Falcons, Miami Play to 1-1 Draw in Oxford

Thursday, October 27

Oxford, Ohio

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-13-1, 3-7-1MAC

Miami

9-8-1, 4-6-1MAC

OT 3

OT 4

Bowling Green

Miami

2011 women's soccer seniors - Brittany Hopkins, Courtney Beinlich, Alyssa Zuccaro, Megan Amann

Thursday's match was the final contest for BGSU's senior class, which included Brittany Hopkins, Courtney Beinlich, Alyssa Zuccaro and Megan Amann

October 27, 2011 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Schlemitz scores in BGSU's final match of season

By: OXFORD, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Bowling Green State University freshman Kenzie Schlemitz scored midway through the first half, but host Miami University equalized in the second, and the teams played to a 1-1, double-overtime tie Thursday afternoon (Oct. 27). The Mid-American Conference match, the final regular-season game for both teams, was held at the MU Soccer Field.

FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF

The result ends the Falcons' 2011 season. BGSU finished the year with an overall record of 6-13-1 and a MAC ledger of 3-7-1. The RedHawks finish the campaign at 9-8-1 and 4-6-1, respectively.

Schlemitz scored her second goal of the season at the 24:17 mark. Junior Emily Rothwell took a long free kick from the right side of the pitch, near midfield. Sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin knocked the ball into the 18-yard box, where Schlemitz was waiting. The freshman took one touch to settle the ball, turned and fired a low shot that beat MU goalkeeper Allison Norenberg.

The Falcons took that 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission, and the score remained the same for over half of the second period. But, MU's Amanda Filian would score the equalizer, converting a cross with 64:19 gone in the match. Giselle Mangal drew the lone assist on the play.

Miami had 25 total shots to the Falcons' 18, and the RedHawks had a narrow 9-7 advantage in shots on goal. The hosts were credited with an 8-2 margin in the overtime periods, including a 6-1 edge in total shots in the second OT period.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Becca Ison made eight saves for the Falcons, including three stops in the final 10-minute OT session. Norenberg had six saves on the afternoon for the RedHawks.

Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro had a team-leading total of five shot attempts on Thursday, tying for game honors. She put three of those shots on frame.

Nearly 10 minutes into the match, Zuccaro made a run through several Miami defenders and fired a shot from distance. 'Z' struck the ball very well, but Norenberg was able to leap and tip the shot over the crossbar.

A third of the way through the opening half, Zuccaro got her head on sophomore Madeline Wideman's corner kick, but the captain nodded the ball just wide of goal.

The 'Hawks had several chances in the opening period as well. With nearly 20 minutes elapsed, MU's Kelsey Dinges hit the crossbar with her shot off of a right-side cross. Only a minute later, Ison was forced to make a diving stop on a shot by Filian.

The RedHawks had three shots within a span of 42 seconds, giving Miami five shots in just over three minutes. But, Ison and the BG back line kept the hosts off the scoreboard during that stretch, and Schlemitz got the Falcons on the board with just over 24 minutes gone.

With only five minutes left in the period, the Falcons built the attack. Sophomore Tracy Togba, near the center circle, played the ball ahead to freshman Sidney Huth, who in turn sent a pass to junior Sarah VonderBrink. 'Vondy' brought the ball down the right side of the field and struck a shot from just outside the box, but Norenberg was able to grab the shot on one hop.

Ison made a save on Filian with 1:36 left in the period, and the Falcons took a one-goal lead into the break.

Early in the second half, the visitors had a good chance to increase the lead. Norenberg scooped up a pass from a teammate, but the MU defender had not headed the ball back to the 'keeper, meaning that she was not allowed to pick it up. The whistle blew, and a free kick was awarded to the Falcons in the penalty area.

Zuccaro took that kick, about 12 yards from goal and a little right of center. She slid a short pass to her left, where Wideman was waiting. The sophomore uncorked a shot, but the ball hit off of the back of a RedHawk player and went over the goal for a corner kick. Off of that corner, a shot by Tobin sailed high of the target.

The teams traded shot attempts, but no shot produced much panic from the opposing side. Norenberg grabbed a header by senior Megan Amann off of a cross, while Ison broke up a centering ball by Hailey Pleshakov. Then, however, the RedHawks saw a golden opportunity go by the wayside.

The home team crossed the ball into the box, and as Ison left her goal line in an attempt to break it up, the ball caromed off of several players and wound up at the feet ot MU's Katy Dolesh. Dolesh, only about six yards out, rushed her shot and fired it high and wide of the open goal in the 59th minute of the match.

Six minutes later, though, the 'Hawks would get another chance, and Filian converted it. The freshman scored after Mangal's cross deflected off of a BG defender.

The Falcons had a good scoring chance with under 20 minutes left in regulation, but Norenberg came up big. Wideman made a nifty run down the center of the field, and her through ball put Zuccaro in past the Miami defense. The senior hit a shot from about 15 yards out, but the Miami 'keeper, who had come charging off of her line, made a diving stop and was able to hold on to the ball.

WIth 15 minutes left, Wideman made another run, this time on the left side of the field. She cut the ball to her right and sent a diagonal ball toward the six-yard box. Togba got her head on that ball, nodding a shot back toward the left corner of the net. But, Norenberg, who had been caught leaning the wrong way, recovered in time to pounce on the ball just before it bounced across the goal line.

Ninety seconds later, the hosts had a chance to take the lead. A through ball found Kayla Zakrzewski behind the BG defense, and the sophomore headed toward goal. With a Falcon defender breathing down her neck, and with Ison coming out to cut down the shooting angle, Zakrzewski put her shot just to the outside of the left goalpost.

The RedHawks had a flurry with under four minutes left, but Ison was equal to the task. She knocked the ball away from Mangal on the left side of the box, and MU's shots off of the ensuing corner kick were blocked and wide, respectively.

In the first overtime period, Zuccaro's pressure in the Miami 18-yard box forced a defender to head the ball out of play for a corner. But, the RedHawks cleared that corner kick out of their own end.

Six minutes into the period, Pleshakov attempted to chip the ball over Ison, but the BG netminder made an acrobatic leaping save.

In the final minute of the period, BGSU's two senior starters connected on a long pass, as Amann's right-to-left ball found Zuccaro. Zuccaro settled the ball, cut it back toward the center of the field and hit a long shot that skipped just wide of the left post.

Zuccaro was at it again in the second OT period. In the first minute, Wideman made another of her patented runs downfield, playing the ball to the senior captain. Zuccaro hit a quick turnaround shot that forced Norenberg to make a save at the right post. The remaining nine-plus minutes of the period, however, saw the ball in BG's defensive end of the field nearly the entire time.

In the 104th minute of the period, a shot by Dinges hit the left goalpost after she received a teammate's cross from the right side. Ison made a diving save on Zakrzewski's shot just over a minute later, snaring the ball near the right post.

The final shot of the match came with 3:03 left, as a Haley Clark try was not too difficult for Ison to grab.

Thursday's match was the final contest for four seniors on the BGSU roster. The Falcon senior class consists of Amann, Zuccaro, Courtney Beinlich and Brittney Hopkins.

FALCON NOTES
* Freshman Kenzie Schlemitz scored her second goal of the year in Thursday's match ... her other goal also came on the road in MAC play, at Central Michigan ... Schlemitz tied for second on the team in goals with fellow freshman Sidney Huth.

* Junior Emily Rothwell's assist at Miami was her first point of the season ... she now has a career total of three points, with a pair of assists last fall.

* Sophomore defender Alyssa Carmack was one of five Falcons to play all 110 minutes in Thursday's match ... of the 1834-plus minutes of scrimmage time for the Brown and Orange this fall, Carmack was on the field for 1830 of them.

* Redshirt junior Becca Ison, in her first season as the starter, made an even 100 saves on the year ... that is the eighth-highest single-season total in BGSU history ... Erika Flanders holds the school record, with 137 stops in the 2002 season.

* With 118 saves in her career, Ison ranks fourth on that BGSU list ... the top-three spots are held by a trio of multi-year starters, including Flanders (473 saves from 1999-2002), Alexa Arsenault (338 saves from 2007-10) and Ali Shingler (334 saves from 2001-05).

* Ison made eight stops in the Miami match ... she had eight or more saves in seven matches on the year.

* Thursday's match marked the first draw in 17 series meetings between BGSU and Miami ... MU holds a 10-7-1 lead in the series, and the 'Hawks are 5-3-1 in matches in Oxford.

* As mentioned, Thursday's match was the final 2011 contest for both teams, as neither the Falcons nor the RedHawks will advance to the MAC Tournament ... the tourney matchups are as follows:
2011 MAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, Oct. 30 - quarterfinals at campus sites
#8 Ohio at #1 Toledo, 1:00 p.m.
#5 Buffalo at #4 Kent State, 1:00 p.m.
#6 Ball State at #3 Western Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
#7 Akron at #2 Central Michigan, 1:00 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 4 - semifinals at site of highest remaining seed
Toledo/Ohio winner vs. Kent State/Buffalo winner
Western Michigan/Ball State winner vs. Central Michigan/Akron winner

Sunday, Nov. 6 - championship match at semifinal site
UT/Ohio/KSU/UB vs. WMU/BSU/CMU/UA