Cox, Falcons Outlast EMU, 2-1, to Advance in MAC Tournament

Sunday, October 28

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

13-4-2

Eastern Michigan (Quarterfinals)

10-11-0

Eastern Michigan

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

October 28, 2018 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Statistics (PDF)MAC Tournament Bracket Rewatch the BGSU-EMU Match BGSU-EMU Photo Gallery (Larry Clapper)BGSU-EMU Photo Gallery (Isaiah Vazquez)

Top-seeded BGSU will host the semifinals and championship next weekend

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Nikki Cox scored a pair of first-half goals, and the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team withstood a lengthy weather delay and an Eastern Michigan University comeback bid, posting a 2-1 win over the Eagles on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 28). The match, a quarterfinal-round contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, was held at Cochrane Stadium.

With the win, the Falcons (13-4-2) advance to the semifinal round of the league tourney. BGSU, the number-one seed, will serve as host for the remainder of the tournament, and the Falcons will face fourth-seeded Ohio University in Friday's (Nov. 2).

Cox put the Falcons on the board only 63 seconds into the contest. Senior Jennifer Reyes played a short cross into the box from the left side of the field, and Cox put a header on frame that was stopped by EMU goalkeeper Kaylin Williams, who made a nifty kick save. Cox was first to the rebound, however, slamming it into the vacated net to give the Falcons the lead for good.

The redshirt sophomore doubled the BG lead in the 13th minute. Junior Chelsee Washington brought the ball into the EMU defensive third of the field, drew several defenders toward her and slid a pass to Cox. Cox took several touches and, finding herself unmarked, hit a low shot from approximately 25 yards out that beat Williams and found the lower-right-hand corner. Sunday marked the first two-goal match of Cox's BGSU career.

BG took that two-goal lead into the half, but as the teams returned to the field to begin the second half, they were called back off the field and the match entered a weather delay. That delay lasted nearly two and a half hours.

When the second half finally began, the Eagles cut the lead in half in the 72nd minute. Parys Kerr fired a shot that was stopped by BGSU junior goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve. Duwve, who had five saves in the match, made an acrobatic save, but the rebound caromed to an open Kristin Nason in the center of the box, and she fired it home.

Following that goal, however, the BG defense did not allow a shot on goal for the remainder of the contest. EMU saw one shot go well wide of the mark, while two efforts were blocked. BG did not allow a single shot attempt over the final 10-plus minutes of the contest.

The Falcons, as mentioned, will face Ohio in one of Friday's semifinal matches at Cochrane Stadium. The other semifinal match will pit second-seeded Ball State vs. third-seeded Western Michigan. The semifinal matches are tentatively scheduled to begin at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, with the order of matches to be determined.

Friday's two survivors will advance to Sunday's (Nov. 4) championship match, which will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU is now a perfect 5-0-0 against Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament. tourney. All five wins have come in the quarterfinal round, and all five wins have been by one goal.
• BG's first-ever MAC Tournament win was a 1-0 victory in Ypsilanti in 1998, and the other four Falcon wins all came by 2-1 scores, in 2000 and 2003 on the road, and in 2007 and '18 at Cochrane Stadium.

BONUS NOTE OF THE DAY
• The Falcons have broken the school records for most home wins in a season and most consecutive victories at home.
• BGSU is now 9-1-1 at Cochrane Stadium this fall. The old record was held by the 2008 team, which went 8-1-1). Three previous BG teams, including last year's club, posted seven home wins.
• BG has won eight-straight matches at Cochrane, breaking the mark of seven set by that 2008 team.

MAC TOURNAMENT
Sunday, October 28
Quarterfinals – campus sites
at No. 1 Bowling Green 2, No. 8 Eastern Michigan 1
at No. 2 Ball State 2, No. 7 Buffalo 1 (2-OT)
at No. 3 Western Michigan 1, No. 6 Akron 0
at No. 4 Ohio 2, No. 5 Kent State 1

Friday, November 2
Semifinals – Cochrane Stadium; Bowling Green, Ohio
Ball State vs. Western Michigan, TBA
Ohio at Bowling Green, TBA
(note: matches will begin at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with the order of matches TBA)

Sunday, November 4
Championship – Cochrane Stadium; Bowling Green, Ohio
BSU/WMU winner vs. Ohio/BGSU winner, 1:00 p.m.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 2' | GOAL | The Falcons took the lead just 63 seconds into the match. Senior Erica Hubert brought the ball across the field toward the left side of the box. She found classmate Jennifer Reyes, splitting two defenders with a short pass, and Reyes crossed the ball into the box to a wide-open Nikki Cox. The redshirt sophomore's header was saved by EMU 'keeper Kaylin Williams, but Cox quickly got to the rebound and scored.
• 8' | Cox played a through ball that was just out of reach of Hubert. That capped a sequence that saw BG string together several passes, with sophomore Nikhita Jacob, junior Chelsee Washington, senior Laura Bozzelli and Cox all involved.
• 12' | A cast of Falcons were involved in the buildup, as Jacob, Cox, Reyes, Hubert and Bozzelli teamed up to move the ball downfield. Bozzelli took a pass from Cox, but her cross toward Hubert in the box was blocked away at the last second.
• 13' | GOAL | Cox struck again, taking a pass from Washington, finding herself unmarked and firing a shot from outside the box that found the lower-right corner of the net.
• 16' | The Falcons took the first seven shots of the afternoon, but Eastern's first shot was a relatively dangerous one, as Kristin Nason hit a shot from the right side of the box. The shot was deflected over the end line for a corner kick, and less than a minute after that kick, Sabrina McNeill fired a shot that sailed high.
• 25' | Freshman Sarah Allen played a right-side cross into the box for Cox. The redshirt soph, looking for a hat trick, slid and got a shot off, but that effort was blocked.
• 38' | PENALTY KICK | A penalty kick was awarded to the Eagles, as a foul was committed approximately 17 feet and 10 inches from the end line on the left side of the box. McNeill took that kick for the visitors, and rolled her shot just wide of the right post.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 46' | As the teams prepared to begin the second half, they were called off the field for a weather delay, and that delay lasted two hours and 26 minutes.
• 47' | Duwve saved a shot off the boot of Madeline Olson, after a cross by Nason.
• 50' | Cox stole an EMU goal kick, playing the ball ahead to Hubert. Hubert's cross found Bozzelli in the box, but the senior's header went over the bar.
• 53' | Hubert received a Cox pass and made a run toward the right side of the 18-yard box. She stopped, cut back and shot, but her effort was blocked out of play.
• 63' | Hubert hit a cross from the left side, and Bozzelli and an EMU defender went for the ball. The BG senior redirected the cross toward goal, but the shot was blocked away.
• 66' | Hubert made one of her patented runs downfield, cutting to her right and hitting a shot from the top of the box, but the shot whizzed just outside the left post.
• 72' | GOAL | EMU's Parys Kerr won a battle for the ball in the BG end of the field, knocking a Falcon defender off balance in the process. Kerr, with space, headed toward the box and hit a hard, curving shot. Duwve had come off of her line, and the junior made an acrobatic save, but the rebound spun toward Nason in the center of the box, and the EMU redshirt junior knocked it into the vacated net to cut BG's lead in half.
• 74' | Washington played a ball ahead to Cox, as the Falcons looked to strike quickly. Cox brought it into the EMU third of the field, and found Allen heading into the penalty area on the right side. The freshman hit a hard shot, but Williams came charging off of her line to block the shot, then careened headlong into Allen and grabbed the ball as Allen attempted to pass it back to a teammate. Williams grabbed Allen's leg and threw it aside, then stepped over the Falcon freshman, who was still on the ground. Play was allowed to continue, and EMU 'keeper eventually distributed the ball to a teammate.
• 77' | The Eagles had a golden opportunity to tie the score, as Nason played a dangerous cross into the box from the right side. The ball rolled through the six-yard box as McNeill and a BG defender raced toward it, but McNeill's redirection rolled wide of the far post.
• 80' | The visitors looked to mount a counterattack, and got the ball to Nason in the box on the right side. But, her shot was blocked and eventually cleared.
• 84' | Hubert looked to give the Falcons some breathing room, but her shot from the top of the 18 was off target.
• 85' | Just over 30 seconds later, Hubert had the ball back, and hit a hard shot from the left side of the box, but Williams parried the shot from close range.
• 86' | With just over four minutes remaining, Reyes stole an EMU throw-in and quickly passed the ball to Washington. The BG junior uncorked a hard shot, but Williams was able to make a diving save. Although the visitors attempted to apply pressure and get the tying goal, the Falcon defense was up to the task, and Washington's shot with 4:09 to go was the last for either team.

STATISTICS
• BGSU outshot Eastern Michigan, 21-17, on the afternoon, and the Falcons had a 10-6 lead in shots on goal.
• EMU had a narrow 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
• Erica Hubert had a game-high seven shots, while Nikki Cox put four of her five total shots on goal for the Falcons. Both Laura Bozzelli and Chelsee Washington had three shot attempts in the match.
• Sabrina McNeill (five) and Kristin Nason (four) combined for nine of Eastern's 17 shots.
• Kaylin Williams was credited with eight saves on the day, while Kathleen Duwve made five stops to earn her 13th victory of the season.

FALCON NOTES
• Sunday's win gives BGSU an all-time record of 14-7-5 in MAC Tournament matches, and the Falcons are now 9-1-1 in the quarterfinal round.
• BG is 6-1-2 in home matches in the MAC Tournament.
• BGSU, as mentioned earlier, is now a perfect 5-0-0 against Eastern Michigan in the league tourney. All five wins have come in the quarterfinal round, and all five wins have been by one goal.
• The Falcons, as also mentioned earlier, have broken the school records for most home wins in a season and most consecutive home victories.
• BGSU has outscored opponents, 40-12, this season to date, and the Falcons have scored 26 goals and allowed just six in home matches this fall.
• BG has scored two or more goals in a match on 12 occasions this season, including 10 times in 12 total contests against MAC foes.
• Since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season, the Falcons have gone 26-11-3 overall. That mark includes records of 16-5-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 19-6-1 in all games vs. conference foes.
• In the Fannon Era, the Falcons are a perfect 25-0-0 when scoring at least two goals, and BG is 1-11-3 when being held to fewer than two goals.
• Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored just 1:03 into Sunday's match, the Falcons' earliest goal of the season. In 12 total games vs. MAC teams this fall, BGSU has scored a goal in under eight minutes five times. And, the Falcons have taken the lead with under 15 minutes elapsed in no fewer than seven of those 12 matchups.
• Cox's two-goal game was her first as a Falcon and the second of her collegiate career. As a true freshman at UNC Wilmington, Cox had a hat trick in her second-ever match, vs. South Carolina State.
• Cox now has eight goals and 18 points this season, ranking third on the Falcons in both categories. In her collegiate career, she has 34 points on 15 goals and four assists in 42 total games.
• This season, BGSU has led for a total of 846:17, and trailed for a total of 185:08.
• In 1080 total minutes against conference foes, BG led for an eye-popping 710:00, and the Falcons were behind for a total of 59:15.
• After scoring the first goal of the match just once in the first five contests of the season, the Falcons have scored first in 12 of the last 14 matches.
• On the year, BGSU is now 12-0-1 when scoring first, and the Falcons are 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first.
• Senior Jennifer Reyes assisted on Cox's first goal of the day. For Reyes, it was her fourth assist of the season, ranking her fourth on the team. She now has 11 career points on two goals and seven assists.
Junior Chelsee Washington assisted on Cox's second goal. Washington now has nine assists on the season, tying her for the team lead with senior Erica Hubert and fellow Maureen Kennedy. The school record for assists in a season is 10, set by Julie Trundle in 2005 and equalled by Kennedy last season.
• Washington now has career totals of 14 assists and 40 points. She is tied for 11th in school history on the career assists list.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The remainder of the MAC Tournament will take place at Cochrane Stadium next weekend. The top-seeded Falcons will host number-four Ohio on Friday (Nov. 2), with the start time to be announced.
• The other semifinal will see second-seeded Ball State face third-seeded Western Michigan.
• The two semifinal survivors will return to Cochrane next Sunday (Nov. 4) for the MAC Tournament's championship match. The winner of that contest, which will begin at 1:00 p.m., will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUWSoccer), Instagram (bgsuwsoccer) and Facebook (bgsuwsoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.