Falcons Lose a Heartbreaker in Akron, 1-0

Friday, October 14

Akron, Ohio

7:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

5-11-0, 2-5-0MAC

Akron

6-5-2, 3-2-2MAC

Team	1	2	Final F
Bowling Green	0	0	0
Akron	0	1	1

October 14, 2011 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BGSU dominates second half, but Zips get the lone goal

By: AKRON, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team dominated the play in the second half, but the University of Akron picked up the lone goal to earn a 1-0 win over the Falcons Friday night (Oct. 14). The Mid-American Conference match was held at UA's FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field.

FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF

With the win, the Zips improve to 6-5-2 overall and 3-2-2 in MAC play. The Falcons are now 5-11-0 and 2-5-0, respectively.

Katie Wise scored the lone goal of the match, against the run of play. Wise ran on to a diagonal ball by Kelly DeNiro from the left side of the pitch. Wise was able to knock the ball past onrushing BGSU goalkeeper Becca Ison with 9:27 left in the second half.

The teams each were credited with nine total shots on the night. While the first half was relatively even in terms of possession, the Falcons had the ball for the lion's share of the second 45 minutes.

In that second half, BGSU had a 5-2 advantage in shots, limiting the Zips to just one shot on goal. But, the home team made the most of that one opportunity.

"This was a great college game tonight," said Falcon head coach Andy Richards. "It was a very evenly played first half, and then in the second half we totally dominated Akron, but did not get the result.

"We had quite a few chances, a lot of corners, and then we received a sucker-punch near the end. It was not what we deserved; it was a cruel result, to be sure. We played very well tonight.

"The team is staying positive, working hard and sticking together. They are doing all the things you want them to do, as we look to rebound as best we can on Sunday."

The Falcons had a shot attempt in the early going, as sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin fired toward goal with just two-and-a-half minutes gone. But, UA goalkeeper Jeny Wolbert was able to make the stop.

Ison broke up two scoring chances by Wise before five minutes had expired. First, the BG redshirt junior got to a through ball before the UA junior could reach it. Then, Ison parried a shot by Wise less than a minute later.

With 20 minutes gone, freshman Kaylee Draper's high crossing ball sailed into the box. Wolbert attempted to get to the ball, but could not reach it through the maze of players from both teams. The ball bounded out to a Falcon midfielder, but her pass went awry.

Midway through the period, freshman Sidney Huth made a long run past three Akron players, but a Zip defender knocked the ball away from Huth just as she entered the penalty area.

A minute later, UA's Rachel Phillip won a corner kick for her team. That kick found the head of Jordan Clark, but Clark nodded the ball wide right.

A Draper cross was knocked out of the box to senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro, and 'Z' fired just wide from 20 yards out.

The Zips had several good chances over the remainder of the half. Phillip, moving right to left across the 18-yard line, fired a shot with 17 minutes left, but the ball went directly to Ison. Moments later, Phillip took a cross from Ashley Hughes, but shot wide of the target from 12 yards out.

With six minutes left before the half, the Zips had a flurry. A shot by Kyarah Foushee was blocked, but DeNiro brought the ball back into the box. The ball was deflected by several players, but ended up back with DeNiro near the end line. From a bad angle, DeNiro tried to put a shot on frame, but the ball hit the side netting.

UA had a 7-4 advantage in shots in the opening half, but the Zips would have trouble keeping the ball out of their own end of the field in the second 45 minutes.

The Falcons had a great chance with just over three minutes gone in the second half. An Akron player, with BGSU pressuring, tripped over the ball as she attempted to dribble away from her own goal. Zuccaro picked up the ball on the right side of the box, about eight yards from the end line. The captain tried to slide a quick pass to Huth in the center of the area, but the ball was just behind the BG freshman.

Less than three minutes later, Huth attempted to put Zuccaro through into the box. But, Zuccaro collided with a UA defender, and the Zips were able to clear the ball out of danger.

Just over 11 minutes into the half, Zuccaro got her head on a corner kick by sophomore Madeline Wideman. The captain put a great deal of force behind her shot, but the ball whizzed just over the crossbar.

A third of the way through the period, Zuccaro got her head on another Wideman corner. This time, the shot was a blooper that landed on top of the net. Sixty seconds later, Huth hit a bouncing ball from the 18, but the shot went wide.

Finally, with 19 minutes gone in the half, the Zips had a chance, but a header off of a diagonal ball went well wide of goal.

Midway through the period, Ison left her net, charging out to pluck the ball away from UA's Gillian Gross before she could receive a return pass on a give-and-go play in the box.

Just over 20 minutes remained when sophomore Ivi Casagrande played a cross into the box from the left side. The ball was just out of the reach of senior Megan Amann, who tried to head it toward goal from approximately five yards out.

Ninety seconds later, some good work by Amann drew a UA foul and earned the Falcons a free kick from about 22 yards out on the right side. But, the ensuing free kick from Wideman was gobbled up by Wolbert.

With 16 minutes remaining, Togba earned the Falcons a corner kick, knocking the ball off of a UA player in the corner. There was a scramble in the box off of that corner kick, but the Falcons could not get a clean look at a shot.

Two minutes later, Wideman stole the ball on the right side of the pitch, deep in the Akron end, and played a crossing ball. Zuccaro met that cross, and her header seemed to catch Wolbert leaning the wrong way. But, the UA 'keeper was able to leap to deflect the ball over the bar at the last second.

In the 81st minute, however, Wise scored against the run of play. The goal was her first of the season.

BGSU's best chance in the remaining nine-plus minutes came with five-and-a-half minutes left. Freshman Ashley Garr stole the ball and fired a cross into the box. The ball bounced off of several players, eventually coming to Zuccaro just outside the 18-yard line. 'Z' drilled a shot that went just high, and Akron was able to thwart all remaining BG attempts.

Wolbert had two saves on the night to pick up the shutout. Ison also made a pair of stops for the Brown and Orange. Zuccaro had four shot attempts to lead all players, while Phillip paced the Zips with three total shots on the night.

The match was played in front of 942 fans, marking a new attendance record for the UA women's soccer program.

The Falcons remain on the road for one more match. BGSU will head to Athens for a Sunday (Oct. 16) contest against Ohio University, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. at Chessa Field.