Bowling Green State University Athletics
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Falcons Down WMU, 2-0; Advance to MAC Tournament Semifinals
November 02, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Western Michigan Boxscore in PDF Format 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Junior Colleen Kordan and freshman Alyssa Zuccaro scored second-half goals to propel the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team past visiting Western Michigan University, 2-0, Sunday afternoon (Nov. 2). The game, a quarterfinal-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, was held at BGSU's Cochrane Field.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 12-5-4 on the season. More importantly, however, BGSU advances to the tournament's semifinal round. The Brown and Orange, seeded fourth for the eight-team tournament, will meet top-seeded Toledo on Friday (Nov. 7) in the day's second semifinal match, scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at UT's Scott Park.
The Broncos see the season come to an end with a record of 7-11-1.
Redshirt sophomore Alexa Arsenault made three saves as the Falcon defense recorded a clean sheet. At the other end of the pitch, WMU's Julia Francy made 13 saves, including eight in the scoreless first half.
It might sound strange, but the Falcons dominated play in the first half, but went to halftime locked in a scoreless tie. The second half was much more evenly contested, despite BG scoring both goals in that second period.
BGSU held an 18-10 advantage in shots for the game. No fewer than 15 of the Falcons' 18 efforts were on goal, with two others hitting posts or crossbars.
Zuccaro created havoc for the Broncos all day, with game-high totals of six shot attempts and five shots on goal. She had the game's first shot, after senior co-captain Brianne Eisenhard's pass put her behind the Western defense with eight minutes elapsed. But, Zuccaro's shot was stopped by Francy, for her first of many saves on the day.
Less than a minute later, a Kordan free kick sailed into the box, and bounced off several players in pinball-like fashion. The ball came to sophomore Jackie Tamerlano on the right side of the six-yard box. But, Francy was in position to block her one-time effort.
Approximately 15 minutes into the match, the home team again had several dangerous chances. Tamerlano blocked a WMU pass near midfield, and slid a quick pass to freshman Megan Amann, the reigning MAC Player of the Week. Amann made a long run toward the Broncos' penalty area, playing a ball to Zuccaro heading into the left side of the box. Zuccaro took a few dribbles and fired a shot that caromed off the right post.
Senior Corbie Yee tracked down the ball on the right side, took a dribble or two, and uncorked a shot from the right corner of the box. The ball seemed ticketed for the upper right corner of the goal before Francy was able to leap and deflect the shot out of bounds for a corner kick.
The Broncos were not out of the proverbial woods yet, however. Amann's corner kick was headed over the end line by a Western player, and Amann's next CK found Kordan on the far post. Her header was blocked by Francy, with several BG players reacting as though the ball had crossed the goal line. Play continued, however, and the WMU defense was able to clear the ball out of the danger area.
Midway through the period, a Kordan free kick led to another close call. The kick came to Zuccaro, who hit a hard shot that Francy blocked, seemingly almost in self-defense. Francy got her arms up to deflect the shot, which then hit the crossbar and bounced to junior Samantha Bland. Francy was in position to block Bland's shot, then grabbed the rebound, just beating Tamerlano to the ball.
With under eight minutes remaining in the half, the Falcons held a 9-1 advantage in shot attempts. Western's second attempt, however, very nearly gave the visitors the lead.
Off of a corner kick, the Broncos' Hillary Wernlund rose up and got her head on the ball, sending it toward goal. Falcon junior defender Kaitlyn Kobe, who had been stationed at the far post on the corner kick, had held her spot and was able to clear the shot off the line to keep the game scoreless.
Early in the second half, however, the home team got on the scoreboard. With just over a minute gone, Yee's shot was blocked by a Bronco defender in the box. A handball was whistled, however, and a penalty kick awarded.
Kordan stepped up and took the PK, and her shot found nothing but net. The Falcons had a lead they would not relinquish.
Approximately six minutes after the goal, senior Gina Rossi played Amann down the left side of the field. Amann made a run and sent a pass to Yee in the center of the field. Yee, in traffic, was able to get a shot past the defenders, but not past Francy.
Then, it was Western's turn to threaten. After the Broncos were able to string together several passes, Nicole Dulyea took a long shot that hit the post and bounded away.
Just over a minute after the shot, it was BG's turn to mount another attack. Kordan's effort was deflected toward Rossi in the box, and the Falcon fifth-year senior made a lunging effort to toe-poke a shot on goal. Francy made one of her best saves of the day, getting a piece of the ball, which rolled ever-so-slowly just wide of the left post and out of play.
Halfway through the period, Zuccaro and fellow freshman Katelyn Turner worked a give-and-go near midfield, with Zuccaro taking the ball into the area and firing yet another shot. But, Francy was up to the task.
After threatening to score all day, though, 'Z' finally broke through. Less than a minute after her give-and-go play with Turner, Zuccaro chased down a long ball off the foot of Kordan. It first appeared as though a Western defender would reach the ball first, but Zuccaro slipped past the defender, settled the ball and slid a shot between the legs of Francy, who was coming out to try to cut down the shooting angle. The Falcons had a two-goal lead at the 68:17 mark.
Western had several chances over the next few minutes. First, Stephanie Skowneski took a shot that forced Arsenault to make a diving save, extending her body to tip the shot off of the post.
Then, a misplay by the Falcons gave WMU's Jackie Drees the ball in the penalty area with no one around her. But, her shot was right at the Falcon 'keeper.
Amann had a shot graze off the top of the crossbar and out of play with 15 minutes left, and senior co-captain Susan Hunter saw her shot saved with just over six minutes remaining, keeping the lead at two goals. The Falcon defense held tough at the other end of the field, though, and when the clock hit zero, BG had a trip to the semifinals.
"It was a very exciting win today," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "We are delighted to be in the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament.
"I thought the team played terrifically well in the first 45 minutes, and we were very unlucky not to have gotten on the scoresheet. But, some fantastic goalkeeping and some stout defending from Western Michigan kept us off the board. I felt we were the better team today; we just needed to break through, which we did on Colleen's penalty kick.
"Z's goal was very well taken, particularly because she had been frustrated earlier in the game. She showed great composure; she is really evolving into a terrific prospect for us, and you can see her getting better and better every game.
"In the meantime, we did some great defending ourselves, including clearances off the line by Kaitlyn Kobe and some great saves from Alexa Arsenault. Overall, the whole team did very well. We probably played better in the first 45 minutes than we did in the second. But, in the second, obviously, we were more effective at turning our chances into goals, and we did a good job of seeing the game out at the end.
"We are excited to be in another MAC semifinal, and we will push forward. I want to thank all of the fans, alumni and well-wishers who have been supporting the program. I hope that we can continue to make them proud next weekend."
As mentioned, the Falcons will play top-seeded UT in Friday's semifinal round, beginning at 2:00 p.m. The home teams all emerged victorious on Sunday, meaning that Central Michigan will meet Eastern Michigan in Friday's first semifinal. That game is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 a.m. in the Glass City.
