Falcons Down 'Dons, 1-0

Friday, September 16

Bowling Green, Ohio

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-5-0

IPFW

2-4-0

IPFW

Bowling Green

Tracy Togba, after eluding the IPFW 'keeper, slides the ball into the net for the lone goal in Friday's win (John Enright, BGSU Athletic Communications)

September 16, 2011 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Togba's goal early in the 2nd half helps BGSU to a second-straight win

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Sophomore Tracy Togba's goal early in the second half lifted the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over IPFW Friday (Sept. 16). The non-conference match was held at Cochrane Field.

FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF ||||| BGSU SEASON STATS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY (photos by John Enright, BGSU Athletic Communications)
Scroll down for interviews with Emily Rothwell, Tracy Togba and head coach Andy Richards

With the win, the Falcons improve to 3-5-0 on the season, and BGSU has won two consecutive matches. The Mastodons drop to 2-4-0 on the year.

Redshirt junior Becca Ison made three saves to earn the shutout for the Brown and Orange.

Togba's goal came after an errant pass in the IPFW end of the field. The sophomore's pressure helped force that pass, and Mastodon goalkeeper Kristen McFadden was forced to come off her line. Togba beat McFadden to the ball, and sent it past the diving 'keeper with her first touch. Then, she took a few dribbles and calmly slid a shot into the vacated net ahead of two charging defenders. The unassisted goal came at the 48:24 mark.

The Falcons outshot the 'Dons by a 5-4 margin in the opening half, but the visitors had arguably the best chance of the first 45 minutes. Just over 10 minutes into the game, freshman Sidney Huth teamed up with senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro to work the ball into the IPFW end. Zuccaro played a nifty through ball to classmate Megan Amann. Amann fired a hard shot, but a lunging defender deflected the ball just after it left Amann's foot. The shot still went just a few feet wide, hitting the auxiliary post located behind the goal.

The ensuing corner kick by freshman Kaylee Draper found redshirt soph Jenny Fowler, but she fired her one-timer just wide of the target.

Huth had a good chance roughly 15 minutes into the match. Amann's left-side cross hit a player in the penalty box and bounced out to the Falcon freshman near the top of the 18-yard box. From the right of the area, Huth took a dribble and fired a shot, but the ball curved directly to McFadden.

The best chance of the half, however, came several minutes later at the other end of the pitch. A pass by the 'Dons' Brittany Climmons put Lisa Underwood behind the BG defense. Underwood, IPFW's leading scorer, ripped a shot, but the dipping volley went just over the crossbar with 26 minutes left in the half.

Zuccaro answered with a volley of her own approximately eight minutes later. Freshmen Ashley Garr and Leslie Henny worked a one-two, with Henny laying off a pass that the charging Zuccaro took in stride. The senior hit a hard shot that sailed just wide of the mark.

With 14 minutes left before halftime, Zuccaro played Amann into the penalty area, but McFadden barely beat Amann to the 50-50 ball and cleared it out of harm's way.

Six minutes remained in the opening half when sophomore Madeline Wideman's free kick sailed into the area. McFadden made a leaping effort, dropped the ball, but was able to come up with it before any Falcon striker could get a boot on it. Soon after that, Sarah VonderBrink was nearly in on goal, but an IPFW defender knocked the ball away just before the BG junior entered the penalty area.

The teams went to halftime knotted in a scoreless deadlock, but Togba's goal just 3:24 into the second half broke that tie. The Falcons had numerous similar scoring chances in the second period, playing numerous balls past or over the IPFW back line. But, each chance was thwarted, either by McFadden grabbing the ball before a Falcon could get to it, or by a BG shot being saved or wide of the mark.

Ten minutes into the period, BG was able to string five or six passes together, with Zuccaro, Henny and Wideman involved in the play. The last several passes of that sequence involved a give-and-go between Wideman and VonderBrink, but Wideman was just barely offside when VonderBrink poked her return pass into the area.

VonderBrink fired a cross into the box just one minute later, but McFadden knocked the ball out of the box a split-second before Zuccaro arrived.

At the 60-minute mark, a BG foul gave IPFW a free kick just 25 yards from goal, but Ison saved Underwood's free kick.

Midway through the half, Wideman took a free kick at the other end of the field. Her diagonal ball was was blocked by a defender, but Zuccaro hit a turnaround volley on the rebound. The shot, taken from about 20 yards out, glanced off the right goalpost and went out of bounds.

With 20 minutes left in the period, there was a 30-second stretch in which the Falcons struggled to clear the ball out of their own end. But, IPFW was unable to get a shot off during that stretch.

Wideman's forward ball nearly sent VonderBrink in on net, but as McFadden charged way out of her net to try to disrupt the play, the BG junior fired a long shot that went wide of goal.

Fifteen minutes remained when freshman Kenzie Schlemitz hit VonderBrink with a pass. 'Vondy' slid a ball to sophomore Ashley Miller, who fired a long right-footed shot across her body. Miller got a good deal of force behind her shot, and McFadden was forced to make a diving effort to tip the ball just wide of the left post for a corner kick. Off of that corner, the ball was blocked out to Wideman, who attempted to curve a shot inside the right post. But, McFadden made the stop.

The Mastodons thought they had scored in the final minute of play. With 26 seconds on the clock, Tara O'Toole poked a ball past Ison, but the assistant referee's flag was up, indicating offside against the 'Dons. The Falcons kept that 1-0 lead, and after the ensuing free kick, were able to run out the clock.

For the match, BGSU had a 12-8 margin in total shot attempts, and the Falcons' had six shots on goal to IPFW's three. Ison, as mentioned, had three saves en route to the shutout. McFadden made five stops at the other end.

The match marked the first time in Falcon womens' soccer history that the team benches were located on the East side of the field. Beginning with the 2010 season, the benches were placed on the East side of the pitch for BGSU men's soccer matches, but the benches had been located on the West side, in front of the bleachers, for the entire 14-plus years of the women's program. The benches are on the East side of the complex indefinitely, while work is being done for the Cochrane Field lights project.

The Falcons conclude the non-conference schedule on Sunday (Sept. 18), hosting Valparaiso University at Cochrane Field. That match is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.