Nov. 7, 2004

Final Stats

ATHENS, Ohio - Ten days ago, the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team was just hoping to qualify for the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Now, the Falcons are MAC Tournament champions.

Freshman Gina Rossi and senior Nikki Pucillo scored first-half goals, and redshirt junior Ali Shingler made a career-high 11 saves as the Falcons posted a 2-0 win over Central Michigan University in Sunday's (Nov. 7) championship match. The match was held at Chessa Field on the Ohio University campus.

With the victory, the Falcons improve to 10-11-2 on the season. BGSU was the eighth seed for the eight-team tournament, clinching a berth with a 3-0 win over Toledo in the final regular-season conference match. The Brown and Orange topped #1 seed Kent State and #4 seed Western Michigan to reach the final. CMU drops to 10-8-3.

The tourney title is the first in the eight-year history of the BGSU women's soccer program. The Falcons will learn their NCAA first-round opponent on Monday afternoon (Nov. 8), with the live selection announcement scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on ESPNews.

Rossi got the Falcons on the board at the 22:02 mark, taking a pass from senior Kristy Coppes, making a move to shake her defender, then perfectly chipping a ball over CMU goalkeeper Anne Decker into the far (right) upper corner of the net.

Pucillo scored her first goal of the year less than seven minutes later, with juniors Leah Eggleton and Julie Trundle assisting. Trundle poked at a ball in the penalty area, and the ball went to Eggleton on the left side of the goal. She slid a pass to Pucillo on the doorstep, and Pucillo's blast caromed off a Central defender and into the net.

The Falcons are the lowest seed to win the MAC Tournament in league history. BGSU, also seeded eighth in last year's tourney, reached the final in 2003 before succumbing. The 2000 Falcons, in the first year of the Andy Richards Era, also made it to the championship match before falling in double overtime.

Coppes, Pucillo, junior Molly Bremen and Ashley Wentzel all were named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team.

The Falcons huddle shortly after the final horn

The Chippewas very nearly took an early lead in the contest. At the outset, the Falcons had the ball in the CMU end of the field for the first five minutes, but could not get off a shot during that time. CMU's first chance, however, was a great one, as Rachel Snyder's shot glanced off the crossbar.

Rossi nearly got the Falcons on the board in the 15th minute. Bremen played a ball through several CMU defenders to sophomore Lindsay Carter deep in the penalty area on the right side. Just before the ball reached the end line, Carter crossed it to Rossi, whose header went just high.

Rossi converted her chance several minutes later, on a play that started when Carter stole the ball near midfield and slid a pass ahead to Coppes, who found Rossi for the scoring play.

Wentzel had a solid scoring chance three minutes later. A Central defender attempted to clear the ball from the penalty box, but Wentzel tracked it down. The junior took one dribble and uncorked a long volley that sailed just high.

Less than four minutes later, though, Pucillo doubled the Falcon lead, and Shingler and the Falcon defense never let that lead dwindle. Shingler made a diving save of a Jacquie Lacek shot with 10 minutes left in the half, then punched a Lacek cross out of danger less than a minute later.

The Chippewas held a 22-10 advantage in shots, including an 11-3 margin in shots on goal, but Shingler and the Falcon defense would not crack. Central's 13-4 second-half shots advantage included a 7-0 lead in the SOG category, but the Falcons maintained the two-goal lead and preserved the shutout.

The Falcons pose with their hardware

Coppes had two shot attempts in the first minute of the second half, then nearly connected on a give-and-go with Bremen with 36 minutes left. Coppes played a ball to Bremen near midfield, and Bremen poked it past an opponent into space, leading to a long run down the right side of the field. Her cross found Coppes in the box, but the Falcon senior just missed on her attempt to settle it, and the match remained 2-0.

Midway through the half, Shingler had to leap to tip a long shot by Lacek, then stopped a shot by Snyder after a Chippewa corner kick. Shingler made several more stops in the final few minutes, picking up the shutout.

As mentioned, the Falcons will learn the opponent and site for the first-round matchup on Monday at 4:30 p.m. The first round of the 64-team, single-elimination tourney is Friday (Nov. 12).

NOTES