NCAA BOUND! Falcons Advance Past Ball State in PKs to Capture MAC Tournament Title

Sunday, November 4

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

(14-4-3, 10-1-0MAC)

Ball State (Championship)

(14-3-3, 8-2-1MAC)

OT 4

OT 5

OT 6

Ball State

Bowling Green

BGSU wins MAC Tournament championship - Nov 4 2018

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

NCAA BOUND! Falcons Advance Past Ball State in PKs to Capture MAC Tournament Title

November 04, 2018 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Statistics (PDF)Rewatch the BGSU-BSU Match Twitter Recap: MAC Championship Sunday

BGSU will learn NCAA Tournament fate on Monday

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team battled Ball State University through 110 pressure-packed minutes, plus six nail-biting rounds of penalty kicks, but when the final shot of the day hit the back of the net, the Falcons had captured the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. Sunday afternoon's (Nov. 4) match was played before a capacity crowd at BGSU's Cochrane Stadium.

Regulation ended with the teams tied at 1-1, and -- despite a surreal Falcon flurry early in the first overtime and a BGSU shot off the goalpost in each of the two OT sessions -- the Falcons and Cardinals played through 20 scoreless minutes of overtime.

TWITTER RECAP: MAC CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

The match went to penalty kicks, with the second-seeded Cardinals (14-3-3) shooting first. After each team scored in the opening round, BSU goalkeeper Tristin Stuteville made a save in the second round to give the Cards the lead.

And, when Sammi Corcoran scored for the visitors, the Falcons (14-4-3) faced a 3-1 deficit. Senior Erica Hubert stepped up and converted her PK attempt, but BSU's Kerrigan Johnson began the fourth round with a successful PK.

Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox buried her shot for the Falcons, but BG trailed, 4-3, after four rounds. BSU's Jenna Dombrowski stepped to the spot, with both teams and the crowd surrounding the field knowing a successful kick would give the Cardinals a championship. BGSU junior goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve, however, kept her team's season alive with a diving save of Dombrowski's effort.

Senior tri-captain Morgan Abbitt went next, with BGSU needing a successful kick to extend the match. Abbitt calmly tucked her shot into the corner to tie the score and force a sixth round.

When BSU's Tatiana Mason rolled her shot wide of the left goalpost, the Falcons suddenly had the momentum, and fifth-year senior Elisa Baeron strode to the spot with a chance to win a MAC Championship for her club.

Baeron, who arrived at BGSU mere months after the Falcons had completed a winless 2013 season, fired her shot into the back of the net to give her team the title and spark a wild celebration on the Cochrane Field turf.

Baeron was named the MAC Tournament MVP, while senior Jennifer Reyes, redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox and true soph Nikhita Jacob joined her on the all-tournament team.

The Falcons earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, and will learn their tourney fate on Monday. The NCAA Championships first-round matches will be played at campus sites from Nov. 9-11.

HIGHLIGHTS & POST-MATCH REACTION

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 13' | Neither team had a shot attempt over the first 12-plus minutes of the match, but the Falcons threatened to take an early lead when junior Chelsee Washington played a long ball ahead to senior Laura Bozzelli, who slipped past the Ball State back line. Bozzelli took a touch and fired a shot, but BSU goalkeeper Tristin Stuteville came all the way out of the 18-yard box to block Bozzelli's effort.
• 16' | The Cardinals threatened at the other end, as Tatiana Mason cut inside and played a ball toward the near corner of the goal. BSU's Kennedy Metzger raced toward the ball and made a lunging effort, but was unable to redirect it as Falcon 'keeper Kathleen Duwve smothered the ball.
•24' | Senior Marissa Swindell stole an errant pass and played the ball ahead to classmate Erica Hubert. Hubert slid the ball to Washington, who fired a shot from distance, but the attempt went wide of the mark.
• 26' | Freshman Mackenzie Reuber took the ball into the box on the right side and hit a cross, but the serve went through the penalty area without being touched.
• 27' | GOAL | Hubert found Nikki Cox with a pass, and the redshirt sophomore was sandwiched by a pair of BSU defenders as she took the ball into the box. A penalty kick was awarded, and junior Maureen Kennedy knocked that PK home to give the Falcons the lead.
• 37' | The Cardinals thought they had equalized after a Paula Guerrero corner kick sailed into the box and was headed into the net. But, a foul had been called on Ball State, and BG was awarded a free kick.
• 44' | With under two minutes left before the half, fifth-year Falcon Elisa Baeron raced past an unsuspecting BSU backliner as the ball was rolling toward the end line after a long free kick. Baeron knocked the ball off of her opponent, winning a corner kick with the impressive hustle play. But, the Cards were able to successfully deal with the Kennedy corner.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 50' | CROSSBAR | Ball State won a corner, and off of that Guerrero kick, the Cardinals fired three shots in rapid succession. Peighton Cook's header was blocked, but Jenna Dombrowski lofted the rebound over a host of players and off of the bar. A follow-up try went well wide.
• 54' | GOAL | Off of another BSU corner by Guerrero, Emily Simmons put a header on frame. Senior Jennifer Reyes blocked the shot, but after a lengthy discussion between the referee and his assistant, it was ruled that Simmons' shot had crossed the line, and the match was tied.
• 75' | The Cardinals were whistled for a foul as Washington's progress was impeded, and BG was awarded a free kick in the middle of the park, approximately 35 yards from goal. Kennedy took that kick, and blasted a shot on frame, but Stuteville ranged over toward the left post to make the save.
• 82' | Hubert served a ball from the left side toward the far side of the six-yard box. Reuber not only saved it from going over the end line; the freshman also redirected it back across the box. Classmate Sarah Allen ran onto the pass, and hit a low shot that beat Stuteville, but the ball went agonizingly wide of the left post.
• 90' | As the final seconds ticked away, Cox passed the ball ahead to Hubert. The MAC Offensive Player of the Year made one of her patented runs downfield, cutting to her right, poking the ball past not one, but two defenders, and firing a turnaround shot that landed on the netting above the goal as time expired.

FIRST-OVERTIME HIGHLIGHTS
• 91' | Hubert and the Falcons won a corner kick within the first 15 seconds of OT, but that corner was punched away by Stuteville and ultimately cleared by a defender.
• 92' | With just over a minute gone in the period, Reuber made a long run and fired a shot from distance, but the ball went wide of the far post.
• 94' | POST | BG had a four-shot flurry that made Ball State's early-second-half display seem like a Sunday walk in the park. BSU was unable to clear the ball, as Reyes poked the ball away in the Cardinals' defensive third of the field. Kennedy served the ball into the area, and Reuber ran onto it on the far side of the six-yard box. Reuber's low shot hit square off of the far post and bounced back into the middle of the box. A Cox effort was blocked, and Baeron's effort from 12 yards out was saved by Stuteville. Allen quickly fired the rebound on frame from eight yards away, but the BSU 'keeper parried that one away as well. Finally, as Reuber controlled the rebound on the right side of the box, a BSU defender poked the ball over the end line.
• 94' | Off of the ensuing corner, Allen got another shot, but this effort was blocked by a defender, and the Cardinals eventually won a goal kick.
• 97' | Cook knocked a BG player off of the ball and hit a long shot from the right side, but Duwve was easily able to gather it in.

SECOND-OVERTIME HIGHLIGHTS
• 107' | POST | Hubert won a corner kick in the southeast corner of the field, and off of that Kennedy corner, Stuteville punched the ball away from goal. Allen quickly one-timed the ball back into the box from the top of the 18, and Baeron redirected it toward the left side of the goal, but the ball caromed off of the left post.
• 109' | Freshman Zoe Hudson drew a foul on the Cardinals with approximately 80 seconds to go, and BG was awarded a free kick about 30 yards out. Kennedy drilled that kick toward goal, but the shot sailed high. The period ended without a goal, and the PK phase began.

PENALTY-KICK SHOOTOUT
• Ball State – #4 Shelby Kean – GOAL
• BGSU –#7 Chelsee Washington – GOAL
• Ball State – #6 Emily Simmons – GOAL
• BGSU – #26 Maureen Kennedy – SAVED by Tristin Stuteville
• Ball State –#14 Sammi Corcoran – GOAL
• BGSU – #21 Erica Hubert – GOAL
• Ball State – #7 Kerrigan Johnson – GOAL
• BGSU – #9 Nikki Cox – GOAL
• Ball State – #26 Jenna Dombrowski – SAVED by Kathleen Duwve
• BGSU – #25 Morgan Abbitt – GOAL
• Ball State –#31 Tatiana Mason – MISSED (wide left)
• BGSU – #29 Elisa Baeron – GOAL

BGSU-BSU STATISTICS
• Ball State had a narrow 18-17 advantage in total shot attempts. Fourteen of the Cardinals' shots came in the second half.
• BGSU had eight shots in the 90 minutes of regulation, and nine shots in 20 minutes of overtime. The Falcons fired six shots in the first 3:22 of OT, and hit the post in each overtime session.
• Both teams had six shots on goal, and both goalkeepers – BGSU junior Kathleen Duwve and Ball State's Tristin Stuteville – made five saves.
• BSU was whistled for 25 fouls to the Falcons' 12, and both teams had six corner kicks. Four of BG's corners came in overtime.
• Sarah Allen and Maureen Kennedy each had three shots to lead the Falcons, with Kennedy the lone BG player with two shots on goal. Elisa Baeron and Mackenzie Reuber each hit the post in the match.
• For Ball State, Peighton Cook had a game-high four shot attempts, while Emily Simmons paced the team with two shots on goal. Simmons' goal was her first of the season.
• Three players on each team played all 110 minutes. For the Falcons, that trio included Duwve, Kennedy and Morgan Abbitt.

BGSU'S MAC TOURNAMENT NOTES
• The Falcons have now won the MAC Tournament title three times in program history. The 2004 BGSU team – seeded eighth for the tournament – reeled off three-straight upsets, outscoring opponents by a combined 8-1, en route to the first championship in program history.
• The next season (2005), head coach Andy Richards and the Falcons won both the regular-season and league tourney crowns. The '05 team was the only BGSU squad to win the regular-season title until this season.
• BGSU now has a record of 15-7-6 in the MAC Tournament through the years. BG's win total in the tourney is the fourth-highest in the conference, and BG's tournament winning percentage of .642 ranks third among league schools.
• Sunday, obviously, marked the sixth time the Falcons have played to a draw in the MAC Tournament. BGSU advanced via penalty kicks in five of those six matches, meaning that the Falcons have survived and advanced 20 times in 28 tourney tilts.
• The Falcons are now 7-1-3 in home matches in the MAC Tournament, and BGSU converted more PKs than the opponent in each of those three ties at Cochrane Stadium.
• Through the 2018 season, BGSU is 10-1-1 in the quarterfinal round, 6-3-2 in the semifinals and 1-3-3 in the championship.
• BG has a record of 3-0-3 as the number-one seed in the tournament, winning/advancing in all six of those matches (three each in 2005 and '18).
• BGSU's seven appearances in the tourney title game ties Western Michigan for the most in MAC history.

ADDITIONAL FALCON NOTES
• The Falcons will enter the NCAA Championships with an overall record of 14-4-3 on the season. BGSU is 10-1-2 at home, 4-3-0 on the road and 0-0-1 in neutral-site matches.
• BGSU has outscored opponents, 42-13, this season to date, and the Falcons have scored 28 goals and allowed just seven in home matches this fall.
• The Falcons' total of 42 goals this year is tied for second in school history. Last year's team holds the record, with 43 goals, while the 1998 club also scored 42 times.
• BG is unbeaten in the last 11 home matches (9-0-2), tying the school record. The Falcons also went 9-0-2 at Cochrane Stadium from Sept. 12, 2008, to Sept. 6 of the following year.
• Sunday marked only the fourth time in 14 total matches vs. MAC foes this season that BGSU was held to fewer than two goals.
• Since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season, the Falcons have gone 27-11-4 overall. That mark includes records of 16-5-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 20-6-2 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 now 2-11-4 when being held to fewer than two goals.
• This season, BGSU has led for a total of 894:48, and trailed for a total of 185:08.
• In 1280 total minutes against conference foes this season, BG led for an eye-popping 758:31, 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 14 of the last 16 matches.
• On the year, BGSU is now 13-0-2 when scoring first, and the Falcons are 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first.

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 1, Western Michigan 0 (2-OT)
Bowling Green 1, Ohio 0

Sunday, November 4
Championship – Cochrane Stadium; Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green 1, Ball State 1
(BGSU advances on PKs, 5-4)

MAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tristin Stuteville, Ball State
Lauren Roll, Ball State
Taylor Pooley, Ball State
Jennifer Reyes, Bowling Green
Nikhita Jacob, Bowling Green
Nikki Cox, Bowling Green
Elisa Baeron, Bowling Green
Mandy Arnzen, Ohio
Rianna Reese, Ohio
Alyssa Burke, Western Michigan
Paige Dobbs, Western Michigan

MAC TOURNAMENT MVP
Elisa Baeron, Bowling Green

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The 2018 Division I women's soccer championship bracket will be announced Monday (Nov. 5) at 4:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
• The 2018 DI women's soccer tournament kicks off the weekend of Nov. 9-11. Second and third rounds continue the following weekend from Nov. 16-18. The four national semifinalists will be determined in the quarterfinals on Nov. 23-24.
• The Women's College Cup will then be hosted by WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on Nov. 30 (semifinals) and Dec. 2 (championship match).

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.