Fleak Scores First Career Goal in Lightning Shortened Contest

Friday, September 5

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Cleveland State (Camper Appreciation Night)

Skylar Fleak scores v Cleveland St - Larry Clapper photo

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 05, 2014 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

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Audio: Postgame with Coach Basalyga
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Bowling Green, Ohio – Freshman forward Skylar Fleak scored her first career goal as Bowling Green State University fell to the Cleveland State University Vikings 2-1 in a lightning shortened contest on Friday night on a very humid night at Cochrane Stadium. The match was halted with 58 seconds remaining in the second half due to lightning and then ultimately called at 9:30 p.m., approximately 40 minutes after the stop of the match.

The loss drops the Falcons to 0-4-0 overall, while Cleveland State moves to 3-3-0 overall with the win.

"This was the best 90 minutes or 89 minutes of soccer we've played to date," commented head coach Lindsay Basalyga. "I'm so proud of the level that the players chose to play at tonight. We had a few moments where we switched off and unfortunately in our process and where we are in our process we can't switch off because we can't rely on coming back. And that is what I told the team."

The Falcons set the tone of the game early, as BGSU freshman Mikayla Couch registered the first shot of the match less than two minutes into the contest, as she dribbled from right to left towards the middle of the field and took a shot from 25 yards out that was caught by the Vikings' goalkeeper Sarah Wood.

The shot was the first of five for the Falcons in the first 25 minutes of play, as BGSU outshot Cleveland State 5-2 during that span. The Orange and Brown picked up shots from Madison Schupbach in the fourth minute, Sarah Quimby in the ninth minute, Leah Runkle in the 11th minute and Schupbach again in the 19th minute, yet couldn't put an attempt on frame.

During that span, redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Cadel watched one Cleveland State shot sail high over the net in the sixth minute and then made her first save of the game in the 18th minute on a shot from 28 yards out by the Vikings Katie Bainbridge.

Following another Cadel save in the 29th minute, the Falcons countered with a shot from Fleak that flew over the outstretched hands of CSU's Wood to put the home team on top 1-0. Fellow freshmen teammates Schupbach and Runkle were able to work together to play the ball to Fleak in the middle of the field who made good on a laser into the top half of the goal for her first career goal as a Falcon.

However, just three minutes later, the visiting Vikings found the equalizer off the foot of Sarah Kaiser from the left side of the box to tie the match up at 1-1 in the 33rd minute.

Each team would put one more shot on frame over the final 12 minutes of the first half, yet both goalkeepers were up for the challenge to keep the match knotted up at 1-1 at the halftime break.

The second half started out much like the first, as the Falcons' Haley Parkinson had a shot hauled in by Wood in the center of the goal in the 48th minute, which was followed by another shot attempt from Schupbach which went wide of the frame in the 53rd minute.

The two teams then traded shots with Cadel making a save first for Bowling Green in the 56th minute, followed by another stop by CSU's Wood in the 56th minute, before Cadel made back-to-back stops on two shot attempts from the Vikings in the 58th minute to keep the match tied at 1-1.

After another Cadel save in the 65th minute on a header off a cross into the box, the Vikings finally got one past the BGSU keeper one minute later as Chloe Fadenholz dribbled down the left side of the field, then cut towards the middle and hit a shot just out of the reach of a leaping Cadel that hit the bottom of the cross bar and bounced into the side of the goal in the 66th minute to put the visitors in front 2-1.

Despite following behind 2-1 and lightning looming in the distance, the Falcons refused to quit as BGSU got shots from Kara Ross and Fleak over the next nine minutes of play to keep the Vikings' defense on their heels.

Fleak looked to tie the match once more in the 76th minute as the freshman chased down a long ball along the right sideline. She flicked the ball to herself, cut back behind the passing defender and lined up a left-footed shot that was on target put sailed into the arms of CSU's Wood in goal.

Ross would put not one, but two headers online off of a Jessica Creech free kick in the 78th minute and a Rachel Winters corner kick into the box in the 80th minute, only to see each sail just high of the cross bar and out of play.

Bowling Green recorded three more shots over the next nine minutes of play, including a shot from Schupbach just over 20 yards out that was on frame in the 87th minute, before the match was halted due to lightning in the area with 58 seconds to go in the contest.

After a 40 minute delay, the match was called.

Cadel suffered the loss despite tallying 10 saves over 89 minutes of play. Her 10 saves marks the seventh time in her young career that she has posted double digit saves in a game for the Falcons.

Wood earned her third straight win in goal for CSU, as she tallied six saves in her 89 minutes of play.

BGSU outshot the Vikings 19-16 for the match, as Schupbach and Fleak had five and four shots apiece to lead the Falcons.

Both Runkle and Schupbach each recorded their first career assist in the contest.

Bowling Green (0-4-0) will return to the road to take on the Cougars of Chicago State on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) at Kroc Stadium in Chicago, Illinois.

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