Falcons Follow Blueprint for Success in Sunday's 3-1 win

Sunday, October 6

Athens, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-4-2, 4-0-0

Ohio

7-5-0, 2-2-0

Bowling Green

Ohio

Hannah Dolfuss scored her first collegiate goal in Sunday's win in Athens

Photo by: Larry Clapper

October 06, 2019 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Stats

BGSU downs Ohio to improve to 4-0-0 in the MAC

By: ATHENS, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

For the second time in under 48 hours, the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team picked up a 3-1 win on the road. On Sunday afternoon (Oct. 6), the Falcons topped Ohio University in Mid-American Conference action at a rainy Chessa Field.

BGSU, now 6-4-2 overall and 4-0-0 in the MAC, followed a similar blueprint that led to success in Friday's 3-1 victory at Kent State. For the second-straight match, the Falcons scored back-to-back goals less than four minutes apart to take a 2-0 halftime lead, then added a third goal in the second half to quell any hopes of a comeback by the home team.

On Sunday, seniors Chelsee Washington and Maureen Kennedy scored goals just 1:50 apart, staking the Falcons to that two-goal lead at the break. Soon after the second half began, senior Hannah Dolfuss scored her first collegiate goal to make it a 3-0 game.

Ohio (7-5-0, 2-2-0 MAC) got a late goal from Alivia Milesky, but could not draw any closer.

Kennedy had a three-point match, with an assist on Washington's goal, and Kennedy also blocked an Ohio shot off of the goal line for a 'team save' in the second half.

Sunday's victory was the Falcons' first road win over the Bobcats in program history.

QUOTING HEAD COACH MATT FANNON
"We're happy with the result, and we played well for 70 minutes. I'm disappointed that we didn't end the game as strongly as we should have, but to come home with another win is very pleasing."

NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU is 4-0-0 in the MAC for just the second time in school history, and the second time in as many years.
• Last year's edition of the Falcons got off to a school-record 8-0-0 start in MAC play, winning the league regular-season crown with a 10-1-0 record.
• Only three BGSU teams have won as many as three matches to begin the conference campaign. The 2000 Falcons won three road matches, then dropped the next three contests, all at home, before rebounding to advance all the way to the championship match of the MAC Tournament.

BONUS NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU is now 6-1-0 in MAC road matches since the start of the 2018 season, and the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 19-4, in those seven games.
• BG has scored at least two goals in six of those seven matches, and the Falcons have put at least three goals on the board in five of those seven contests.
• The Falcons have scored a total of 11 goals in the last three MAC road games, dating to the final road match of last season.

BONUS BONUS NOTE OF THE DAY
• Sunday's win marked the first time in program history that the Falcons have won a road match vs. Ohio. BGSU is now 1-7-3 all-time vs. the Bobcats on the road.
• However, Sunday was not the first time the Falcons had won in Athens. The 2004 team, seeded eighth for the MAC Tournament, rolled through that tourney en route to the first title in school history. After downing top-seeded Kent State on the road, the Falcons' last two wins came at Chessa Field, as BG posted a 4-1 win over Western Michigan in the semifinals and a 2-0 victory over Central Michigan in the championship match.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 9' | Junior Sophia Barnes and the Falcons won a corner, but that corner was pushed out of the box by the Bobcats.
• 13' | The first shot attempt of the match came from Ohio's Maddie Young, who got her head on an Abby Townsend cross. But, the shot was wide.
• 17' | Junior Nikhita Jacob stole the ball near midfield, and found redshirt junior Nikki Cox. Cox fired a shot from distance, but it was off the mark.
• 27' | GOAL | Katie Cox stole the ball and was promptly fouled. The ensuing free kick by senior Maureen Kennedy was headed by Jacob, and senior Chelsee Washington finished the play, giving the Falcons the lead for good.
• 29' | GOAL | BG came up with a steal and a 2-on-1, and a Nikki Cox effort was blocked out for a corner kick. Freshman Jasmijn Dijsselhof took that corner, and Kennedy headed it into the back of the net.
• 36' | Freshman Kennedy White got her head on a Katie Cox cross, but White's effort went wide of the right post.
• 38' | Sophomore Ruby Linton got free for a shot, but it was deflected out for a corner kick. Off of that corner, there were some dangerous moments for the Bobcats before they could finally clear the ball out of the box.
• 45' | The Falcons won another corner kick as the clock wound down, but did not have time to take that kick before time expired.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
• 47' | Off of a quick counterattack, Nikki Cox got a shot away, but the ball was blocked out for a corner.
• 49' | GOAL | Nikki Cox took a pass from Washington and looked to shoot. Seeing her path blocked, she laid the ball off for senior Hannah Dolfuss, who put her shot just past the outstretched arms of Ohio goalkeeper Sydney Malham. For Dolfuss, the goal was the first of her Falcon career.
• 53' | After a BGSU foul, a free kick by Townsend hit the crossbar and bounced away before being cleared out of the box.
• 58' | After a Falcon giveaway, Alivia Milesky took a centering ball from Townsend and fired a shot, but Kennedy blocked the ball near the goal line.
• 79' | After a foul on the Falcons, Olivia Sensky put her free kick on frame, but senior Kathleen Duwve made the save. Seconds later, at the other end of the soggy pitch, Barnes put a shot from distance on goal, but Malham grabbed that shot.
• 82' | GOAL | The Bobcats spoiled the Falcons' shutout bid, with Milesky scoring off of a Townsend cross. The ball trickled back to Milesky who shot into the lower right corner.
• 87' | Kennedy put a long shot on target, but Malham was able to make the stop.
• 88' | Ohio frantically looked to cut the lead to a single goal, but Duwve grabbed a shot by Milesky to end that threat.

STATISTICS
• Ohio had a 12-10 advantage in total shot attempts, but the Falcons put six shots on goal to the Bobcats' four.
• Alivia Milesky had four total shots, including three on goal, for Ohio. Nikki Cox, Maureen Kennedy and Ruby Linton all had two shot attempts for the Falcons, with Kennedy putting both her her shots on frame.
• BGSU had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
• Senior Kathleen Duwve made two saves in picking up the win. Sydney Malham had three stops for the hosts.
• A total of 22 players saw action for the Falcons. Only Duwve, Kennedy and Audrey Shea each played all 90 minutes in Sunday's win.

ADDITIONAL FALCON NOTES
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are now 2-0-0 on the road in MAC play this season, and 6-1-0 in such games since the start of last season.
• BG is now 9-4-1 in true road matches vs. MAC foes under head coach Matt Fannon. In the nine years prior to his arrival (2008-16), the Falcons won a total of six MAC matchups away from home.
• In fact, after winning two conference road contests in 2008, BGSU went 4-36-5 on the road in the MAC over the next eight years (2006-16). The Falcons have more than doubled that total in Fannon's first two-plus years.
• Since Fannon assumed the head-coaching job prior to the 2017 season, BGSU has a record of 30-1-1 when scoring at least two goals in a match.
• Overall, BGSU is now 33-16-6 in the Fannon Era, including a record of 20-5-1 in MAC regular-season matches.
• Senior Chelsee Washington scored the first goal of the match on Sunday, giving her career totals of 15 goals and 48 points as a Falcon. Washington is 11th in school history in goals, and has moved into a tie for 11th in career points as well.
• Fellow senior Maureen Kennedy had a three-point day, with an assist on Washington's goal and a goal of her own. Kennedy now has career totals of 14 goals, 27 assists and 55 points.
• Kennedy sits in 12th place on the career goals list at BG, and she is seventh in points. She ranks second in BGSU annals in assists, trailing only Julie Trundle (33 from 2002-05) on that school chart.
• Redshirt junior Nikki Cox had an assist on Sunday, giving her a total of 33 points in 34 matches as a Falcon. She has 13 goals and seven assists since transferring to BG prior to the 2018 season.
• Junior Nikhita Jacob also had an assist in Sunday's win, giving her career totals of six assists and 12 points. She has scored six of those 12 points this season.
• Senior Hannah Dolfuss scored her first collegiate goal on Sunday, finding the back of the net early in the second half. Freshman Jasmijn Dijsselhof recorded her first collegiate point with an assist on Kennedy's first-half marker.
• Nikki Cox leads the Falcons with 14 points this season, including a BG-best five goals. She recorded her fourth assist on Sunday, tying her for the team lead in that category.
• Kennedy is second on the club with four goals and 11 points, and ranks third on the Falcons with three assists.
• Washington and freshman Kennedy White each have eight points, while Jacob has six. Washington's goal at Ohio was her second of the season, and she is tied with Nikki Cox for the team assists lead.
• With Dijsselhof and Dolfuss each adding their name to the scoresheet on Sunday, a total of 13 different Falcons have recorded at least one point in 2019.
• Senior Kathleen Duwve now has 24 career victories, the fourth-highest total in school history. Duwve ranks fifth or higher on all of BGSU's career goalkeeping lists.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• The Falcons are home for three of the next four matches. BGSU will host Central Michigan on Thursday night (Oct. 10). The Chippewas are tied for second behind the Falcons in the MAC standings, with a 3-1-0 league ledger. First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will make a short trip north next weekend, taking on Eastern Michigan in a Sunday (Oct. 13) matchup. That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. in Ypsilanti.

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