Falcons Battle Bobcats to 1-1 Deadlock

Friday, October 9

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ohio

Senior Samantha Bland congratulates sophomore Katelyn Turner after Turner's first-half goal (photo by Brad Phalin)

October 09, 2009 | Women's Soccer

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team took a first-half lead, but visiting Ohio University got a second-half equalizer en route to a 1-1 tie Friday afternoon/evening (Oct. 9). The Mid-American Conference match was held at a soggy Cochrane Field.

STATS
* BGSU 1, OHIO 1 (2-OT) - Final Stats
* BGSU 1, OHIO 1 (2-OT) - PDF Boxscore
* BGSU 2009 CUMULATIVE STATS - PDF

PICTURES
* BGSU 1, OHIO 1 (2-OT) - Photo Gallery by Brad Phalin, Univ. Marketing & Communications

The result leaves the Falcons with an overall record of 4-8-2 and a MAC mark of 0-3-2. The Bobcats are now 5-5-2 and 2-1-2, respectively.

Sophomore Katelyn Turner scored the Falcons' goal, and very nearly ended the match in the second overtime, blasting a shot that hit the goalpost. Amy Lower had the Bobcats' goal.

"I could not be more proud of the fight, the life, the energy and the commitment the team displayed today," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "They really came out with a strong commitment to win this game, and played a tremendous game, especially in the first half where we thought we were the much better team."

The field was wet after it had rained during nearly all of Thursday night and Friday. The weather displaced the BGSU tailgating contingent from their usual pregame spot (the grass parking lot northwest of the Cochrane Field complex) to the west side of Doyt Perry Stadium. It was not raining at kickoff, but the rains returned early in the contest.

The Falcons had the first good scoring chance of the day, just over 10 minutes in. Junior Alicia Almond took a shot from approximately 20 yards out. The shot was deflected by the shin of a lunging Ohio defender and blooped over Bobcat goalkeeper Jess MacLean. Fortunately for MacLean and her teammates, the ball also sailed just over the crossbar and out of play.

Interestingly, in a game that saw a total of 38 fouls called, neither team was whistled for a single foul until over 21 minutes had elapsed.

The Brown and Orange had another chance just after that initial foul was called, as sophomore Megan Amann attempted to slide a centering ball across the six-yard line. But, MacLean was able to cover it up and end the threat.

Several minutes later, however, the Falcons got on the board, with Amann again involved in the play. The BG soph took a corner kick from the southwest corner of the field, and played the ball into the center of the penalty area. Turner, in traffic, headed the ball into the left side of the goal, giving the Brown and Orange the lead for the first time in MAC play this season. The goal came at the 26:39 mark.

The goal began a stretch in which the Falcons were very active at the offensive end of the pitch. Less than a minute after Turner's goal, sophomore Alyssa Zuccaro tried a shot that was blocked. Then, soph Leah Johnson played a dangerous-looking cross that was headed away by an OU defender.

Then, less than a minute later, junior Katie Stephenson fired a long shot that was blocked, and Almond's rebound try went just wide. BGSU had four shot attempts, plus Johnson's diagonal ball, in less than 100 seconds.

Ohio had a chance late in the half, when Laura Dieter slid a pass to Jackie Hanson near the 18-yard line, to BG goalkeeper Alexa Arsenault's right. Hanson hit a shot with the inside of her foot, but the shot was directly at Arsenault, who made the save with just over two minutes left in the half. The Falcons took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

In the second half, the Bobcats looked to get things going early. Kelsey Pichel played a free kick into the box, where it was blocked. The ball deflected directly to Cathryn Rogers, who hit a soft volley that, again, was almost directly at Arsenault with five minutes gone in the period.

The Falcons got a chance approximately 10 minutes into the half. Senior Kaitlyn Kobe, sophomore Kelsey Kovacs and junior Jackie Tamerlano worked the ball up the field. Tamerlano looked to slide a centering pass to freshman Keely Chandler, who was heading toward the far post. But, the cross was curving away from Chandler, and MacLean was able to grab the ball on one hop.

With just under 31 minutes left in the half, Stephenson's long, low shot appeared to have MacLean beaten, but the ball scooted just wide of the left post. Then, Zuccaro's through-ball sent Turner in past the defense with 28 minutes remaining. McLean, however, beat Turner to the ball just outside the penalty area.

With 17 minutes left in the period, the Bobcats got on the scoreboard. Lauren Burke's diagonal, right-to-left ball sailed into traffic in front of the BGSU goal. Arsenault punched it away, but Lower gathered it on the left side of the field, took a few dribbles and fired a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.

Lower's goal, which came at the 72:44 mark, was the last shot credited to either team in regulation. With just over 13 minutes left, Zuccaro's hard left-side cross was broken up by MacLean, ending what may have been the best scoring chance during those final 17-plus minutes.

The only two shots in the first 10-minute overtime period were taken by the Bobcats, and neither were high-quality chances. Ainsey Bodi's shot went wide midway through the period, and Pichel fired a last-second shot that was on target, but was hot hit hard. Arsenault gathered it in as the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the period.

Turner very nearly ended the match in the second overtime. With under four minutes remaining in the period, a pass from Stephenson sent the Falcon sophomore steaming into the right side of the penalty box. Turner fired a hard shot that rang off the right post.

Turner's shot was hit hard enough that, after bounding off the post, it hit MacLean in the back, hit the post again and bounced out of play for a corner kick. The Falcons had back-to-back corners, but could not convert, and the teams were forced to settle for a tie.

"We got a good goal from Katelyn Turner, off a great service from Megan Amann," said Richards. "Unfortunately, we couldn't hang onto the lead, although we easily could have won the game in the second overtime.

"Last weekend, we lost at Ball State off a shot that hit the crossbar, hit our 'keeper and went in. Today, we were unable to win the game as our shot hit the post, hit their 'keeper, hit the post again and then went out for a corner. The difference between winning and losing is so tiny, and I think those examples show it.

"Lady luck will turn for us, I'm sure, but I was very encouraged by today's performance. That's the best we have competed all year, and I am excited for us to have a strong finish to the season."

Both the Falcons and Bobcats had 11 shot attempts for the game. Arsenault had a total of four saves in 110 minutes of work, while McLean made one stop for the 'Cats.

BGSU had a 9-2 margin in corner kicks, and the Falcons were called for 21 fouls to Ohio's 17.

The Falcons will continue a four-match homestand on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 11), hosting the University of Akron in a 1:00 p.m. start at Cochrane. That game has been designated as the team's annual PINK OUT game in support of breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.

FALCON NOTES
* Katelyn Turner's goal in the first half of Friday's game gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead ... it marked the first time BG had led since the Youngstown State game of Sept. 13.

* Turner's goal was her third of the season, most on the team ... fellow soph Megan Amann picked up the lone assist on the play, her team-leading fourth of the year.

* Amann and Turner are now tied for the team lead in points, with eight apiece ... Turner has the three goals and two assists, while Amann has a pair of goals in addition to her four helpers.

* Amann's assist was the 12th of her career, the most among active Falcons ... in fact, Amann -- again, just a sophomore -- is now tied for 10th on the BGSU career list.

* Amann has 20 points in her collegiate career, the second-highest total among active BGSU players ... senior Stacey Lucas has 21 career points as a Falcon.

* Turner has matched her goal total for last season ... she scored three goals as a freshman in 2008 ... Turner trails only Lucas (8) and Alyssa Zuccaro (7) in career goals among 2009 team members.

* BGSU trails Ohio, 8-2-3, in the all-time series between the teams ... but, the Falcons are unbeaten in the last three games vs. the Bobcats ... each of those three games have required double overtime, as BG posted a 1-0 win two years ago (Oct. 26, 2007), while the teams battled to a scoreless tie last season (Oct. 3, 2008).