Bowling Green State University Athletics
The Past Meets the Present at Cochrane Field
April 15, 2007 | Women's Soccer
April 15, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The past met the present, and those in attendance perhaps got a glimpse of the future as well, at Cochrane Field on Sunday afternoon (April 15). The Bowling Green State University women's soccer program held its annual Alumnae Game to conclude the spring portion of the schedule.
Head coach Andy Richards and the current Falcon team welcomed the former Falcons back to town, and the latter group included no fewer than 23 alumnae. The current players scored a pair of late goals to pick up a 4-1 win in what ended up being a 70-minute game. The afternoon was not so much about the final score, however, as it was about the chance for current Falcons to meet and mingle with past BGSU greats, as well as the chance for those former BG standouts to play a game on the Cochrane Field pitch one more time.
"I would like to thank everybody who took the time to come back and visit Bowling Green this weekend," said Richards, who coached each of the 23 alums for at least one of their seasons in the Brown and Orange. "We had players dating back to the 2000 season return to town, and it was great to have everyone back.
"From my perspective, it was just a lot of fun to see those familiar faces, and it was great to get another chance to see them play again. I think they all enjoyed coming back and getting a chance to get on the game field, too."
As mentioned, the present Falcons beat the alums, with a rising junior scoring one of the goals and sophomores-to-be accounting for the other three. A member of the first class in program history found the back of the net for the alumnae squad.
That alumnae group consisted of the following former Falcons:
CLASS OF 2000*: Leslie Buse, Autumn Harris, Stephanie Heller, Michelle Lisy, Janice Mentrup
CLASS OF 2001: Annmarie Aparo, Libby Christensen, Meredith Davis, Adrienne Graessle, Mandy Smith
CLASS OF 2004: Jenny Berlovan, Kristy Coppes, Kylene Newell, Beth Rieman
CLASS OF 2005: Britt Anderson, Molly Bremen, Leah Eggleton, Samantha Meister, Natalie Sampiller, Ali Shingler, Julie Trundle, Ashley Wentzel
CLASS OF 2006: Lindsay Carter
The game originally was scheduled to consist of two 40-minute halves, although 10 minutes mysteriously disappeared from the clock during the second period. The current Falcons got on the scoreboard first, as rising junior Corbie Yee scored with less than five minutes elapsed.
That lead lasted for less than five minutes, however, as Aparo's right-side cross found the foot of Lisy, who blasted a shot into the back of the net to knot the score at the 9:02 mark.
The '07s responded, as rising sophomore Faith Juillerat scored just 1:36 later. That 2-1 advantage held up until halftime.
The halftime intermission was scheduled for five minutes in duration, but the alums were back in formation after fewer than four minutes, and the second half began.
After some back-and-forth play in the early going, the '07s were able to put the game away with goals from rising soph Stacey Lucas and Juillerat just 1:51 apart. Juillerat's goal came with 15:52 on the clock, but a 'scoreboard malfunction' resulted in the clock suddenly reading 5:52.
Each team had several good scoring chances on the afternoon, with the final one coming off the foot of Kristy Coppes in the last minute of the match. Coppes, the Falcons' all-time scoring leader, saw her shot roll just wide of the far post.
For the current Falcon squad, three goalkeepers -- Christy Zabek, Alexa Arsenault and Tiffany Hansen -- played roughly the same amount of time between the posts. Shingler played the first 60 minutes for the alums before giving way to Anderson, who had played exactly zero minutes in net during her four-year Falcon career. All five 'keepers made at least one save on the day.
"Again, a big thanks to everyone who was able to be a part of the day," said Richards. "We look forward to doing it again next year. In the meantime, we also look forward to seeing some of those smiling faces for a game or two during the fall season."
That fall season begins with a home exhibition against Morehead State on August 25. After the season opener at West Virginia (Aug. 31), the Falcons will commence the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a Sept. 2 game vs. Eastern Illinois.
* NOTE: The year listed denotes the season in which each player was a senior, not their year of graduation ... additionally, while several former Falcon players are now married, they are listed by their maiden names
