Valparaiso is Too Much for Falcons, 4-0

Sunday, September 18

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-6-0

Valparaiso

5-3-1

Valparaiso

Bowling Green

Freshman Leslie Henny and the Falcons head to Buffalo to begin MAC play next weekend (photo by John Enright)

September 18, 2011 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Three first-half goals by Valparaiso University sealed the deal, and the Crusaders went on to a 4-0 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Sept. 18). The non-conference match was held at Cochrane Field.

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PHOTO GALLERY - photos by John Enright, BGSU Athletic Communications
Scroll down for a video interview with head coach Andy Richards

With the win, Valparaiso improves to 5-3-1 on the season, and the Crusaders are unbeaten in the last four matches. The Falcons drop to 3-6-0.

Rachel Hoaglin got the visitors on the scoreboard in the ninth minute of the match, knocking home a cross by Tracy Roos. Luisa Desario and Kelsey Draper also would score for the Crusaders before halftime. Draper is the twin sister of Falcon freshman Kaylee Draper.

Katie Gratzianna would complete the scoring with a goal in the 84th minute for Valpo. Kristen Manski made two saves in net for the Crusaders, while redshirt junior 'keeper Becca Ison had two saves for the Brown and Orange. BGSU also was credited with a team save, as sophomore Melissa Zeigler blocked a Valpo shot on the goal line in the second half.

The Crusaders had a narrow 11-8 margin in shot attempts, and VU had a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal. Valpo had eight corner kicks to the Falcons' one.

In front of the BCSN cameras (the Toledo network broadcast the match) and a large contingent of Perrysburg, Ohio, natives, the Draper twins each started the match for their respective teams. Both players are Perrysburg H.S. products, and both wear uniform number 16. Kelsey's Valpo team dominated the statistics in the opening half.

Valpo fired several early shots, with a flurry of activity roughly five minutes into the match. After a corner kick, Desario's shot was blocked, and a rebound try by Laura Romberg sailed high. But, the Crusaders would be on target with a shot four minutes later, and would take the lead for good.

Roos made a long run down the left side of the pitch, and slid a low cross into the box. Hoaglin was relatively unmarked, and poked the ball home with a sliding effort at the 8:47 mark.

One-third of the way through the opening half, a BGSU defender misfired on an attempt to pass the ball back to Ison. Brooke Henderson swooped in, grabbed the ball and headed toward the BG goal unimpeded. But, Ison did a spectacular job of thwarting that VU scoring try, coming off her line to break up the play before Henderson could even get a shot off. Ison's play kept the Falcons' deficit at a single goal for the time being.

The Falcons, however, had not yet come up with a scoring chance of their own. BG worked the ball into the Crusaders' end of the pitch with nearly 25 minutes gone. Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro found sophomore Madeline Wideman with a pass, and Wideman put senior Megan Amann in with a pass of her own. But, a VU defender was able to knock the ball away as Amann reached the six-yard line on the left side of the goal.

BGSU's first actual shot attempt was a near miss. Freshman Leslie Henny, working one-on-three, drew a foul in the Valpo end of the field. The resulting Falcon free kick was blocked in the penalty area, the ball came out to redshirt freshman Kylie Briem. Briem put the ball right back into the box with a short diagonal ball, and freshman Kenzie Schlemitz got a touch on it. Schlemitz redirected Briem's pass toward the net, but the shot went just wide right.

Valpo, however, doubled the lead at the 36:18 mark. Janine Lytle's right-side cross found the head of Desario. The junior headed the ball back the other way, and the ball spun into the right side of the goal. Ison, with her momentum taking her to her right, still almost made the save, but the ball was just out of the reach of her fingertips as she lunged back to her left.

Only 1:26 remained in the half when Kelsey Draper gave the visitors a commanding 3-0 lead. Trisha Wladecki's corner kick sailed into the box, where Romberg got a boot on it. The ball went to Draper, who fired a hard turnaround shot that found the right side of the net. Both Romberg and Wladecki drew assists on the play.

To their credit, the Falcons kept attacking in the second half, despite the multiple-goal deficit. After being outshot by a 6-2 margin in the opening period, BG had six shots to Valparaiso's five in the final 45 minutes. Five-and-a-half minutes into the half, Wideman uncorked a shot after a steal by Zuccaro, but the shot was directly at Manski.

Six minutes later, Wideman stole the ball at midfield, and put Zuccaro through. The senior captain headed toward goal, and was tripped approximately 18 yards and six inches away from goal. The resulting free kick was taken by Wideman, who bent her free kick around the VU wall, but Manski was in position to make the save.

With the three-goal lead, the Crusaders were content to knock the ball around the park for much of the period, attempting to keep possession and string passes together while the clock wound down. With just over 10 minutes left, however, the visitors got a corner kick, and had several chances to increase their lead.

That corner kick sailed into the box, where Kelsey Draper met it. Her shot was blocked by Zeigler, but the rebound went to Becky Clever. Clever blasted a shot, but Zeigler again was there to make the block. This time, however, Zeigler was on the goal line when she knocked the hard, curving shot away for a 'team save.'

But, with 6:27 remaining, the Crusaders got another goal. Clever appeared to misfire on a shot attempt, and her blooper sailed into the penalty area. Gratzianna, however, was able to leap and head the ball into the left corner of the goal over the outstretched arms of Ison, who came off her line in an attempt to grab Clever's blooper.

The Falcons had one final chance to avert the shutout, but sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin's shot went wide of the net with 35 seconds remaining.

Sunday's win was Valpo's first in four series meetings with the Falcons. The teams had not played since the 2002 season.

BGSU begins Mid-American Conference play next weekend, heading to New York for a Friday (Sept. 23) match vs. the University at Buffalo. Then, the Brown and Orange will head to Kent State University for a Sunday (Sept. 25) match. BG's next home action is Friday, Sept. 30, vs. the University of Toledo.