Late Hendrix Goal Lifts Falcons Past Case, 1-0

Thursday, August 22

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Case Western Reserve (exhibition)

August 22, 2013 | Women's Soccer

Redshirt freshman scores with just under five minutes to go in BG's final scrimmage

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Kaitlyn Tobin vs. Case Western Reserve - Aug 22 2013 - Swegan

Redshirt freshman Courtney Hendrix scored with just under five minutes left in the match, lifting the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Case Western Reserve University Thursday night (Aug. 22). The exhibition match was held at Cochrane Field.

FINAL STATISTICS: PDF | HTML
Scroll down for video of post-match interviews with Courtney Hendrix and Lindsay Basalyga

Senior Madeline Wideman drew the assist on the winning goal, while three freshman goalkeepers split time in net to share the shutout victory.

The Falcons outshot the Spartans by a 17-6 count, and BGSU put nine shots on goal to Case's two. Hendrix alone matched or topped the visitors in the shots categories, with her six total shots including three on target. Her fifth of those six shots would prove to be the winner.

The scoring play began when Wideman took possession of the ball near midfield. She wheeled around a would-be defender, took several dribbles and played a ball ahead to the onrushing Hendrix. Hendrix took two touches, cutting to her right to elude charging CWRU goalkeeper Megan Romelfanger, and the redshirt freshman fired a shot into the upper-left-hand corner of the vacated net. Following the goal, which came with 4:59 remaining in the match, the BG defense did not permit the Spartans any shot attempts.

After a precipitation-free morning and afternoon in Bowling Green, it began to rain at Cochrane Field as the teams took the pitch for warmups. The rain got steadily harder prior to kickoff, and it was still raining as the teams kicked off the match.

Hendrix, who missed all of the 2012 season due to injury, was a thorn in the Spartans' collective side all night. She fired the first shot of the match with just over a minute gone, and she won a corner kick soon after. Off of that Ivi Casagrande corner, a header try by junior Sidney Huth sailed just over the bar. Then, Casagrande fired wife left after a Hendrix cross with six minutes gone.

CWRU's first shot came with just over eight minutes elapsed, as Leah Levey shot wide right, but the Brown and Orange had the next two attempts, including a Casagrande's effort that was blocked by goalkeeper Abbey Smith. Moments later, a Wideman pass found senior Kaitlyn Tobin just outside the penalty area. Tobin cut the ball back to get past a defender, but her shot was right at Smith.

Perhaps the visitors' best chance of the night came with nearly 17 minutes gone in the opening period, when Citlyn McGillis fired a shot that momentarily seemed ticketed for the lower right corner of the goal. But, BGSU redshirt freshman Lauren Cadel made a diving effort to deflect the ball off of the post and out of bounds.

The Falcons had several changes, including a long run and shot by Wideman and a through ball by freshman Haley Malaczewski. But, Wideman's shot was stopped by Smith, and Malaczewski's pass was just out of reach of Hendrix.

Soon after she entered the match for the first time, sophomore Emma Norris hit a shot that sailed just wide of the far post. That shot came after a Malaczewski steal deep in the Spartans' defensive end of the field.

Malaczewski and Wideman again were involved in a scoring chance late in the first period. The freshman found the senior with a forward ball, but Wideman's resulting through ball was just barely out of reach for the charging Norris. The Falcons had an 8-2 advantage in first-half shots, but the teams were scoreless at the intermission.

And, although the Falcons had a 9-4 margin in that category in the second half, the teams were goalless for most of that period as well. BGSU held the visitors without a shot for over 25 minutes after a McGillis effort early in the half, but shots by Hendrix, Casagrande and freshman Sabrina Cisneros all were stopped by Case 'keeper Cameron Casson.

Late in the match, after Bowling Green owned the better of the play for much of the second half, the visitors mounted a threat. The Spartans pressured the Falcons with three shots plus a dangerous crossing ball in just a two-minute span. The BG defense held, however, as two of the shots were blocked and the third sailed wide.

With under 10 minutes to play, a Hendrix-Wideman give-and-go resulted in Hendrix playing a crossing ball from the right side of the box, but that effort sailed just over the head of the leaping Wideman. Several minutes later, a cross by Casagrande resulted in a Hendrix header that was flicked just left of the goal. But, Hendrix would put her next shot on target, and that shot proved to be the match-winning goal.

Eight different players fired at least one shot for the Falcons, with Casagrande and Cisneros taking three apiece.

Each team used three goalkeepers on the night. Smith played the first half for the visitors and made four saves, while Casson stopped all three shots she faced in 24-plus minutes. Romelfanger played the final 20:45, saving one of the two shots she saw.

For the Falcons, Cadel and freshman Jenna DiTusa made one save apiece, while freshman Michelle Denley did not face a shot on goal. All three 'keepers played roughly one-third of each of the Falcons' three exhibitions.

The BG back line was spearheaded by senior Alyssa Carmack and freshman Jessica Creech on Thursday night. Both players played all 90 minutes of the match. Wideman and freshman Paige Amodio also were on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes, while fifth-year Falcon Jenny Fowler, a co-captain along with Carmack, played 80 minutes in the win.

A total of 19 players saw action for head coach Lindsay Basalyga on Thursday night, including seven true freshman and two redshirt frosh.

The games begin to count on Sunday (Aug. 25), when the Falcons hit the road to face Cleveland State University in the regular-season opener. That match will begin at 1:00 p.m. at CSU's Krenzler Field.