Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
EASTERN MICHIGAN
Eagles Fly Past Falcons, 2-0
October 19, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 19, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Eastern Michigan Boxscore in PDF Format 
YPSILANTI, Mich. (BGSUFalcons.com) - Two first-half goals by host Eastern Michigan University lifted the Eagles to a 2-0 win over the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Oct. 19). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Scicluna Field.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 9-4-4 overall and 4-2-2 in MAC action. The Falcons drop to 9-5-3 and 4-3-1, respectively. BGSU has lost back-to-back matches for the first time in exactly one year.
The Eagles got a goal from Vanessa Atanasoski with just over 13 minutes gone, and Ashley Rodrigues converted a penalty kick with three minutes remaining before halftime.
"It was a disappointing first half," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "We put ourselves in a hole at halftime. We played very well in the second half without actually scoring. We dominated the possession, the corners, the shots on goal, but it was a case of too little, too late.
"It was a bad first half, and finished off a disappointing weekend. It is up to the team -- everyone involved with the program -- to bounce back and make sure we have a positive ending to the regular season. We look forward to getting back to work straight away."
In Sunday's game, the host Eagles had the first five shot attempts of the game, and held an 11-2 advantage in the opening half. The Falcons outshot Eastern, 11-3, in the scoreless second period.
With only three minutes elapsed, the Eagles' Jessica Lathrop found herself wide open at point-blank range, but her shot was not well-struck, and was right at Falcon redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Arsenault.
Eight minutes into the game, Katie Lozar took a long shot that glanced off the top of the crossbar and out of play. That was the Eagles' fifth total shot of the day, with BGSU yet to take a single shot.
Two minutes later, however, the Falcons mounted a threat. Sophomore Jackie Tamerlano took a shot, but slipped just before she struck the ball, taking some velocity off of the shot, and Eastern 'keeper Monique Budani made the save.
With just over 13 minutes gone, Stephanie Janssens played a right-side cross to Atanasoski, who was open in the center of the penalty area, near the six-yard line. Atanasoski's one-time effort found the back of the net, with Janssens drawing the assist, and the Eagles had the lead for good.
The Falcons strung together six or seven passes a few minutes later, but an EMU defender was able to block sophomore Meagan Moran's shot attempt to thwart the play.
Midway through the half, Eastern looked to be making a push, but junior defender Kaitlyn Kobe nicely broke up the scoring chance before Lathrop could get a shot off.
Eastern's Rodrigues had a great scoring chance, finding herself wide open with 14 minutes remaining in the half, but misfired on her shot, which went right to Arsenault.
Six minutes later, another Eastern flurry resulted in several close calls for the BG defense, including a cross that bounded ever so close to the goal line before senior co-captain Brianne Eisenhard cleared the ball away.
Late in the first half, though, an EMU cross was ruled to have hit the hand of a BG defender in the box, and the home team was awarded a penalty kick. Rodrigues took the kick, and placed her shot into the lower left corner of the net, giving her team a two-goal halftime lead.
The Falcons came out strong in the second half, with several shots in the first few minutes. Junior Samantha Bland headed a free kick wide with less than two minutes gone, and classmate Colleen Kordan fired a free kick on goal, with Budani forced to make a save.
Midway through the half, the Falcons had four shots in a span of just over three minutes, including three on goal. Freshman Katelyn Turner took two of those shots. Her second shot very nearly beat Budani, as she quickly fired a shot after a giveaway. Classmate Alyssa Zuccaro had blocked an EMU clearing effort at the 18-yard line, with the ball deflecting toward Turner. She immediately ripped a shot toward the lower left corner, but Budani made a diving save, deflecting the ball over the end line for a corner kick.
With 14 minutes left, another Bland header went just wide after Kordan had found her with a free kick.
Freshman Megan Amann and senior Corbie Yee had shots on goal within 25 seconds of one another late in the game, but Budani was up to the task. She made a total of seven saves to pick up the shutout.
Arsenault had five stops at the other end of the field.
The shot totals were about as even as possible, with Eastern holding a slim 14-13 lead in total attempts, and each team putting seven shots on goal.
The Falcons now return home for the final three games of the regular season. BGSU will begin that three-game stretch by hosting Kent State on Friday (Oct. 24). Kickoff is 3:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
| | Team | MAC Record | Pts. |
| 1 | Central Michigan | 6-1-1 | 19 |
| 2 | Toledo | 6-2-0 | 18 |
| 3 | Eastern Michigan | 4-2-2 | 14 |
| | Northern Illinois | 4-2-2 | 14 |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 4-3-1 | 13 |
| | Ball State | 4-3-1 | 13 |
| | Western Michigan | 4-3-1 | 13 |
| 8 | Miami | 3-5-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Ohio | 2-4-2 | 8 |
| 10 | Akron | 2-5-1 | 7 |
| | Kent State | 2-5-1 | 7 |
| 12 | Buffalo | 0-6-2 | 2 |
