BGSU Downs Detroit, 4-0, in Motor City

Friday, September 4

Detroit, Mich.

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Detroit

Leah Johnson had a goal and two assists at UDM

September 04, 2009 | Women's Soccer

By: DETROIT, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Four different players scored as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team rolled along to a 4-0 win over the University of Detroit Mercy Friday afternoon (Sept. 4). The non-conference match was held at Titan Field.

* BGSU 4, DETROIT 0 - Final Stats
* BGSU 4, DETROIT 0 - PDF Boxscore
* BGSU Cumulative Stats - PDF (through 4 matches)

With the win, the Falcons improve to 2-2 on the season, while the Titans drop to 1-1. The victory was the BGSU women's soccer program's first-ever win at Titan Field, in four tries.

Colleen Kordan, Leah Johnson, Katie Stephenson and Katelyn Turner were the BGSU goalscorers, while Alexa Arsenault and Becca Ison combined for the shutout in net.

Johnson had her first collegiate four-point match, with two assists in addition to her goal. She scored three points during her freshman season.

The Falcons outshot the Titans by a 19-2 margin, including a 10-1 advantage in the first half. But, it took BG nearly the entire period to put a shot past UDM goalkeeper Joanna Hinde.

"This is a big and important win for us," said BGSU head coach Andy Richards. "It's the first road win of the year, the first shutout of the year, and it was an emphatic win against a team whom we had never beaten before at their place. So, it was a big morale booster after suffering a similar scoreline at Michigan State."

BGSU had a flurry with approximately 10 minutes gone, as a long shot by Johnson was blocked in the box, as a number of Falcon players looked for a handball call. No call was forthcoming, and junior Jackie Tamerlano's follow-up try was also blocked.

Hinde made saves on Turner and Tamerlano approximately one minute apart midway through the half, then had stops on shots by Stephenson and sophomore Alyssa Zuccaro several minutes later. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the half, Hinde made a dive to break up a dangerous cross by senior Stacey Lucas, after the Falcons had put together four or five passes to work the ball down the field.

Under five minutes remained in the half when Johnson stole an errant clearing attempt by Hinde, but the Falcon soph was unable to get a great deal of velocity behind her ensuing shot, and the UDM 'keeper was able to make the save.

But, with only 96 seconds left in the half, the Falcons struck. Sophomore Megan Amann took a corner kick, playing the ball into the six-yard box. Kordan, a senior co-captain, redirected the ball into the net for what would prove to be the only goal BG would need.

The Falcons doubled the lead at the 58:32 mark. Senior Jen Czapka took a Turner pass and played a ball back to Johnson. The BG soph lofted a shot toward goal, and it seemed that Hinde was in position to make the save. The UDM 'keeper misplayed the shot, however, and it landed behind her and across the goal line.

Johnson was involved in the scoring of BGSU's last two goals as well. After a UDM foul, Johnson played a free kick into the penalty box from the right side of the pitch. Stephenson deftly headed the ball into the far (left) side of the net, giving BG a three-nil advantage at the 61:54 mark.

Turner nearly scored just three minutes later, after a miscommunication between Hinde and one of her defenders. But, the BG sophomore's shot sailed just wide of the target. Turner would get another chance, however, and would make the most of it.

With just under 20 minutes left in the match, another right-side cross from Johnson sailed into the box. Zuccaro was able to leap and head the ball back toward Turner. With Hinde out of position after trying to grab Johnson's cross, Turner was able to quickly settle the ball and fire it into the net. Zuccaro and Johnson were credited with assists on the play.

The four goals were easily enough for the BG defense to work with. Arsenault and Ison made one save each, with Arsenault playing the first 66;09 and Ison coming on for nearly 24 minutes of relief work. The shutout was the Falcons' first of the young season.

"It was great to see four different people hit the scoresheet," said Richards. "Six different people have scored for us this year, so it is encouraging to have contributions like that all over the field. It was great to get a shared shutout from Alexa, Becca and the defense as well.

"Leah Johnson had a big impact with a goal and two assists, but everybody played well. The team responded well to the demands we put upon them in practice this week. We are excited to get that win, and to play again on Sunday."

That Sunday (Sept. 6) match is a home contest vs. IPFW. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.

FALCON NOTES
* Friday marked BGSU's first-ever win at Titan Field ... the Falcons had been 0-3-0 at the field prior to the 2009 season.

* Sophomore Leah Johnson's four-point match enabled her to top her scoring total for all of last season ... as a freshman in 2008, Johnson had three points on a goal and an assist.

* Both of Johnson's career goals have come against Detroit ... she scored vs. the Titans in another 4-0 BGSU win, last Sept. 19 at Cochrane Field.

* Another soph, Katelyn Turner, now has four career goals ... two of those have come against UDM, including the Falcons' final goal on Friday ... last year in BG, Turner scored what proved to be the winning goal in the Detroit match.

* Friday marked Turner's first career three-point game, as well as her first collegiate assist ... Turner had three goals for six points last year as a freshman.

* Friday marked BGSU's first match at Titan Field since the natural grass surface was replaced with turf ... to prepare for the match, the Falcons practiced on the FieldTurf surface at BGSU's Doyt Perry Stadium this week.

* Overall, UDM still leads the series with BGSU by a 4-3-0 count ... however, the Falcons have won two-straight games and three of the last four series meetings ... after the Titans outscored BG, 18-7, in the first three games, the Falcons have outscored Detroit by a 13-5 margin over the last four contests, including back-to-back 4-0 wins in 2008 and '09.

* BGSU's six goals this season have come from six different players ... a total of nine different Falcons have at least one point through the first four matches of the year (click on the link to BG's cumulative stats near the top of this page for more details).