Falcons Battle MAC-Leading Miami to 1-1 Draw

Sunday, October 27

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-14-2, 0-8-2MAC

Miami (Senior Day)

9-6-3, 6-1-3MAC

Team	1	2	OT 5	OT 6	Final F
Miami	0	1	0	0	1
Bowling Green	0	1	0	0	1

October 27, 2013 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Kaitlyn Tobin scores on Senior Day

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Bowling Green State University women's soccer senior Kaitlyn Tobin scored early in the second half, lifting the Falcons to a 1-1 draw with Miami University on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 27). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Cochrane Field.

The result gives the Falcons an overall record of 0-14-2 and a MAC mark of 0-8-2. The RedHawks are now 9-6-3 and 6-1-3, respectively.

FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY I (Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing & Communications)
PHOTO GALLERY II (BGSU Athletic Communications)
Scroll down for post-match interviews with Kaitlyn Tobin, Jenna DiTusa & Lindsay Basalyga

Tobin's goal came on 'Senior Day', as she was one of seven seniors taking part in the final home game of their careers.

Miami entered the match in first place in the MAC's East Division and tied for the league's top overall record. The RedHawks came to Cochrane Field riding a four-match winning streak and an eight-match unbeaten streak.

After a scoreless first half – in which BGSU freshman goalkeeper Jenna DiTusa saved a Miami penalty kick – the RedHawks broke on top early in the second period on a goal by Taylor Jackson. Just over a minute later, however, the Falcons responded.

The BGSU scoring play began when fifth-year senior Jenny Fowler played a ball ahead to junior Sidney Huth, who was on Fowler's right. Huth cut back to her left with a nifty backheel move. As she headed into the box, Huth appeared to be ready to take a shot, but a Miami player's challenged thwarted that effort.

Huth never lost possession of the ball, however, and from the 18-yard line, she played a short diagonal ball into the center of the box. Tobin nodded it past MU goalkeeper Allison Norenberg and into the left side of the net at the 50:18 mark.

Tobin led the Falcons with five shot attempts on the afternoon, tying her career best.

The home team held its own with the division leaders in the early going, allowing only two shot attempts in the first 15-plus minutes. Both of those Miami shots sailed well over the goal.

In the 13th minute, the Falcons' first shot came off of a corner kick by freshman Taylor Bucaro. The kick found its way to Tobin, who saw her shot blocked.

With just over 16 minutes gone, MU's Hailey Pleshakov took a pass from a teammate and attempted a shot from the center of the box. Pleshakov whiffed on her first try, but recovered in time to hit a turnaround shot that was saved by a diving DiTusa.

Nearly 21 minutes into the match, Carmack was called for a foul just outside the box, and Miami was awarded a free kick from a spot roughly 18 feet and six inches away from goal. Kelsey Dinges took the kick, and hit a blast toward the right side of the frame. DiTusa blocked the shot with an acrobatic diving effort, and Katy Dolesh headed the ball just wide of the far (left) post.

The Falcons threatened, with two close calls in a two-minute span. First, Bucaro cut the ball back to her right to avoid a defender and rifled a shot just wide left. Then, with under 20 minutes to go in the half, senior Madeline Wideman poked a shot just outside the far post from a seemingly impossible angle.

With 17:39 left in the period, BGSU junior Kylie Briem and a Miami player got tangled up on the left side of the box. Both players went down, and a penalty kick was awarded to the RedHawks. Dinges took that PK, and hit a shot toward the lower-right-hand corner of the goal. DiTusa, though, made the save just inside the post, then grabbed the ball before a player from either team could get to it.

The Falcon freshman 'keeper made two more stops, on shots by Dolesh and Jenna Weiner, and the match remained scoreless as the teams headed to halftime.

Just 80 seconds had elapsed in the second period when Dinges played a dangerous-looking cross into the box from the right side. DiTusa grabbed the ball to prevent further danger. But, the RedHawks would score several minutes later.

Jackson struck quickly, stealing the ball away from a BG player on the right side of the field, then hitting a shot from distance that sailed over the Falcon 'keeper and under the crossbar. With 48:41 gone in the match, the RedHawks had a 1-0 lead.

That lead didn't last long, however, as Tobin answered only 1:37 later. The goal was her third of the season.

Sparked by Tobin's goal, the Falcons had two more shots in the next two minutes. Wideman stole the ball and hit a long shot that went just wide of the left post. Then, BGSU got the ball back, and Huth struck a shot that was blocked by a defender int he box.

The visitors then had eight-straight shot attempts over the next 20 minutes. But, two of those shots were blocked by BG defenders, five went wide of the goal and one sailed well over the crossbar.

In the 72nd minute of the match, the Falcons headed across midfield. Tobin attempted a shot from distance, and the shot was blocked. The ball went to Wideman, who put a shot over Norenberg, but the ball glanced off the top of the crossbar and went out of bounds.

With 16 minutes to go, MU's Kayla Zakrzewski cut back and fired a hard shot on goal. But, DiTusa saw the ball all the way, and the freshman made the save. Zakrzewski's effort was the last shot on target in regulation.

The only shots of the first overtime were by Zakrzewski and Dinges. But, DiTusa saved the first shot and a BG defender blocked the second. The teams headed to a second OT period.

That final 10-minute session saw the teams combine for five shots. Nearly halfway through the period, a Dinges pass put Zakrzewski behind the defense. Zakrzewski ran onto the ball, but her shot was too high.

Tobin put a shot over the goal at the other end, and efforts by Jackson and Dinges were blocked. The latter shot came with just over a minute left, and was deflected out of play for a corner kick. The Falcons dealt with that corner, but the RedHawks had one final chance. With 15 seconds to go, DiTusa grabbed a shot by Rachel Marble, and the match ended in a draw.

The RedHawks had a 25-12 advantage in total shot attempts, and MU put nine shots on goal to just one for the Falcons. DiTusa made eight saves for the home side, including five stops in the scoreless first half. Norenberg did not make a save on the afternoon, as the Falcons' only shot on goal, off the head of Tobin, got past the MU 'keeper.

The Falcons take to the pitch for one last time in 2013, heading to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a Thursday (Oct. 31) match vs. Central Michigan University. That game will kick off at 3:00 p.m.

FALCON NOTES
* Sunday was 'Senior Day' for the women's soccer program, as seven members of the team were recognized in ceremonies prior to kickoff. That group includes Alyssa Carmack, Ivi Casagrande, Jenny Fowler, Amanda Nelson, Kailey Paszko, Kaitlyn Tobin and Madeline Wideman.

* Nelson was medically disqualified prior to the 2013 season, and has served as a student assistant coach and helped the Falcons in a variety of roles this season. Each of the other six seniors saw action in Sunday's match, with five of them drawing the start against Miami.

* Each of the seven seniors has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.11 or higher, and five of the seven have better than a 3.75 GPA.

* Tobin's goal on Sunday was her third of the season, tying her with Wideman for the team lead. Tobin has six points this fall, three behind Wideman's BG-best total of nine.

* Tobin now has 11 career points on four goals and three assists. Her totals of three goals and six points this season are career bests. The Bay City, Mich., native had an assist as a freshman in 2010, and scored four points on a goal and two assists in her sophomore year.

* Tobin's goal on Sunday was the fourth of her career, but her first at Cochrane Field. She scored the match-winning goal in the 90th minute at Youngstown State in her sophomore year, and has scored on the road at Michigan State and Ohio this season.

* Junior Sidney Huth's assist on Sunday was her second of the season and the third of her career. Her first career assist came last season at Eastern Michigan, and she had an assist last month at Kent State. Huth now has 13 career points, with five goals along with those three assists.

* Freshman Jenna DiTusa saw the first match action of her career this weekend, and had a 1.35 goals-against average, a total of 16 saves and a saves percentage of .842. DiTusa had eight saves against both Ball State on Friday and Miami on Sunday.

* The Falcons have a record of 6-1-3 in the last 10 'Senior Day' games at Cochrane Field. BGSU recorded seven consecutive shutouts on 'Senior Day' from 2005-11, before suffering a 2-0 loss to Akron last season (Oct. 14, 2012).