Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
OHIO
Falcons Fall At Ohio, 2-1
October 24, 2003 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 24, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Host Ohio University won a key Mid-American Conference match Friday afternoon (Oct. 24), downing the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team by a 2-1 score. The match was held at Ohio's Chessa Field.
With the victory, the Bobcats improve to 7-9-1 overall and 5-5-1 in MAC play. The Falcons drop to 6-10-2 and 4-5-2, respectively.
Entering Sunday (Oct. 26), the final day of MAC regular-season play, the Falcons stand in 10th place with a total of 14 points. Teams earn three points for a win and one for a tie.
Eight teams qualify for the MAC Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal matches on Nov. 4. To earn a berth in the tourney, the Falcons need to win at Marshall, and BGSU also needs Miami to beat Akron, or the RedHawks and Zips to tie. The MAC standings through Friday's matches can be found at the end of this recap.
Friday afternoon, Ohio got on the board in the 17th minute. Gina Siedentopf gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead with a 20-yard shot, off a Kendra Hornschemeier assist.
The hosts took that one-goal lead into halftime, and actually held it until only 13:30 remained in the second half. Junior Kristy Coppes intercepted an Ohio pass 25 yards from the goal and lofted a shot over Bobcat goalkeeper Michelle Meglaughlin.
In the 82nd minute, however, Ohio found the net. According to the recap on the Ohio athletics web page, the Bobcats' Tiffany Horvath "knocked a high crossing pass loose from Bowling Green goalie Ali Shingler's grasp and notched her eighth goal of the season."
Horvath, a freshman, described the goal. "Kendra played a nice ball in and I just kept running as hard as I could. We kind of knocked into each other, the ball came loose and I just tapped it in."
The Falcons were unable to score the equalizer in the remaining 8:23 of the second half. Meglaughlin made five saves to earn the win for the Bobcats, while Shingler made six stops in the Falcon net.
Each team had 15 total shots, including eight in the first half. Ohio held an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Bobcats had four corner kicks to the Falcons' two.
A Falcon win at Marshall would give BGSU 17 points, and would ensure the Falcons of finishing ahead of Northern Illinois (four points through Friday), the Herd (6) and Miami (13). Toledo (15) and Ohio (16) play one another in Athens on Sunday, meaning that BGSU would finish ahead of either the Rockets or the Bobcats with a win. The Brown and Orange, in addition to beating Marshall, need Miami to beat or tie Akron (15).
The Falcons and Thundering Herd will begin Sunday's match at noon.
NOTES
MAC STANDINGS
(through Friday's matches) Team (Overall)...............MAC....Pts. Kent State (11-3-3).........8-2-2....26 Eastern Michigan (8-7-3)....7-2-2....23 Ball State (9-6-2)..........7-4-1....22 Western Michigan (8-7-1)....7-4-0....21 Central Michigan (8-6-2)....6-4-1....19 Buffalo (10-7-1)............6-5-1....19 Ohio (7-9-1)................5-5-1....16 Akron (6-8-1)...............5-6-0....15 Toledo (8-9-0)..............5-6-0....15 Bowling Green (6-10-2)......4-5-2....14 Miami (6-8-2)...............4-6-1....13 Marshall (2-14-1)...........2-9-0.....6 Northern Illinois (3-13-1)..1-9-1.....4
FRIDAY'S MAC SCORES
at Ohio 2, Bowling Green 1 at Ball State 1, Akron 0 at Buffalo 1, Kent State 0 Central Michigan 2, at Northern Illinois 0 at Western Michigan 1, Eastern Michigan 0 Toledo 1, at Marshall 0 at Miami 3, Butler 0 (non-conf.)
SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE
Bowling Green at Marshall, Noon * Akron at Miami, 1:00 * Central Michigan at Western Michigan, Noon * Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois, Noon * Toledo at Ohio, 1:00 * Michigan State at Kent State, 1:00
QUOTING BGSU COACH ANDY RICHARDS
"At halftime, we were 1-0 down in a very tight contest. All the stats were virtually even, but they had gotten the goal. We talked to the team at halftime about the importance of not just being good -- which I thought we were at that time -- but producing something special. With under 14 minutes to go, Kristy Coppes scored probably one of the best goals she's scored at Bowling Green -- a 25-to-30-yard half-volley, which bent and dipped over the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. It was a superb strike, and certainly in the category of special."
"Unfortunately, the result was determined by an officiating call. Ali Shingler took a cross from her left-hand side, high above her head. She had two hands on the ball, and had made the catch. As she was coming down from her jump, the Ohio forward collided with Ali, the ball spilled from her hands, went onto the line and Horvath finished the play. The referee awarded the goal. We've looked at the tape, and by looking at the reaction of the Ohio players, you can tell they were just as surprised as we were that the goal had been allowed."
"It was a total feeling of bewilderment, amazement and frustration. Ali made a good, sound piece of goalkeeping, only to have a goal result from the play. It was game-changing, especially with only a few minutes remaining."
"At the end of the game, I didn't really know what to say to our players. They had competed, battled, worked very hard and produced something special. We are extremely frustrated and upset, but this adversity will create great determination on our part. Now, we have to go win at Marshall, then hope for another MAC game to go our way. But, before we worry about what is happening around the league Sunday, we first must play with pride and determination at Marshall and get a victory."
