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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
PITTSBURGH
Panthers Blank Falcons, 2-0
August 29, 2004 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - A pair of first-half goals were enough to propel the University of Pittsburgh to a 2-0 win over the host Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Aug. 29). The match, the final contest of the Falcon Classic, was held at Cochrane Field.
The result leaves both the Panthers and Falcons with a record of 1-1-0, both overall and in the Falcon Classic. Eastern Michigan won the tourney with a 2-0-0 record, while Duquesne (0-2-0) rounded out the four-team field.
The Panthers got a pair of pretty goals, one with approximately seven minutes elapsed in the first half and one with about seven minutes left in the period. Kristina Francois opened the scoring at the 7:32 mark, taking an entry pass from Rachel Vecchio on the left side of the field.
Francois took the ball into the penalty area, took her time and deposited it into the lower far (right) corner of the goal, The score came on Pitt's first shot attempt of the match, after BG had controlled the early play.
From that point on, however, it was the Panthers that seemed to control the action in the opening half. Vecchio, who had assisted on the first goal, then doubled the lead with a goal of her own late in the half.
Katie Surma played a long through-ball to Vecchio, whose first touch freed her from her Falcon defender. Vecchio, also shooting from the left side of the field, put the ball through a sliver of an opening between Falcon goalkeeper Ali Shingler and the near goalpost.
From there, the Panther defense did the rest, holding the Falcons to just one shot on goal on the afternoon.
Pitt nearly increased the lead early in the second half, as Francois hit the crossbar with a shot, and Vecchio scored on the rebound. But, the Panthers had been ruled offsides prior to Vecchio's shot.
Perhaps the Falcons' best chance of the day came midway through the second half. Sophomore Lindsay Carter's pass sent freshman Tiernay Tilford in on the right side of the field. Tilford took the ball to the end line, then cut it back past her UP defender, before playing a crossing ball to classmate Janie Babich. Babich's shot, however, was just high, and the Falcons could manage only one shot attempt the rest of the way.
The teams each had nine shot attempts on the day, with the Panthers holding a 4-1 edge in shots on goal. Interestingly, the Falcons had a whopping nine corner kicks to Pittsburgh's zero.
Pitt goalie Jamie Pelusi was called upon to make just one save en route to the shutout win. Falcon goalies Shingler and Jenifer Kernahan each played a half and each made one save. Kernahan's save came as she charged out and thwarted a point-blank redirection by Pitt's Sarah Gutting midway through the scoreless second half.
Tilford was named to the Falcon Classic All-Tournament Team, and was joined by teammates Britt Anderson and Kristy Coppes. For the Panthers, Francois and Vecchio were named to the 11-player squad. The complete all-tourney team is listed below.
The Falcons complete a three-match, season-opening homestand Friday (Sept. 3), hosting Michigan State in a contest scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.
QUOTING BGSU COACH ANDY RICHARDS
"After Friday's game, we knew that it was going to be tough to produce another performance of that quality, especially in terms of finishing our opportunities. So, we knew the game against Pitt was going to be a tough one. However, great teams are able to produce back-to-back performances where the end result is a win. We need to develop as a team in order to get ourselves that situation."
"I think this set of individuals has great potential to be a very good team, but it's going to take us a little bit of time. We do need to realize that this is only the second game of the season."
"I was very pleased with the adjustments we made at halftime, and I thought the second-half performance was much better. I was very encouraged by the ability of the players to adapt to the conditions and to be able to play in the fashion that we had asked them to."
"Unfortunately, we had created the problem for ourselves in the first half by conceding two goals that I thought were sloppy. We need to make sure that, when we're not playing well, or if we are behind, we don't fall behind by any more than one goal. That way, we will give ourselves an opportunity to put things right in the second half."
"But, it's all development, it's all learning, and we are very early in the season. I was very encouraged by a lot of things I saw, and as the season progresses, we will get better."
FALCON CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jessica Hupe, Eastern Michigan Trisha Roberts, Eastern Michigan Sara Schiffbauer, Eastern Michigan Nikki Allen, Eastern Michigan Kristy Coppes, Bowling Green Britt Anderson, Bowling Green Tiernay Tilford, Bowling Green Rachel Vecchio, Pittsburgh Kristina Francois, Pittsburgh Audra Mathews, Duquesne Faye Rasmussen, Duquesne
