Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green Lights Up the Leathernecks, 2-1 (OT)
August 25, 2006 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 25, 2006
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio- - Freshman Ahmad Smith promised himself that he would score in his first collegiate outing. Smith, a man true to his word did score in the Falcon's 2-1 (OT) win, but waited until the 101 minute of the match to slip one past WIU's back-up keeper, Stephen Patterson.
"I had it in my mind I was going to score today. I told myself all morning, I am going to score," said Smith. "I am aspiring to be someone great so I had to set a lofty goal."
Smith opened the match with two close chances to strike, but fell short.
"Had he taken those shots a year ago they would have been in the net, but he is now facing players who are tougher and stronger defensively than what he is used to," said coach Fred Thompson. "He will find more opportunities to pull the trigger and score, but, like his classmates he is still pretty raw."
At the 17:35 mark, it appeared as if Smith would have his chance to put the Falcons ahead as he received a long pass from behind the midfield stripe. As the rookie advanced on the breakaway he was sandwiched between two Leatherneck defenders, but twisted his way through the defense and was unable to convert the goal. Goalkeeper Zack Mazgaj, who was caught in the pile, was not only injured in the scramble but also earned a red card ejection in the process. He was replaced by Patterson who finished the game in goal for WIU with three saves and two goals against.
"It is hard to remember the play," said Smith. "When I was running through the defenders I didn't expect to get hit as hard as I did. I know my legs got tangled and my face hit the grass pretty hard. I told myself to just fight like a warrior and try to win a game."
Smith was not the only Falcon to narrowly miss on scoring opportunities. Less than two minutes in to match play, Alec Perea fired a shot on goal that rolled just inches shy of the goal. Justin Kim and George Davis also created scoring opportunities but saw their shots skim the goal structure.
"I was never frustrated with the missed scoring opportunities. We were creating the chances and I was extremely happy with our effort to create those," said Thompson.
As the match reached the conclusion of the first half, the scoreboard remained at zero.
Sophomore Justin Kim broke the stalemate at the 55:25 mark when he scored his first goal of the season and third of his career. The unassisted goal was the result of a scramble in front of Patterson and the WIU goal due to a Cameron Hepple corner kick.
Despite a wall of BGSU defenders, WIU's Preston Brenardi tapped a kick in past Paul Shoemaker to tie the match once again at 67:46.
Rookie Hunter Van Houten's late shot looked as if it was going to break open the match, but similarly to the other BGSU misses, it sailed over the goal by inches.
Although BGSU continued to control their destiny, the match was held scoreless until Smith connected on his fourth shot of the game. Once again Justin Kim was apart of the BGSU scoring attack as he was credited with the game wining assist.
Bowling Green out shot WIU 17-5 and did not allow their opponent to shoot through the first 23:39 minutes of action.
BGSU's next opponent will be Eastern Illinois on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Prior to the match, Western Illinois will take on Detroit with kick-off scheduled for noon. An awards ceremony will immediately follow the conclusion of the second match.
