Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Win MAC Tournament Quarterfinal, 2-1, At EMU
November 04, 2003 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 4, 2003
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team remained perfect in Mid-American Conference Tournament first-round action, rallying from a halftime deficit to post a 2-1 win over Eastern Michigan University Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 4). The MAC Tournament Quarterfinal match was held at EMU's Scicluna Field.
A pair of sophomores scored goals as the eighth-seeded Falcons beat the top-seeded Eagles. Second-half tallies by Leah Eggleton and Samantha Meister lifted the Brown and Orange to a perfect 4-0 in league tourney quarterfinal action through the years.
With the win, the Falcons advance to Friday's (Nov. 7) semifinal round at Kalamazoo, Mich. BGSU will face #5 seed Central Michigan in the day's first match, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The other semifinal will pit #3 Western Michigan, the lone higher seed to win a quarterfinal match on Tuesday, against #7 Ohio. The WMU-Ohio contest is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.
On a warm, partly sunny day, but a wet, mostly muddy field, neither team could get on the scoreboard until late in the first half. EMU's Michelle Lawrence took a free kick after a Falcon foul, and drilled a ball into the left side of the BGSU net. Redshirt sophomore Ali Shingler got a foot on the blast, but was unable to stop the momentum, and the Eagles had the lead with only 1:39 left before halftime.
The Falcons got a pair of quality goals in the second half, however, with Eggleton getting things started. Sophomore Keeley Dayton controlled the ball in the midfield area, and her pass found Eggleton. Eggleton, who led both teams in shots on the day, advanced forward and slid the ball to Meister at the 18-yard line. Meister, marked closely by an Eagle defender, backheeled the ball to a charging Eggleton. The give-and-go play sent Eggleton into the box alone, and she got her shot off just before being dumped by the Eagle defense. The goal came just 4:31 into the half.
Eastern nearly took the lead after Alison Stier headed Cyndi Mullins' corner kick toward the goal. BGSU's Dayton, one of the Falcon defenders in the goalmouth, cleared the ball off the line as Eagle players and fans argued that the ball had crossed the line. But, the score remained tied.
Approximately 15 minutes after Eggleton's goal, the Falcons had a free kick after an EMU foul on the left side of the field. Sophomore Julie Trundle's curving kick sailed into the penalty box, where Meister ran onto it and redirected the ball past Eastern goalie Nikki Allen and into the upper left corner of the goal. The Falcons held the lead at the 64:13 juncture.
BGSU had to hold off the MAC regular-season co-champions for the final 25:47, and there were some nervous moments for the Falcon faithful. But, Shingler and her defense held firm, and the Falcons had the road win and a ticket to the semifinals.
The hosts held a 19-16 advantage in shot attempts, and each team had 10 shots on goal. Shingler made eight saves in earning the complete-match win. Allen also had eight saves in 88:01, while Courtney Ward played 1:59 and did not face a shot. (Ward and Allen substituted in and out for one another a total of 11 times in the final 4:26 of the match, as each substitution stopped the clock.)
The four quarterfinal survivors now prepare for the semifinal matches, which will be hosted by WMU. The Broncos downed Buffalo, 3-0, to become the highest-remaining seed and earn the right to host the remainder of the tourney.
In other action on Tuesday, seventh-seeded Ohio downed #2 seed Kent State, 1-0, while fifth-seeded Central Michigan topped #4 Ball State by a 2-0 score.
MAC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
#8 Bowling Green 2, at #1 Eastern Michigan 1 #7 Ohio 1, at #2 Kent State 0 at #3 Western Michigan 3, #6 Buffalo 0 #5 Central Michigan 2, at #4 Ball State 0
MAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
(Friday, Nov. 7, at Kalamazoo, Mich.)
#8 Bowling Green vs. #5 Central Michigan, 11:00 a.m. #7 Ohio at #3 Western Michigan, 2:00 p.m.
NOTES
QUOTING BGSU COACH ANDY RICHARDS
"We are very excited to get the win today. We had said after the Ohio State game that, as disappointed as we were with the loss, the most important thing was how we were playing. We really felt we played well Friday. I think, particularly in the second half today, we saw some shades of that again."
"In the first half, we had a bit of a tough go of it. We were playing into the wind, and Eastern came out fired up and really put us on our heels. It was difficult for us to generate any offense. But, at halftime, we talked about a few things, made a few adjustments and certainly played much better in the second half."
"What was most pleasing was that our two goals were scored in a fashion that we've worked on a lot all year. On the first goal, we've talked about finding the feet of forwards, which Leah did with her pass to Sammy. We've talked about supporting from midfield, which is what Leah then did. And, we've talked all season about the quality of our finish; not trying to break the back of the net, but just making sure you slide it past the 'keeper. And, that's exactly what Leah did. From a coach's point of view, it was a very good goal."
"On the second goal, it was a great service from Julie Trundle, and for Sam to get free space and to head the ball back to what we call the power corner, again are some things we've talked about. So, from my point of view, I'm very pleased that some things that I've droned on about happened, and they paid off and got us a win."
"A couple of years ago, we didn't really have the ability to come back, and if we went a goal down, we might lose by two or three goals. Now, the spirit and the quality of the team is much better. We have that ability to come back, and -- as (assistant coach) Ashlee (Orr) said -- it's almost better for us to come back to equalize, because at 1-1, we had the momentum. Had we gone up early, and they had come back, they might have had all the momentum. We do seem to have the ability to keep coming back this year. I don't always want to have to do that, but if it keeps resulting in wins, so be it."
"If you look at our record right now, we're not even at .500, so a lot of people might not think we're having a very good year. But, the first objective is to go to the postseason, and then you try to get lucky and go from there. We did have a little bit of luck today, but we've been on the other end of that before, too. The reality of it is, forget the (overall) record -- right now we're 1-0. And, if we can make it 2-0, and get a chance to play in the championship game, then who knows what might happen."
"Again today, we had a lot of contributions from different players. I thought, defensively, we were very solid. Natalie Sampiller came on and did a wonderful job for us after having gotten a good start with Megan (Rapp) in there. Kasey Freeman played very well. Keeley Dayton was great. I thought Leah, in the central midfield, was excellent. She was perhaps the player of the game. But, we also had big performances from the players we always rely on, like Julie Trundle, Sam Meister and Kristy Coppes. Although Kristy didn't score, she still played well. We keep coming back to these kids, time and time again, and they keep producing for us, and that's why they're some of the best players in our conference."
"We are very excited about the whole affair. We look forward to moving on and playing Central, and who knows? I think, mentally, we enjoy being the underdog. Certainly, being the number-eight seed and playing away from home, that falls into our hands. We're delighted to be advancing to the semifinals."
