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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MICHIGAN STATE
Falcons Battle Michigan State to 1-1 Draw
September 21, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 21, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team battled to a 1-1, double-overtime draw at Michigan State University Friday afternoon. The non-conference match was held at MSU's Old College Field.
Through Friday's play, the Falcons are now 2-4-1 on the season, while the Spartans are 4-2-1.
"This was a tremendous team performance today, particularly in the second half and the two periods of overtime," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "We really stepped up in terms of our commitment, our passion and our desire to get a result out of this game."
The Falcons' goal, late in the first half, came courtesy of redshirt junior Gina Rossi, with an assist by sophomore Faith Juillerat. Rossi's first goal of the season came in the 42nd minute, and sent the teams into halftime at 1-1. The Falcons and Spartans battled through a scoreless second half and two OT periods.
The Spartans got on the scoreboard midway through the first half. MSU's Maureen Pawlak converted a pass from Cara Freeman. For Pawlak, the goal was her second in as many games and her fourth of the season.
The Falcons equalized at 42:03. Juillerat, in possession of the ball approximately 15 yards out, played a ball back to Rossi. Rossi hit a low, rolling shot that eluded MSU goalkeeper Nicole Galas and nestled just inside the left post.
"Congratulations to Gina Rossi, who scored the tying goal on what is best described as a rasping shot, following some nifty footwork from about 18 yards out," said Richards. "It was a great goal, a classic goal."
Neither team would score again, although the hosts had a very late chance. In the second overtime, MSU's Freeman fired a shot off a Falcon defender, resulting in a Spartan corner kick with only 15 seconds left. State's Lauren Hill's hurried corner found the head of a leaping Freeman, whose shot sailed just wide as time wound down.
The Spartans held a 14-7 advantage in shot attempts in the match. BG redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault, in her first collegiate start, made six saves on the afternoon, including several diving stops in the opening half. Arsenault made her collegiate debut in BGSU's last game, Sunday (Sept. 16) at Purdue.
"Congratulations also go to Alexa, who played very well in goal in her first collegiate start," said Richards. "But, this was truly a team performance. Everyone contributed, gave us some good minutes, and the performances are really getting better. We are finding our way now.
"We are excited, and we now will look to back this up with another good performance on Sunday."
Galas made two saves for the Spartans.
"Bowling Green is one of the best teams in the Mid-American Conference," Michigan State coach Tom Saxton told msuspartans.com. "I knew this would be a close match."
The Falcons conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule with a Sunday (Sept. 23) match at Youngstown State University.
FALCON NOTES
* As mentioned, Friday's match marked the first collegiate start for redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault ... she has 13 saves on 15 shots faced (.867 saves pct.) in her 155 minutes of action, all against Big Ten foes ... Arsenault played the second half of Sunday's (Sept. 16) game at Purdue ... the Purdue match was her collegiate debut.
* Redshirt junior Gina Rossi's goal was her first of the season and fifth of her career ... she ranks second in career goals scored among active Falcons, trailing only junior Corbie Yee (nine career goals).
* Sophomore Faith Juillerat's assist on that goal was the first of her Falcon career.
* Friday's match marked the Falcons' first tie since the 2005 season ... BGSU's last deadlock came on Nov. 6, 2005, in the championship match of the MAC Tournament at Cochrane Field ... on that date, the Falcons and Kent State battled through a scoreless match, before BG captured the conference tourney title via penalty kicks.
* BGSU now has an all-time record of 14-12-17 in overtime games.
* The Spartans lead the all-time series by a 9-1-2 count ... Michigan State is the Falcons' most common non-conference opponent over the first 10-plus years of the program.
* Sophomore Jen Czapka made her first start of the season and the second of her career.
(Some information courtesy msuspartans.com)
