Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Bland's Last-Minute Goal Gives Falcons 1-0 Win Over EMU
October 22, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2006
Final Stats
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Freshman Samantha Bland headed home a free kick with just 47 seconds remaining in regulation, giving the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team a 1-0 win over Eastern Michigan University Sunday afternoon (Oct. 22). The Mid-American Conference game was held at Cochrane Field.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 9-9-0 overall and 6-4-0 in MAC play, and BGSU clinches a berth in the MAC Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Eagles drop to 6-9-2 and 3-7-0, respectively.
Freshman Colleen Kordan picked up the lone assist on Bland's goal. The winning play began with Kordan's free kick after an EMU foul. Both Kordan's free kick and Bland's header were clinical, leading to the goal.
Kordan's kick was taken from approximately 40 yards out, just right of center. She played a ball into the box, where a number of Falcon teammates were making left-to-right runs. The ball curved directly to Bland, who did not have to break stride. Bland's header was as textbook as it gets, and EMU goalkeeper Monique Budani had no chance as the ball nestled into the upper right-hand corner of the net.
Neither team generated a large number of chances during the first half, as the cold and the wind combined to make the day a less-than-ideal one for fans and players alike. Relatively early in the match, sophomore Corbie Yee played a diagonal ball, but Budani was able to grab the ball as a pair of Falcons lurked on the doorstep.
Midway through the half, freshman Stacey Lucas attempted to cross a ball from the right side as an EMU player battled her for possession. The cross hit the defender, hit Lucas and bounded across the goalmouth, but another Eagle player was able to clear it out of danger.
With under four minutes before the half, some nice passing from EMU's Cyndi Mullins and Maggie Christensen resulted in the Eagles' Katie Lozar with the ball in the center of the field near the 18-yard box. But, Lozar's shot was right at BGSU sophomore Christy Zabek.
In the second half, Budani again broke up a crossing attempt, this time bu junior Danielle Cygan, before it could get to a BG teammate.
Perhaps the Eagles' best chance of the day came with just under 29 minutes left in the second half. A free kick by EMU's Jill Kehler found a teammate's head, and the backward header found Lauren Clyne running all alone behind the pack in the penalty box. Clyne tried to redirect the ball past a charging Zabek, but rolled it just wide left.
The teams each had a few more chances. About four minutes later, Zabek made a nice save on Christensen's turnaround shot from close range.
With about 11-and-a-half minutes on the clock, freshman Kayleigh Zajaros had a dangerous chance off a Lucas pass, but Zajaros' shot sailed just high of the net.
 Lindsay Carter (20) prepares for her 'Senior Day' recognition (photos by Abby Habicht)  |
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With 1:36 left, Zabek made a save on an Ashley Rodrigues shot, keeping the contest scoreless and setting the stage for Bland's heroics. The free kick that led to the goal came after Yee was taken down by an EMU defender.
"Like a beacon shining on a murky night, the winning goal stood out as the one piece of quality in the game today," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "It was a superb free kick from Colleen, put into the danger area, just as we talk about. Sam Bland made a well-timed run and finished with a header into the 'power corner,' which is a technique we have worked on many, many times in practice.
"From a coach's perspective, it was a wonderful goal to score, for that reason. It was reflective of a lot of the things we work on in practice each day.
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Eastern Michigan held advantages of 12-10 in total shots and 7-5 in shots on goal. Zabek made seven saves in her complete-game win, while Budani also played all 90 minutes, making four stops.
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MAC STANDINGS
(through Sunday) Team MAC Pct. Ball St. 7-2-1 .750 Toledo 5-2-2 .667 Ohio 6-3-1 .650 CMU 5-3-2 .600 BGSU 6-4-0 .600 Kent St. 5-5-0 .500 Miami 4-4-2 .500 Buffalo 4-5-0 .444 Akron 4-6-0 .400 NIU 4-6-0 .400 EMU 3-7-0 .300 WMU 2-8-0 .200
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The Falcons will close the regular season with a Thursday (Oct. 26) game vs. the University of Toledo. The arch-rivals will meet in a 3:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Field.
NOTES
* Sunday marked 'Senior Day' at Cochrane Field, with BGSU's lone senior, Lindsay Carter, recognized in pregame ceremonies ... a number of Falcon women's soccer alumnae were on hand for the match ... former BGSU standouts Britt Anderson, Molly Bremen, Kasey Freeman, Nikki Pucillo, Natalie Sampiller, Ali Shingler, Julie Trundle and Ashley Wentzel all took part in the pregame ceremonies.
* Freshman Samantha Bland's goal was her first collegiate score ... Bland attended the same high school as Carter, Hilliard Darby, and both players played club ball for Ohio Premier.
* Sophomore Christy Zabek earned her fourth complete-game shutout in five career starts, all coming this season.
* For BGSU as a team, the shutout was the ninth of the season, tying the school record set by last year's club.
* The Falcons and Eastern Michigan are now tied, 6-6-1, in the all-time series between the teams ... believe it or not, Sunday's win was BGSU's first-ever home win over the Eagles ... only four of the series meetings have been held in BG, and the Falcons now have a 1-3-0 home mark vs. the Eagles.
* Sunday's victory was the 70th career win for Falcon head coach Andy Richards ... Richards, in his seventh season as a head coach, all with the Falcons, is now 70-68-12 all-time.
