Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
MIAMI (OH)
Falcons Roll Along with 4-0 Win over Miami
October 12, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 12, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Miami boxscore in PDF Format 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Bowling Green State University head coach Andy Richards saw four different players score goals on Sunday (Oct. 12), while his defense posted yet another shutout. For Richards and the Falcons, it all added up to a 4-0 win over Miami University in Mid-American Conference action at Cochrane Field.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 9-3-3 overall and 4-1-1 in the MAC, and BG remains in second place in the 12-team conference. The RedHawks drop to 3-9-1 and 2-4-0, respectively.
Three freshmen and a senior scored goals for the Brown and Orange. Freshman Alyssa Zuccaro scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the first half, while senior Corbie Yee and frosh Megan Amann and Katelyn Turner all found the back of the net in the second period. Zuccaro and Amann teamed up for their two goals, with each player earning the primary assist on the other's goal.
At the other end of the field, redshirt sophomore Alexa Arsenault and the Falcons kept another clean sheet. The shutout was the team's fifth in a row and 11th of the season (both school records). Arsenault made seven saves in the win.
"This was a very impressive display today, particularly in the second half, when we really took the game by the scruff of the neck," said Richards. "I couldn't be more delighted that we achieved our goal of getting two wins this weekend."
Nearly every shutout will involve some combination skill, luck and help. Sunday's game was no exception. Arsenault, as mentioned, made seven saves, but had some help from her teammates. The Falcons had two 'team saves,' as BG defenders Leah Johnson and Faith Juillerat blocked Miami shots on the goal line.
One of those plays involved some luck for the Brown and Orange, as it looked like MU had scored the first goal of the game. With just under 10 minutes elapsed, the RedHawks' Danielle Hays took a corner kick that Jackie Hardek fired on net. Arsenault got a piece of the shot, but could only deflect it. The ball hit Johnson, who was stationed near the left post, and bounded up and off the top of the crossbar.
The ball came down in front of the net, where a charging Jodi Zwingelberg rammed it into the back of the net. But, the goal was disallowed, as it was ruled that the ball had been out of bounds when it hit off the bar, and the game remained scoreless.
Seven minutes later, however, Zuccaro gave the Falcons the lead for good. The freshman, who was a thorn in the RedHawks' collective side all afternoon long, headed home a corner kick from Amann at the 17:37 mark. The header was a bullet from the left side of the penalty area.
The RedHawks had a chance with 18 minutes left in the half, as Arsenault knocked down a corner kick, but could not corral it. Hardek got the rebound and fired, but her shot was blocked by a Falcon defender.
Junior Samantha Bland and senior Gina Rossi each had chances to increase the Falcons' lead within minutes of one another, but MU goalkeeper Krista Pace was up to the challenges. Bland was at the end of a long free kick by Johnson, and put a header on goal, but Pace made a nice diving save with 12 minutes to go in the half.
Then, just seconds after entering the game, Rossi dribbled left-to-right into the box and fired a hard shot from the left side of the area. Pace knocked down the shot and was able to dive on the rebound. BG took the one-goal lead into the intermission.
It was junior Stacey Lucas who had the next close call for the home team, with barely more than a minute gone in the second half. After sophomore Meagan Moran stole the ball deep in the RedHawks' end of the field, she slid a pass to Luca on the right side of the box. Lucas took two dribbles and fired a hard shot. The ball squirted through Pace's hands as she kneeled to make the save, but she was able to keep it from going between her legs.
Moments later, Yee had several chances for the Falcons. She misfired on the first one, but made up for it in a big way.
Johnson played a ball down the left side of the field, and Amann outraced several MU defenders to get to it. Amann's cross found Yee wide open at the top of the box, but she did not get a great deal of force behind her shot, and the ball rolled to Pace.
Less than 30 seconds later, however, Yee and the Falcons were celebrating her team-leading fifth goal of the year. Freshman Kelsey Kovacs got the ball back for the Falcons, and slid a through-ball between several MU defenders to Yee. The senior deftly flicked her shot past the onrushing Pace, and the Falcons had a two-goal lead at the 48:59 mark.
The Falcon defenders continued to do their part to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. After Yee's goal, the RedHawks had the game's next five shots. Arsenault made a save on Hardek on one of those shots, but the RedHawks had a flurry midway through the half. Shots by Courtney Clarke and Sara Lund were blocked by BG backliners, and Lund -- Miami's leading scorer with five goals -- fired another shot over the bar.
Some nifty passing led to the Falcons' third goal of the day. Zuccaro took a throw-in on the east side of the field, and senior Krista McDonald tapped the ball back to the freshman. The give-and-go play resulted in Zuccaro bringing the ball along the touch line. She played a ball to Amann, who was on the six-yard line in the center of the pitch. Amann made the play look easy, deftly directing the pass into the back of the net. Zuccaro and McDonald had assists on the goal.
With nearly 30 minutes left in the match, the RedHawks did not give up. MU had several more chances to break up the shutout, including a corner kick midway through the half. Stephanie Laser got her head on that kick, directing the ball to Hardek on the right side of the penalty box. Hardek had time to settle the ball and fire a shot that seemed ticketed for the far side of the net. But, Juillerat was in position to head the ball out of danger and keep the goose egg on the scoreboard.
MU had several more chances over the next few minutes, but it was the Falcons who would find the net once more before the day was over. The last goal game on a counterattack, as an MU cross was headed out of the penalty box by Bland. Junior Carolyn Nesline gathered the ball and played a long pass over the top of the Miami defense.
At first, it appeared that the RedHawks would get to the ball first. Suddenly, however, Turner raced past the MU defense and gained possession. She took the ball down the center of the field and deposited it past Pace with just 1:49 left, closing the scoring.
Miami actually held a slight edge in shot attempts, with 20 to the Falcons' 19. BGSU had an 11-9 advantage in shots on goal. Hardek led all players with seven total shots, including four SOG.
Pace made seven saves in her complete-game effort in goal.
"There are so many positives to be taken from this weekend," said Richards. "Whether it be the six points in the MAC, the three goals from freshmen today, the two shutouts to continue that run, the contributions we are getting from so many different players ... there are a lot of good things going on right now, and the team has great confidence.
"I want to give credit to both Scott Gloden and Tiffany Hansen for the contributions they are making this year. They are doing a fantastic job, and are two big reasons that we have had such success to date."
The Falcons, currently ranked second in the MAC standings, travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to take on league-leading Central Michigan (5-0-1 MAC) on Friday (Oct. 17). Kickoff for that match is 4:00 p.m.
NOTES
* BGSU's shutout was the team's 11th of the season, setting a new school record ... the 2006 club had 10 shutouts.
* The Falcons' shutout was the team's fifth in a row, also a new school record ... BGSU had four consecutive shutouts in October of 2005, and matched that feat last month (Sept. 12-21, 2008) ... after giving up two goals in a three-minute span at Northern Illinois on Sept. 26, the Falcons have now strung together five more shutouts in a row.
* The BGSU defense is on a school-record pace ... the Falcons have allowed just nine goals through 15 games, an average of only 0.60 goals per game allowed ... the program record low is 1.30 gpg allowed, by both the 2005 and '06 teams.
* BGSU extended several more school records on Sunday ... the Falcons have not allowed a goal in the last 556:22, lengthening the school mark for longest shutout streak ... the old record of 445:03 was set in October of 2005, coinciding with BG's first-ever streak of four-straight shutouts.
* Redshirt sophomore Alexa Arsenault has been in goal for the entire 556:22 of the current streak, the longest streak of her career and a new BG record ... her previous best was a streak of 380:34 earlier this year, a streak which ended at NIU ... Arsenault's current streak broke the mark that was set by her teammate ... senior Christy Zabek had a scoreless streak of 544:48 to begin her Falcon career (Sept. 16, 2005 to Oct. 20, 2006).
* Arsenault's shutout vs. MU was her ninth of the season, setting that school record for an individual ... Erika Flanders had the old record, with seven shutouts in 2002, and Ali Shingler matched that total in 2005.
* Arsenault now has 15 career shutouts ... she ranks third on that school list, trailing only Flanders (17 from 1999-2002) and Shingler (16 from 2001-05).
* Arsenault's 15 shutouts have come in just 28 career starts ... she has lowered her goals-against average(s) to just 0.60 this season and 0.71 in her career.
* The Falcons trail Miami, 8-7-0, in the all-time series between the teams ... but, BGSU has won seven-straight meetings after losing the first eight matchups with the RedHawks ... BGSU now owns a mark of 4-3-0 vs. the 'Hawks at Cochrane Field ... BG has picked up shutout wins in each of the last four overall series meetings.
* The Falcons are now 57-57-12 in MAC games in the history of the program ... this marks the first time BGSU has ever had a winning percentage of .500 in MAC matches ... the Falcons lost the first five MAC games in the team's initial season of 1997, finishing 1-6-0 that year, and BG never got back to even until Sunday.
* BGSU is now 54-51-8 all-time in home games ... prior to this season, the Falcons had not had an overall record of better than .500 at Cochrane Field since October of 1999.
* Senior Corbie Yee now has 18 career goals ... she has moved into a tie for fifth place with Michelle Lisy (1997-2000) on the BGSU career list.
* Yee now has 47 points to rank eighth on that BG career chart ... she trails Lisy and Tracy Gleixner (1998-2002) by just one point, and is only two points in back of fifth-place Britt Anderson (49 points from 2002-05).
* This season, Yee now has five goals and 12 points to lead the Falcons in both categories.
* The Falcons' 9-3-3 record is the best 15-game start in program history.
* BGSU's 4-1-1 league slate is the Falcons' best six-game start to the conference season in school history ... the 2002 and 2005 teams both were 4-2-0 through six MAC matches.
* Freshman Megan Amann's goal on Sunday was the first of her collegiate career ... she becomes the school-record 15th player to score a goal this year.
* Amann's assist vs. the RedHawks was her fifth of the season, most on the team ... she now has seven points to tie for fourth on the Falcons.
* Amann is tied with Zuccaro, who had her first collegiate assist on Amann's first collegiate goal ... Zuccaro and Amann each had their first three-point game as Falcons on Sunday ... 'Z' now has three goals and the assist for seven points.
* Zuccaro's game-winning goal was her second this season ... she also had the GWG at IPFW on Sept. 5.
* Freshman Kelsey Kovacs picked up her first collegiate point with her assist on the Yee goal ... no fewer than 21 different players have at least one point this season.
* With 31 goals this year to date, BGSU has topped the total for all of last season ... the 2007 Falcons scored 28 goals in 22 games.
* Arsenault and the Falcons have a goals-against average of just 0.31 in MAC games to date.
* Freshman Katelyn Turner now has three goals this season, with all three coming at Cochrane Field ... Turner is tied with Amann for second in scoring in home games this fall ... both players have six points at Cochrane Field, trailing only Yee (10).
* One final note regarding streaks: the Falcons have not allowed a goal at Cochrane Field since the second half of the Michigan State game on Aug. 31 ... BG's home shutout streak is now at 482:50 ... and no, that's not even close to the school record, which is 946:02 (Sept. 11, 2005 to Sept. 3, 2006).
