Couch Scores, Falcons Fall At Detroit

Wednesday, September 2

Detroit, Mich.

3:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Detroit

September 02, 2015 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: by Alexx Klein, BGSU Athletic Communications

Box Score (PDF)
Box Score (HTML)
Play-by-Play (PDF)
Season Stats (PDF)

Detroit, Mich. –The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team fell to .500 on the season following a 3-1 loss at Detroit on Wednesday afternoon. The 2-2-0 start is the team's best to open a season since 2009. This is also the fourth straight game BGSU has recorded 10 or more shots in a game.

The Falcons struck first in the opening period on a Mikaela Couch goal in the fourth minute, only to see the Titans score three unanswered goals to earn the win.

"I think we played really well for the first 40 minutes of the game, but after giving up a late goal it rattled our confidence," said head coach Lindsay Basalyga. "We are a really young team and games like this are teaching our players about how to prepare and compete for 90 minutes. It's all part of the rebuilding process and learning how to win especially when you have the ability to do so."

In the 41^st minute, Detroit's Tatum Zurawski capitalized on a free kick that she hooked into the goal from 35 yards out, tying the score at 1-1 heading into halftime. The Titans scored in the 60^th minute on a Carley Rice shot that got past a charging Lauren Cadel. The final goal for Detroit came in the 74^th minute after Phylisha Drayton's shot found the top of the net.

The Detroit defense did not allow a BGSU shot in the first 16 minutes of play in the second half, a sharp contrast from the first half where BGSU controlled play, outshooting the Titans 8-4 overall and holding Detroit to just one shot through 40 minutes of play in the opening period.

A shot by junior Alexa Cheripko that sailed high in the third minute of the game got the Falcon attack started. A minute later, Skylar Fleak's scoring attempt was blocked, but Couch found the rebounded ball off the block, fired a shot toward the goal and put the Falcons up in the opening minutes of the contest.

The goal was Couch's third of the season while the assist by Fleak was her second of the year. Couch's three goals and Fleak's pair of assists are team-highs, as well as career highs for the sophomore duo.

Fellow sophomore Madison Schupbach had a pair of shots in the 21^st and 24^th minutes, but her first went wide, while her second attempt was saved by Detroit keeper Marina Manzo. Schupbach's attempt in the 24^th minute began a two-minute stretch where the Falcons were able to get off three more shots and two corner kicks.

The Falcons tried to get a goal back in the second half with shots by Fleak (61^st minute) and Haley Parkinson (67^th minute), but Manzo saved both attempts to keep the score at 2-1.

Cadel, who fell to 2-2, recorded two saves as Detroit totaled 11 shots overall for the match. Alexis Smith entered the contest for Cadel in the 80^th minute.

"We are sitting on a 2-2 record with four more games to prepare for MAC play. I believe in the character of the players we have on the team and that we are learning from each moment so they can best affect the next opportunity we have to compete," added
Basalyga.

BGSU, who has netted a goal in four straight contests for the first time since the 2013, returns to the pitch to take on Findlay at 7 pm on Sept. 8 at Cochrane Field.