Cox Goal Lifts Falcons Past Eastern Michigan, 1-0

Sunday, October 7

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

8-3-2, 6-0-0MAC

Eastern Michigan

7-8-0, 2-4-0MAC

Eastern Michigan

Bowling Green

October 07, 2018 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Statistics (PDF)Rewatch the BGSU-EMU Match

Duwve & BG Defense Post Shutout as Falcons Stay Unbeaten in the MAC

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored early in the second half, lifting the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Eastern Michigan University on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 7). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Cochrane Stadium.

With the win, the Falcons remain unbeaten in MAC play. BGSU is now 8-3-2 overall and 6-0-0 in the conference. The win, combined with Sunday's other outcomes around the conference, puts the Falcons a full two games ahead of the second-place teams.

The lone goal of the afternoon came in the 58th minute. After the Falcons saw a shot go wide from the right side of the box, the Eagles (7-8-0, 2-4-0 MAC) took a goal kick. The ball sailed toward midfield, where junior Chelsee Washington got her head on it. Washington hit it forward to senior Erica Hubert, who lifted her boot up to knee level and one-timed it past the EMU defense to Cox.

Cox headed into the box on the left side and hit a perfectly-placed low shot that rolled just out of reach of diving EMU goalkeeper Mabel Dunn. The ball caromed off of the inside of the far post and landed in the net on the left side.

Juinor Kathleen Duwve made seven saves as the Falcon defense recorded a shutout for the seventh time this season and the fifth time in six MAC matches. BG was credited with a 'team save' as well, as freshman Mackenzie Reuber blocked an Eastern shot attempt on the goal line early in the second period.

The Falcons had a 22-13 advantage in total shot attempts, including a 9-8 margin in shots on goal. Dunn made eight saves, including several spectacular stops, for the visitors.

As mentioned, BGSU is now two games ahead of the three teams tied for second place in the MAC standings. The Falcons are 6-0-0, while Kent State, Toledo and Western Michigan all are 4-2-0 in conference play.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• Sunday's win was the Falcons' 21st victory since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season, but it marked the first time in that BGSU won a match when scoring fewer than two goals.
• In the Fannon Era, BGSU is a perfect 20-0-0 when scoring at least two goals, and the Falcons are now 1-10-3 when being held to fewer than two goals.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 12' | Senior Jennifer Reyes hit a diagonal ball into the penalty area from the left side. Classmate Erica Hubert nearly beat EMU goalkeeper Mabel Dunn to the ball, but the serve was just out of Hubert's reach, and Dunn gathered it in.
• 17' | Hubert crossed a ball to sophomore Nikki Cox from the left side, and Cox's header sailed toward the left goalpost. Dunn slipped and fell in a muddy penalty area as she attempted to reverse direction, but the Cox header went just wide of the left post.
• 18' | Junior Maureen Kennedy put Hubert down the left side, and Hubert hit a hard shot as she crossed the 18-yard line, but Dunn made an acrobatic fingertip save.
• 26' | The Eagles' Lindsey Shira made a long run downfield and into the box, and hit a shot from the right side. But, junior Kathleen Duwve came off of her line to make teh save from close range.
•30' | Senior Marissa Swindell found junior Chelsee Washington with a pass, and Washington played the ball to junior Kristin Tveit on her right. From a difficult angle, Tveit was able to get a shot off, but Dunn made the save.
• 31' | Sophomore Sophia Barnes took the ball to the end line and hit a high cross from the right side, and freshman Sarah Allen got her head on that cross at the far post. Allen headed the ball down, but Dunn somehow made a kick save.
• 34' | Swindell faked a shot at the top of the 18 and played a ball through two defenders and into the path of Barnes on the right side. Barnes, however, slipped as she prepared to shoot. The ball headed toward Tveit, but Dunn was able to beat the BG junior the ball by a split second.
• 44' | Tveit stole the ball and was fouled in the EMU end. Kennedy's free kick, however, was headed out of a crowded penalty area by EMU's Aubrey Martin.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 49' | The Eagles threatened to take the lead early in the second half. An EMU corner kick glanced off the head of a leaping BG defender and hit the far post. Kristin Nason was there and quickly fired a shot, but freshman Mackenzie Reuber was stationed on the goal line and blocked the ball away.
• 56' | The Falcons had a good chance of their own, as Hubert slid a ball to the onrushing Cox in the penalty area, but Cox's shot was blocked by a defender.
* 57' | Hubert got the ball right back, made a nifty cutback move and played another low cross. Reyes quickly met it and fired a laser, but the shot went just wide.
• 58' | GOAL | Off of the ensuing goal kick, though, Washington's header and Hubert's flick-on led to the Cox goal, her fourth of the year.
• 66' | Hubert made one of her patented moves, bringing the ball from right to left across the top of the box, creating space and hitting a hard shot, but the ball went just over the bar.
• 75' | Barnes popped a ball over the top, putting Tveit behind the EMU defense, and the junior hit a shot from the right side of the box, but the ball was blocked out of play for a corner.
• 76' | That corner kick, taken by Kennedy, found senior Elisa Baeron at the far post, but her header was saved by Dunn.
• 79' | Barnes won a corner kick for the Falcons, and Baeron had a pair of shots off of that corner. The first one was blocked, and she quickly fired another that was deflected over the line for another BG corner.
• 83' | The Falcons continued to control possession. Washington found Hubert on the left side, and she hit a low shot that forced Dunn to knock it over the line for a Falcon corner.
• 84' | A Kennedy corner kick found the head of Washington, but her shot went just wide of the far post.
• 90' | As time ticked away, the Eagles attempted to press forward and get the tying goal, but the Falcons would not let Eastern connect in the final third.

STATISTICS
• BGSU, as mentioned, held advantages of 22-13 in total shots and 9-8 in shots on goal. The Falcons had a 15-5 lead in second-half shots, and the BG defense did not allow EMU a single shot attempt over the last 21-plus minutes.
• Junior Kathleen Duwve made seven saves en route to the victory, while EMU 'keeper Mabel Dunn made eight stops.
• Both teams had six corner kicks.
• Senior Erica Hubert led all players with five shots, including three on goal. Cox had four shot attempts and the game's lone goal.
• For EMU, both Kristin Nason and Lindsey Shira had three shots, and both players put all three shots on frame.

FALCON NOTES
• The Falcons are 6-0-0 in the MAC for the first time in program history. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 14-1, in conference matches to date.
• BGSU has won seven-straight games dating to the final non-league match of the season, and the Falcons are unbeaten in the last eight matches (7-0-1).
• The winning streak is the second longest in school history, and just one shy of tying the school record. The 2005 team won a BG-record eight-straight matches en route to a MAC regular-season title.
• The eight-match unbeaten streak is also the second longest in program history. The school record is an 11-match unbeaten streak (9-0-2) in 2005, beginning with the aforementioned eight-straight wins.
• After scoring the first goal of the match just once in the first five contests of the season, the Falcons have scored first in each of the last eight matches.
• On the year, BGSU is 8-0-1 when scoring first, and the Falcons are 0-3-1 when the opponent scores first.
• Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored her fourth goal of the season on Sunday. She is third on the Falcons in goals and is tied for third on the team in points, with nine.
• In her collegiate career, Cox now has totals of 11 goals, 25 points and two game-winning goals. She played at UNC Wilmington prior to transferring to BGSU in time for the Spring 2018 semester.
• Junior goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve posted her fifth complete-match shutout of the season, and she has combined on two other clean sheets. Duwve now has nine complete-match shutouts as a Falcon.
• Duwve has a goals-against average of just 0.55 this season, and a career GAA of 0.95 in nearly 2500 minutes.
• In MAC play, Duwve's GAA is a miniscule 0.18. She has allowed just one goal in 495 minutes, and has a saves percentage of .950 in conference contests this season.
• With the primary assist on Cox's goal vs. EMU, senior Erica Hubert now has 81 career points. She ranks second on the BGSU career list, trailing only Kristy Coppes (111 points from 2001-04) on that chart.
• Hubert has 12 points over the last five matches. She did not register a point in the MAC opener at Miami, but still has a total of 19 points in the last eight contests.
• The Falcons are 12-4-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 14-5-1 in all games vs. conference foes since head coach Matt Fannon assumed the helm prior to the 2017 season.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Falcons are home for two more matches next weekend. On Friday (Oct. 12), BGSU hosts preseason MAC favorite Kent State in a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium.
• Then, on Sunday (Oct. 14), the Brown and Orange will meet Ohio University in a 1:00 p.m. first touch. Admission is free to all BGSU regular-season home soccer action.

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.