Ole Miss Advances Past Falcons in a Heartbreaker

Tuesday, April 27

Wilmington, N.C.

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-1-1, 5-1-0

Ole Miss

10-5-1, 4-4-0

Bowling Green

Ole Miss

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

April 27, 2021 | Women's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-Ole Miss Stats Coach Walker Post-Match Interview Rewatch the Match Photo Gallery

Rebels move on to the second round via penalty kicks

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Athletics

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team saw the season end in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday night (April 27). The Falcons battled the University of Mississippi through 110 scoreless minutes in the first round of the NCAA Championships, but Ole Miss advanced, 4-3, via penalty kicks at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.

With the result, the Rebels, now 10-5-1, move on to face Southern California in the second round. The Falcons see the season come to an end with a record of 6-1-1.

The teams battled through two 45-minute halves and a pair of 10-minute sudden-death overtime periods with neither side finding the back of the net. The Falcons had a chance in the second OT, as after Nikki Cox was fouled, Madi Wolfbauer took the ensuing free kick, and rang a shot off the crossbar from distance.

The match went to PKs, and the Falcons gained momentum early, as BG goalkeeper Lili Berg made back-to-back saves. Madi Wolfbauer, the Falcons' first shooter, made her shot, but Ole Miss 'keeper Ashley Orkus made a save on Kennedy White in the second round.

Both PK takers, the Rebels' Haleigh Stackpole and the Falcons' Nikki Cox (a transfer from UNCW), scored in the third round, with the Cox goal giving the Brown and Orange a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth round, however, the Rebels tied it up, as Madisyn Pezzino scored while a Lynsey Spotts shot was stopped. Ole Miss saw Sophie Dineen's fifth-round shot hit the post, but Ruby Linton's shot was saved and the teams went to a sixth round.

Both teams scored in that sixth round, with Jasmijn Dijsselhof converting her shot to tie the PK phase at 3-3.

But, Mo O'Connor scored for the Rebels, and Rachel Muller beat Orkus, as the Ole Miss 'keeper dove the wrong way, but Muller's shot rang off the right post and bounced away.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• Tuesday night's match marked the first time in program history that the Falcons earned a result in the NCAA Championships. BGSU now has an all-time record of 0-4-1 in the national tournament.

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND NUMBERS
• The Falcons had a 13-12 advantage in total shot attempts, while the Rebels put five shots on goal to BGSU's three.

• Redshirt sophomore Lili Berg made a season-high five saves in net.

• Berg recorded her fourth complete-match shutout in eight matches this season, and she combined on two other shutouts, playing over 70 minutes in each of those matches.

• Berg ended her first season in between the posts with an otherworldly goals-against average of 0.38. She allowed just three goals in over 714 minutes of action, and as mentioned, helped the Falcons keep six clean sheets in eight contests.

• BGSU was the first team to shut out Ole Miss in 12 matches. The Rebels, who played a fall season, had scored at least two goals in seven of the last 11 matches, and had not been blanked since Oct. 13.

• Wolfbauer, as mentioned, had arguably the Falcons' best chance of the match, with her shot off of the crossbar in the second OT. BGSU also had momentum during a stretch early in the second half, when the Falcons had four corner kicks in a span of just over two minutes. That stretch saw a Kennedy White shot blocked, and efforts by Maya Dean and Wolfbauer saved. And, Audrey Shea hit a blast from just outside the 18-yard box that was blocked by an Ole Miss defender.

PENALTY-KICK PHASE
• Ole Miss – #12 Channing Foster – SAVED (Lili Berg)
• BGSU – #29 Madi Wolfbauer – GOAL

• Ole Miss – #32 Taylor Radecki – SAVED (Berg)
• BGSU – #24 Kennedy White – SAVED (Ashley Orkus)

• Ole MIss – #21 Haleigh Stackpole – GOAL
• BGSU – #9 Nikki Cox – GOAL

• Ole Miss – #26 Madisyn Pezzino – GOAL
• BGSU – #23 Lynsey Spotts – SAVED (Orkus)

• Ole Miss – #18 Sophie Dineen – MISSED (hit post)
• BGSU – #10 Ruby Linton – SAVED (Orkus)

• Ole Miss – #25 Lucy Green – GOAL
• BGSU – #2 Jasmijn Dijsselhof – GOAL

• Ole Miss – #22 Mo O'Connor – GOAL
• BGSU – #15 Rachel Muller – MISSED (hit post)

UP NEXT
• Ole Miss will face #8 seed Southern California in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
• The Falcons see the season come to an end. BGSU finished with an overall record of 6-1-1 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 5-1-0, and BGSU outscored opponents, 17-3, in this season's eight matches.

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.