Falcons, Herd Battle to Draw, 1-1

Sunday, September 19

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

MARSHALL

September 19, 2004 | Women's Soccer

Sept. 19, 2004

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team battled Marshall University to a 1-1, double-overtime draw Sunday afternoon (Sept. 19). The Mid-American Conference match was held at BGSU's Cochrane Field.

The result leaves the Falcons with an overall record of 1-6-1, and a MAC mark of 0-1-1. Marshall is now 2-4-3 and 0-3-1, respectively.

Senior Kristy Coppes scored the Falcons' goal late in the first half, with junior Julie Trundle and freshman Gina Rossi picking up the assists. Kassie Hollman scored the Marshall goal with just under 25 minutes remaining in regulation.

It was a sunny, but windy day at Cochrane, and that east-to-west wind played havoc with passes in the air by each team throughout the day.The Falcons had several chances in the first half, and finally converted late in the half.

Trundle and Rossi played a give-and-go on the left side of the field, deep in the Marshall end. Trundle lofted a short cross just before the ball went over the end line, and Coppes headed it home from approximately five yards out. MU goalkeeper Ashleigh Woods was able to get a piece of the ball, but could not keep it from bounding past her and into the net. The Falcons were on the board with 7:41 left in the first half.

The hosts had a golden opportunity to double the lead early inthe second half. A pass by junior Leah Eggleton sent classmate Keeley Dayton in on Woods. As Dayton headed in on the right side, junior Samantha Meister was running along with her on the left. Dayton got into the box on the Falcons' 2-on-1 opportunity, and slid a pass to Meister, who uncorked a blast from 12 yards out that sailed just high.

Meister and the Falcons had two more chances over the next 10 minutes, as the BG junior headed a ball just wide, then just missed on another header from a seemingly impossible angle on an Eggleton cross.

As was the case in BG's 2-0 loss to Ohio Friday, the visiting team went a long time without a serious scoring opportunity, but cashed in when that opportunity finally came.

The Herd had gone over 20 minutes of the second half without a shot attempt, but Hollman scored on the team's first shot of the period. Mollie Lee chipped a ball from the left side that found Hollman on the right. Hollman took a dribble or two, took her time and placed the ball into the lower far (left) corner of the net. The match was tied with 24:55 left in regulation.

And, that's how the contest ended, as neither team could score in the remainder of regulation or in the two, 10-minute overtime periods. Falcon freshman Tiernay Tilford took a hard shot that MU backup goalie Kai Nordness stopped with 1:38 left in regulation. Nordness had replaced Woods after the starter was injured with 30 minutes left in the second half.

Neither team had a shot attempt in the first overtime period, but the Falcons had a total of four tries in the second OT. Three of those shots came in a flurry in the final minute, with both Meister and Coppes attempting headers, and Eggleton firing a shot over the bar after the ball came out to her at the 18-yard box.

Coppes and Dayton had had another chance earlier in the period that was nullified by an offsides call.

For the match, the Falcons held a 16-9 advantage in shots, including a 6-4 margin in shots on goal. Redshirt junior Ali Shingler made three saves in net for the Falcons.

Woods and Nordness combined to make five saves, with Woods making four of those stops, and Nordness called upon to make just one save in her 49:44 of shutout relief work.

The teams combined for a whopping 47 fouls, with Marshall whistled for 26.

The Brown and Orange now will hit the road for the next four matches, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 24) contest at Central Michigan. BG's next home match is Friday, Oct. 8, vs. Miami.

NOTES

Senior Kristy Coppes, the Falcons' career scoring leader, increased her totals to 41 goals and 87 points ... she has seven of the Falcons' nine goals this season.

Coppes' goal broke a BGSU scoreless streak of 219:36, since freshman Tiernay Tilford's score late in the Navy match (Sept. 11) ... prior to Tilford's goal, no Falcon had scored in a span of 367:22, since the last of BG's seven goals in the season-opening win over Duquesne (Aug. 27).

Junior Leah Eggleton was in the starting lineup for the first time this season ... Eggleton had missed the first four matches of the year due to injury, then came off the bench in the next three matches prior to Sunday.

The Marshall match was the Falcons' first overtime contest of the season, after BG had had a school-record eight OT matches last year ... the 2003 Falcons played a total of 15 matches decided by one goal or fewer, another school record ... this year's team had played seven consecutive matches decided by two or more goals prior to Sunday's tie with the Herd.

The Falcons now hold a 4-1-2 lead in the all-time series with Marshall, with four of the seven series meetings requiring overtime ... one of the previous two home matches with the Herd had gone to OT, with the Falcons winning that match by a 1-0 score (Oct. 13, 2000) ... last year's meeting, in Huntington, W.Va., also went to overtime ... in that match, a 4-3 BGSU win, Samantha Meister's OT goal propelled the Falcons into the MAC Tournament.

Prior to Sunday, Marshall had never scored a goal at Cochrane Field ... BGSU had downed the Thundering Herd in the aforementioned 1-0 match in 2000, and the Falcons had won the only other prior home match by a 3-0 score (Oct. 4, 2002).

Freshman Gina Rossi had played a total of approximately 15 minutes on the season, but saw 25 minutes of action against the Herd ... she picked up her first collegiate point only 1:36 after checking into the match.

Junior Julie Trundle's assist Sunday was her first of the season, but the 16th of her career ... Trundle moves into a tie for third place on that BGSU list ... Jill Conover (1999-2002) holds the school career record with 25 assists, while Janice Mentrup (1997-2000) had 23 as a Falcon ... Trundle is now tied with Beth Wechsler (1998-2001).

For the eighth time in as many matches this season, the Falcons had more corner kicks than the opponent ... BGSU had five corners to Marshall's four on Sunday ... on the season, the Falcons have a 59-25 advantage in that category.

QUOTING HEAD COACH ANDY RICHARDS
"The biggest struggle that we have had recently is our inability to score, as we have lost a stretch of consecutive games. So, today was a step in the right direction, in that we managed to tie Marshall, as Kristy Coppes scored a great goal for us. We are hoping that it's the turning of the corner that this program needs."

"Nobody is more upset or frustrated than I am with the lack of results. But, I am going to remain 100 percent in support of my players, I will back them, and I will give them absolutely every ounce of physical and mental strength that I have. All I can hope is that the players and the supporters of the program will do the same."