Late-Game Heroics Lift Falcons to Fifth-Straight Win

Sunday, September 30

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-3-2, 4-0-0MAC

Western Michigan

9-3-0, 3-1-0MAC

Western Michigan

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 30, 2018 | Women's Soccer

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Washington's 78th-minute goal helps BGSU to 2-0 victory over WMU

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Junior Chelsee Washington's goal in the 78th minute broke a scoreless draw and lifted the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team to a 2-0 win over Western Michigan University Sunday afternoon (Sept. 30). The match, pitting the last two unbeaten teams in the Mid-American Conference, was held at a sun-drenched Cochrane Stadium.

With the victory, the Falcons improved to 6-3-2 overall, and BGSU assumes sole possession of first place in the MAC with a 4-0-0 conference mark. The Broncos drop to 9-3-0 and 3-1-0, respectively.

Senior Erica Hubert, who had one of the assists on Washington's winner, scored a goal of her own in the final minute to quell any Bronco hopes of an equalizer.

Junior Kathleen Duwve made four saves at the other end of the pitch, as the Falcon defense posted a fifth-straight shutout.

BGSU has won the first four MAC matches of the season for the first time in program history.

On Dog Day Afternoon at Cochrane, the Falcons outshot the Broncos, 18-9, and BGSU held a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. But, the match was scoreless until Washington's goal off of a Hubert cross at the 77:23 mark.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU is 4-0-0 in the MAC for the first time in school history. The 2000 team was the only other Falcon squad to win as many as three-straight games to start the conference portion of the schedule.
• And, BG is unscored upon through four MAC matches for the first time in program history.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 3' | The Falcons fired the first seven shots of the match, including an effort by senior Erica Hubert just over two minutes in. The ball fell to the striker at the top of the 18, but her quick shot was saved by WMU goalkeeper Hannah Sargent.
• 8' | Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox hit a centering ball from the left side, but the cross was just out of reach of senior Marissa Swindell in the box.
• 11' | BGSU had the lion's share of the ball for the first 20-plus minutes of the match. Senior Jennifer Reyes, Hubert and Cox combined to keep the ball in the Falcons' possession, and Reyes found freshman Mackenzie Reuber, who uncorked a hard shot that Sargent was able to block. Off of the ensuing corner kick, the ball was inside the six-yard box for several seconds, but the Falcons could not get a shot away in the scrum.
• 17' | Hubert made a long run downfield, leaving several would-be defenders in her path, and the senior hit a shot from distance that went just wide of the left goalpost.
• 22' | Senior Alexis Fricke played a long diagonal ball into the box, and Cox got her head on it, but the shot was hit directly at Sargent.
• 23' | BG got the ball right back, and Hubert took it to the end line before sliding a pass to Sarah Allen. But, the freshman's shot was blocked at the near post.
• 40' | After the Falcons dominated play for most of the first half-hour of the match, the Broncos began to assert themselve in the latter stages of the opening half. On a counterattack, Bailey Korhorn made a long run down the center of the field, and hit a shot from distance. It appeared that the shot was deflected by a BG defender, but junior goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve made a diving stop.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 46' | When the second half began, it took BG just over 20 seconds to fire a shot. Hubert headed down the left side and knocked the ball to Cox. Cox took a touch to her right and hit a shot at the top of the penalty area, but Sargent made the save.
• 52' | The Broncos stole the ball in the BG defensive third of the field, but a shot by Roselyn Kyeame, taken from just outside of the penalty area, sailed high.
• 55' | WMU's Alyssa Burke sent teammate Hannah Kahn down the right side, and Kahn entered the box, but her shot went just wide of the near post and hit the outside netting.
• 57' | Hubert won a corner kick by virtue of sheer speed and hustle, forcing a WMU defender to hurriedly kick the ball out of bounds. Off of junior Maureen Kennedy's corner, classmate Chelsee Washington got her head on the ball, but the shot went over the crossbar.
• 63' | Junior Kristin Tveit slid a pass back to sophomore Sophia Barnes, and Barnes served it into the penalty area, but the diagonal ball was just barely out of reach of Allen and Reyes at the far post.
• 69' | The Falcons got a chance seemingly out of nowhere. WMU cleared the ball over midfield, and Fricke headed it back the other way. It was misplayed by a Bronco midfielder and fell to Cox, who split several defenders with a pinpoint pass. Cox's through ball senior Laura Bozzelli in the box, and Bozzelli hit a hard one-timer, but Sargent made an acrobatic diving save to somehow keep the match scoreless for the time being.
• 73' | BG won a throw-in deep in the WMU end, and Reuber found Fricke, who hit a diagonal ball into the area. The ball found Washington, who got a foot on it, and it went toward Bozzelli. Sargent battled the BG senior striker for the ball, blocking a shot into the air. The ball wound up near the far sideline, where Hubert tracked it down & lumped it back into the mixer. But, the WMU 'keeper was able to grab the ball and end the BG threat.
• 74' | After a BG giveaway deep in the Falcons' end of the field, Kyeame came up with the ball and attempted to fire a quick shot. But, with several Falcons converging, she was not able to get a lot of force behind her effort, and the ball rolled to Duwve.
• 78' | GOAL | Allen's pass sent Hubert down the left side of the field. She blew past a defender, took the ball to the end line, cut back and hit a low cross. Bozzelli was making a run in the center of the box, and the ball was slightly behind her, but the senior got a foot on it. The cross continued through the box, and Washington ran onto it toward the right side of the area. The junior drilled a hard shot back across and into the left side of the net. Bozzelli and Hubert drew assists on the play.
• 80' | Allen found Reyes, who hit a hard shot from the left side, near the top of the 18. The curving ball was headed toward the upper right corner, but Sargent made a leaping stop.
• 81' | BG won the ball right back, and a Kennedy pass reached Hubert, whose first touch was a thing of beauty. That touch enabled her to lose her defender, and she hit a hard, low shot toward the far post. But, Sargent was up to the task, making a diving stop.
• 85' | Hubert made a long run on the left side, cut back and hit one of her patented shots from the top of the 18, but Sargent went to the ground to make the save.
• 86' | The Broncos' Burke took the ball down the middle of the park and hit a shot from distance, but Duwve made the save without a great deal of difficulty.
• 88' | BGSU controlled the ball for a lengthy stretch of time as the seconds ticked away, with multiple players involved in the game of keep-away. Reyes, Cox, Washington and senior Elisa Baeron all touched the ball during the sequence. After working a combination play with Reyes, Washington hit a left-side cross into the box. Hubert, near the far post about six yards out, got her head on the ball, forcing Sargent into a spectacular diving save to tip the ball wide of the goal.
• 90' | GOAL | With under a minute to play, the Broncos won a throw-in in their own end of the field. That throw found the head of a WMU player, and the ball sailed toward midfield. Kennedy volleyed it back into the Broncos' end, and Hubert ran past everyone, let the ball bounce once, and deftly knocked it past Sargent and into the left side of the net with the outside of her foot. Kennedy had the lone assist on the goal, which came with just 45 seconds left.

STATISTICS
• In addition to the advantages in shot attempts and shots on goal, the Falcons had a 9-2 lead in corner kicks on the day.
• Hubert led all players with seven shots, including five on goal. Bozzelli, Cox and Washington all put two shots on frame.
• Kyeame led Western with three total shots and two on goal.
• Duwve made four saves to earn the shutout, while Sargent had 11 stops, including several spectacular saves, at the other end.

FALCON NOTES
• The Falcons, as mentioned earlier, are 4-0-0 in the MAC for the first time in program history. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 10-0, in conference matches to date.
• BGSU has won five-straight games dating to the final non-league match of the season, and the Falcons are unbeaten in the last six matches (5-0-1).
• The winning streak is tied for the second longest in school history. The 2005 team won eight-straight matches en route to a MAC regular-season title, while the '07 club – like the 2018 team – put together a five-game winning streak.
• The six-match unbeaten streak is tied for the third longest in program history. The school record is an 11-match unbeaten streak (9-0-2) in '05, while the 2007 club put together a seven-match unbeaten stretch (5-0-2). BG had a six-match unbeaten streak in 2008.
• Junior Chelsee Washington now has six goals on the season, and four of those six have been game-winning goals. Washington has scored the first goal of the match in four of the last five games, and all four of those goals have held up as the winner.
• With the four GWG this year to date, Washington is tied for second on that BGSU single-season list. Kristy Coppes holds the record with six game-winners in 2002, and Washington is one of five players with four winners in a season.
• Washington now has a career total of 30 points, on 10 goals and 10 assists. • With three points on Sunday, senior Erica Hubert has moved into sole possession of second place on the BGSU career list in that category. Hubert now has 76 career points, and has moved past Samantha Meister (73 points from 2002-05). She trails only Coppes (111 points from 2001-04) on that BG chart.
• Hubert now has 33 career goals, good for second place behind Coppes (52) in BG history.
• Hubert had an assist on Washington's goal in the 78th minute on Sunday. On that play, they became the 10th and 11th players in school history to reach double digits in both career goals and assists.
• Junior Maureen Kennedy's assist was the 19th of her BG career, placing her fifth on that career list. She moved past Leah Eggleton (18 assists from 2002-05) on Sunday.
• Kennedy now has 33 career points as a Falcon.
• Washington has a six-match point-scoring streak, with 16 points during that time. In that stretch, which has coincided with BGSU's unbeaten streak, Washington has six goals (including four game-winning goals) and four assists.
• Washington has scored 15 points over the last five matches, and scored the first goal of the game in four of those five contests (Youngstown State, Miami, Ball State and WMU).
• Kennedy has a five-game point-scoring streak, with a goal and five assists during that time.
• Hubert has seven points over the last three matches. She did not register a point in the MAC opener at Miami, but still has a total of 14 points in the last six contests.
• BGSU has tied the school record for consecutive shutouts, with five. The 2008 club also blanked five-straight opponents.
• Junior Kathleen Duwve made four saves to earn the shutout on Sunday. Her personal shutout streak stands at a career-long 361:54. That ranks as the sixth-longest such streak by an individual.
• As a team, the Falcons have not allowed a goal in 451:54, the second-longest shutout streak in program history. The school record is 606:31 without allowing a goal, in 2008.
• Duwve now has a goals-against average of just 0.56 this season, and a career GAA of 0.99 in nearly 2300 minutes. She has four complete-match shutouts this season and eight in her career, and she has combined on two other clean sheets in 2018.
• Senior Laura Bozzelli's assist on Sunday was her second, both this season and in her career. Sunday's assist was very similar to her first, as she got a touch on a Hubert left-side cross on both occasions. Bozzelli got the ball to Rachel Muller for a goal against Youngstown State, and she redirected the ball into Washington's path on Sunday vs. WMU.
• BGSU is now 4-1-1 at home this season, and the Falcons are 11-3-1 at Cochrane Stadium since Matt Fannon became head coach prior to the 2017 season. BG has outscored opponents, 36-12, in home matches in that time.
• The Falcons have four shutouts in six home matches in 2018, after keeping two clean sheets at Cochrane during the 2017 campaign.
• Overall, BGSU has now scored two or more goals in 19 of the 32 matches since Fannon assumed head-coaching duties.
• In the Fannon Era, BGSU is a perfect 19-0-0 when scoring at least two goals, and the Falcons are 0-10-3 when being held to fewer than two goals.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Falcons take to the road for a Thursday (Oct. 4) matchup against Central Michigan. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
• Then, BGSU returns home for the next three matches, beginning with a Sunday (Oct. 7) battle with Eastern Michigan. The BG-EMU matchup will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and 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.