Falcons, Kent State Battle to Nil-Nil Draw

Sunday, September 23

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

1-8-1, 0-1-1MAC

Kent State

5-2-2, 0-1-1MAC

OT 1

OT 2

Kent State

Bowling Green

September 23, 2012 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BGSU gets a result against the preseason MAC East Division favorite at Cochrane Field

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Kaylee Draper v CSU - Aug 19 2012 - John Enright photo

Bowling Green State University freshman goalkeeper Jenna Underwood earned her first collegiate shutout as the Falcon women's soccer team battled Kent State University to a scoreless draw in double overtime Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Cochrane Field.

BGSU 0, Kent State 0 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU 0, Kent State 0 - HTML Stats
Scroll down for postgame reaction from Kellie Evans & Kylie Briem

With the result, the Falcons are now 1-8-1 overall, while KSU is 5-2-2 on the season. The Golden Flashes, the defending MAC East Division champions, were picked to win the East title again in 2012, according to the preseason coaches poll.

Both teams are now 0-1-1 in MAC play.

Stephanie Senn made four stops to post a shutout for the Golden Flashes.

The match, as one might expect from a MAC divisional contest, was a physical one. The teams combined for 38 fouls and four yellow cards (two for each team) on the afternoon. As the game went on, play opened up, and the overtime periods were wide-open, end-to-end affairs.

Kent State outshot the Falcons, 16-13, on the day, and the Flashes had a narrow 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. BG, however, had five shot attempts to KSU's one in the overtime periods, and the only shot on goal in those extra 20 minutes came from the home side.

It was sunny when the teams arrived at the pitch to warm up on Sunday afternoon, but there was a brief period of rain not long after the match began. The light rain lasted only 10 or 15 minutes, and the sun popped out again for a portion of the first half. For the most part, however, it was mostly cloudy and breezy the rest of the afternoon.

The teams traded shots in the early going, as BG junior Kaitlyn Tobin fired wide left in the third minute of play, while KSU's Jessacca Gironda headed a teammate's corner kick wide right from close range in the fourth minute.

The Flashes had the territorial advantage in the early going, possessing the ball for much of the first 25 or 30 minutes of play. With just under 16 minutes gone, KSU's Katherine Lawrence knocked a free kick into the box, where Jaclyn Dutton, the team's leading scorer, was waiting. Dutton, on the left side of the six-yard box, volleyed the ball back toward the right post on the fly, but the shot sailed wide of the target.

KSU had a 7-3 first-half advantage in shots, but the Falcons had several chances in the latter stages of the period. First, senior Sarah VonderBrink picked up a loose ball in the box and hit a one-timer into the left-side netting, just wide of the post, with seven minutes left before halftime.

Then, sophomore Sidney Huth curled around two would-be defenders and ripped a long shot. Huth struck the ball well, but it was hit directly at Senn, who was able to hang on.

Early in the second half, each team had scoring chances denied almost before they were created. Sophomore Kaylee Draper played a ball down the right side for junior Madeline Wideman, but the assistant referee's flag was up, indicating offside against the Falcons.

Two minutes later, solid defending by sophomore Ashley Garr and junior Alyssa Carmack, among others, kept the Flashes from getting a shot off as KSU possessed the ball in the box. Carmack knocked the ball beyond the 18-yard line, and the best the visitors could do was a shot from distance by Hannah Newhouse, which sailed wide in the 52nd minute of the match

Less than a minute later, the Falcons were whistled for a foul just outside the box, and three Flashes lined up for the free kick. Stephanie Haugh wound up taking the kick, but her shot went well over the goal.

With under 29 minutes remaining in regulation, the Falcons threatened, as Wideman won the ball and played a pass to Tobin, who was moving across the top of the box from right to left. Tobin hit a shot that headed toward the upper-left-hand corner of the net. But, the ball did not curve quite enough to find the frame, sailing just beyond the post.

Less than 20 minutes were left when Dutton found some space and hit a blast that was bound for the upper-right corner of the net. But, Underwood made a nice leaping save, tipping the ball over the crossbar and keeping the match scoreless.

Whether it was due to the natural flow of the match or the weariness of many of the players on the pitch, the game began to open up in the late stages. A through-ball by junior Tracy Togba found freshman Emma Norris streaking down the left side of the pitch with a KSU defender in pursuit. Norris got the ball into the box and won a corner kick with just over 14 minutes to go in the half.

Off of that corner kick, Tobin hit a shot from point-blank range in traffic, but Senn was in position to make the stop.

BG threatened twice more in regulation. With under five minutes on the clock, Wideman's corner kick found the head of redshirt sophomore Kylie Briem in the box, but the shot went over the bar.

A minute later, the Falcons worked the ball back upfield, with redshirt junior Jenny Fowler, Tobin and VonderBrink involved in the buildup. VonderBrink's pass found Wideman, who whirled around a defender and fired a shot from distance. But, the ball was hit in the vicinity of Senn, who made the stop. Wideman's effort was the final shot of regulation time, and the teams headed to OT.

The Falcons had a 2-0 advantage in shot attempts in the first overtime and a 3-1 margin in the second. In the opening OT session, the home team had a scoring chance, as Wideman possessed the ball in the right corner of the field. Despite the presence of two defenders, the BG junior maintained possession, eluding her two opponents and then beating a third player. Wideman played a square ball toward Fowler in the box, but a KSU player poked it away at the very last second.

BG won the ball back, and Wideman found Draper out on the left. The sophomore took a few dribbles and hit a shot, but the ball went wide left.

The home team was controlling the play at this point, and BG won a free kick in the KSU half of the field after a foul by, and a yellow card on, the Flashes. Wideman played a diagonal ball into the box, and no one touched it as it headed toward the left post. The ball bounced just wide of the frame and out of play.

Off of the ensuing goal kick, however, freshman Demy Whitaker stole the ball. She headed into the box, where she became entangled with a KSU defender, and the scoring chance was thwarted.

With just over a minute later in the period, Carmack found Huth with a pass, but the sophomore's shot was blocked in the penalty area.

KSU looked to grab a late winner as Dutton made a long run down the field in the final seconds. But, with Dutton working 1-on-5, the Falcons were able to poke the ball away from her, with Underwood diving on it to end that threat.

One minute into the final overtime period, Senn was forced to leap for a free kick by Wideman, as the ball, played from the left side, curved toward the net. Senn punched the ball out of danger.

A minute later, Gironda hit a long shot at the other end, but the ball drifted wide left.

With six minutes to go, Wideman took a pass from Huth and made a long run downfield. She cut the ball back to her right, headed across the top of the box and struck a shot from approximately 20 yards out. Her strong effort sailed just beyond the upper right corner.

In the final minute of the match, Draper played a ball ahead to Wideman, who knocked it to the onrushing Whitaker. The BG freshman headed into the box on the right side of the field, but her shot hit the outside of the near post and bounced away. That would prove to be the final shot attempt of the match for either team, and seconds later, the final horn sounded.

The Falcons now prepare for a four-game road swing, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 28) match at Eastern Michigan. That contest begins at 4:00 p.m. at EMU's Scicluna Field.