Mid-American Conference match was held at the Kent State Soccer Field.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 5-4-1 overall and 3-2-0 in MAC play, while KSU drops to 4-5-1 and 2-3-1, respectively.
The teams played a scoreless first half, and the Brown and Orange broke through at the 59:56 mark. After BGSU won a corner kick, junior Carrie Richards lofted the kick into the center of the box. Anderson drilled a header into the back of the net, past KSU goalkeeper Lindsey Mitchell. Richards drew the lone assist on the play.
The goal proved to be all senior 'keeper Erika Flanders would need, as she recorded the shutout in net. Flanders made eight saves in the match, including a point-blank save on a blast by KSU's Nicole Lichtenfeld with under six minutes remaining in the match.
"We're delighted with the victory," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "The biggest thing for us is winning in the MAC. As a team, we have learned that MAC wins are the be-all and end-all, because we want to go to the postseason, and we know that we've got to get conference wins in order to do that.
"So, to get two wins on the road in a weekend is great. It gives us three wins on the year, and continues to give us an opportunity to go to the postseason.
"I think today's performance was the most complete performance we've had as a team this year. We played well, and we played well for an extended period of time. There were about 10 minutes in the first half, and about a 10-minute spurt in the middle of the second half where we didn't really play well. But, during that time, we defended with our backs to the wall, and we did what we had to do to get through that period of the game.
"Again, it was the most complete performance we've had this season, and it's a sign that we are growing and getting better.
"It was an excellent goal by Britt today. We have seen some great goals recently -- Julie Trundle's on Friday and Kristy's (Coppes) last weekend -- and today's goal was a real bullet of a header. You don't see that very often in women's soccer. It was a great goal, and I felt it was coming for Britt. She had had a couple chances earlier, and on this one, she timed it to perfection.
"The other part of the goal was the wonderful service by Carrie Richards. The goal came off a set piece, but we had worked hard to get that. We had talked about trying to get as many corners, free kicks and throw-ins as we could, because it puts the pressure on them. We won the corner, got a great service and got the goal, and it really was exciting to watch.
"We have to give credit to (BGSU women's basketball) coach Curt Miller for bringing Britt to Bowling Green. She helped us win the game against Akron on Friday, and was huge in getting this result today against a good Kent State team.
"Akron and Kent are two tough teams that are not to be taken lightly, and we are delighted to get the two wins.
"Erika made two great saves in the second half; two top-quality saves that other goalkeepers won't make. Erika has struggled a little bit at a couple of times this season, but it's a testament to her that she has stayed strong. She came up with a big performance today, and she's given us great confidence.
"Erika is so good that when she does make mistakes, I think we all raise our eyebrows a little bit. We have to remember that Erika is human, and she is going to make mistakes every now and then. But, because she has set such a high standard, we are surprised when she does make a mistake.
"It's very easy, when you win a game, to say, 'we're great, we won and everything is hunky-dory,' but you need to say, 'did we really deserve to win?' I thought we scraped through a little bit at Akron, but today I thought we totally deserved the victory.
"It is a combination of a lot of things. It is kids coming in and doing a good job, it is our freshmen getting a bit more experience, it is our upperclassmen being leaders, it is learning to do the things we've asked them to do in practice. And, it's putting all of that into each game, but most of all, it's about being a good team.
"It is very important to remember that we are a team, and every single person has a part to play. Some days it is one person, and some days it's someone else. But, we must not lose sight of the fact that we're all in this together. And, if we can keep getting people to step up and win games, that's the most important thing. It doesn't matter who does it, as long as we do it."
The Falcons will return home for a pair of matches, facing Marshall University on Friday (Oct. 4) at 4:00 p.m. and taking on Ohio University in a 2:00 p.m. match Sunday (Oct. 6).
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