Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Huskies Spoil BGSU's MAC Opener, 3-2
September 28, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Karen Enockson scored a pair of goals as Northern Illinois University spoiled the Mid-American Conference opener for the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team. The Huskies picked up a 3-2 win at Cochrane Field Friday afternoon (Sept. 28).
With the victory, NIU improves to 4-2-2 overall and 1-0-0 in MAC action, while the Falcons drop to 3-5-1 and 0-1-0, respectively.
Erin Fahey scored the final goal for the visitors, giving Northern a 3-1 lead with just over 19 minutes left in the match. Falcon freshman Alicia Almond scored her first collegiate goal, after a nice individual effort by senior Tiernay Tilford, to cut the margin to a goal, but BGSU could not get the equalizer.
NIU goalkeeper Audrey Holmer made three saves to earn the win. Junior Christy Zabek, who started the match, made one save, while senior Tiffany Hansen also had one stop in 14-plus minutes of scoreless relief.
"This was a very disappointing result today," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "We caused ourselves defensive problems, and arguably gave away three goals rather than having three goals scored against us. We need to be a little bit more effective at clearing balls out of our own 18-yard box.
"That having been said, there were some great efforts today. I thought we did a remarkable job of getting back into the game so late. We got a great goal from Alicia with hard work from Tiernay leading to that goal. That nearly set up a grandstand finish."
The Huskies got on the scoreboard quickly and suddenly on Friday afternoon. The Falcons possessed the ball in the NIU end of the field for the first minute of the contest, but the Huskies' first foray past midfield resulted in a goal.
NIU's Jestina Orlando, near midfield, played a ball to Enockson, who was approximately 35 to 40 yards out. Enockson immediately uncorked a long shot, catching Zabek out of her net, and the shot gave Northern a 1-0 lead with just 1:19 elapsed.
The Huskies took the first five shot attempts of the half, before sophomore Carolyn Nesline fired BG's first shot of the match with just over 20 minutes expired.
Enockson very nearly doubled the Huskies' lead at the 28:48 mark, but her hard shot rang off the goalpost and caromed out of danger. The shot hit the upper right post, at the point where it meets the crossbar.
Junior Susan Hunter worked hard to create a BGSU scoring chance nearly four minutes later. Hunter battled Northern's Annie Wyer for the ball, and eventually won possession. Hunter moved in along the end line on the left side, before sliding a pass to freshman Katie Stephenson. But, Stephenson's one-time effort was just wide.
Less than two minutes after that effort, however, the Falcons knotted the score. Sophomore Stacey Lucas brought the ball in along the right side of the field, and slid a ball across the six-yard box. The pass deflected off an NIU defender, however, and went into the goal. The teams were tied at the 33:17 mark.
Just before halftime, soph Faith Juillerat made a nifty move to elude her would-be defender, and slid a right-side cross through the box. The ball was just out of reach for two Falcon teammates, but Northern struggled to clear it out of danger. A clearing try wound up in Stephenson's wheelhouse near the 18-yard line, and the freshman quickly fired. She got a lot behind her shot, but it went just wide right. The teams headed to halftime tied at 1-1.
In the second half, the Falcons had the first dangerous chance. Eight minutes into the period, senior Tiernay Tilford played a diagonal ball from the right side. The ball found its way to junior Corbie Yee on the left side of the penalty area, but Yee's hard shot was right at Holmer. Soon after, Northern would take the lead for good.
After a shot by Enockson was blocked by a BG defender, NIU's Thea Johnson corralled the ball and weaved her way through the right side of the area. She played a short cross to a wide-open Enockson, and Zabek had no chance to stop the resulting shot, which found its way into the right side of the goal.
Northern took a two-goal lead with 18:58 left. With the Huskies applying pressure, the Falcons had difficulty clearing the ball out of the 'danger zone.' A BG clearing try went to Fahey at the 18-yard line, and she quickly fired and scored, for a 3-1 Huskie lead.
The Falcons, however, picked up the intensity after that goal. Less than a minute later, Nesline fired a shot that skimmed off the top of the crossbar and out of play for a goal kick. Finally, with five-and-a-half minutes left, BG cut into the NIU lead.
Tilford took possession of the ball near midfield, in front of Northern's bench, and proceeded to make her way downfield. Tilford dribbled through several players, won a challenge in the box and slid a pass to Almond, who was perched on the doorstep. Almond's one-timer resulted in her first collegiate goal, and cut the lead to one.
The Falcons had several more chances in the late going, but could not fool Holmer again. Lucas had a shot on target with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the 'keeper was equal to the task. Lucas also had several centering tries in the last few minutes, but the Falcons could not record the equalizer.
NIU held a 15-12 advantage in shot attempts, including a 10-4 margin in the first half. For the game, each team had five shots on goal. The Huskies were whistled for 18 fouls to the Falcons' 11, and BGSU held a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks on the day.
"We've talked about trying to score two or three goals a game, and we were able to do so today," said Richards. "But, unfortunately, if you let three in, you are going to cause yourself a lot of heartache. And, that's what we got today.
"We now have to regroup, and get after it again on Sunday. It was a disappointing result today, but there were some positives that we can take out of this game. And, there is a lot of soccer to be played, and we will turn our attention to putting things right on Sunday.
The Falcons continue a season-long four-game homestand with that Sunday (Sept. 30) match, vs. Western Michigan University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons now have a record of 6-4-1 in MAC openers in the history of the program.
* Sophomore Stacey Lucas has seven points on the season, and has topped her total for all of last year (six).
* Freshman Alicia Almond, as mentioned, scored the first goal of her collegiate career on Friday ... she is the Falcons' third freshman to score a goal this season, joining Jackie Tamerlano (three goals) and Meagan Moran (one).
* Nine of BGSU's 10 goals on the season have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.
* Almond's goal was the product of a lot of hard work by senior Tiernay Tilford ... for Tilford, the assist on the play was her team-leading second of the season and the eighth of her Falcon career ... she is the team's active career leader in that category.
* The Falcons and Northern Illinois are now tied, 6-6, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Huskies' win on Friday snapped a four-game series winning streak for the Brown and Orange.
