Oct. 9, 2009

Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Regulation and two overtimes were not enough to decide a victor as Ohio soccer battled Bowling Green to a 1-1 tie on the road Friday evening. Amy Lower scored her third goal of the season for Ohio.

Both squads recorded 11 shots apiece, but the Bobcats had the edge in shots on goal, outshooting the Falcons 5-2. Ohio's defense turned in another solid outing, limiting BGSU to just three shots over the final 65 minutes of play.

"It was a close game with good chances for both teams," Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said. "We were pleased with our performance in the second half. Going into Sunday (against Toledo), we need to be the aggressors and continue to create chances like the chance (Lauren) Burke created today on the quality goal by Amy Lower."

The two squads went back and forth through the first 25 minutes of play as the two defenses stood tall and kept the opposing side of the net. BGSU finally managed to score midway through the 26th minute when Katelyn Turner squeezed a header past the Ohio keeper off of a Falcon corner kick. Jasmine Merith (Richmond Hill, Ontario) had a chance to tie the game early in the 37th minute, but her attempt sailed just wide of the goal. Jackie Hanson (LeGrange, Ill.) came close to evening the tally herself late in the 42nd minute, but the BGSU keeper managed to make a nice save and keep the score intact.

Ohio (5-5-2, 2-1-2 MAC) came out strong early in the second half and pressured the Falcon defense with a couple shots in the first few minutes. Cathryn Rogers (Toronto, Ontario) also came close to tying the action at the beginning of the 50th minute, but her shot that was headed straight for the net was gathered up just in time by the BGSU (4-8-2, 0-3-2 MAC) keeper. A promising attempt from Kelsey Pichel (Rochester Hills, Mich.) a few minutes later in the 61st minute was blocked away by the Falcons.

The `Cats' continuing pressure paid off late in the 72nd minute when Lower (West Chester, Ohio) took a beautiful pass from Burke (Medina, Ohio) and sailed a shot into the corner of the net to tie the game at one. It was the third goal of the season for Lower and the 23rd of her career, which tied her for fourth with Tiffany Horvath (2003-06) on the school's all-time goals scored list. The assist was the first of the season for Burke. Neither side would get anything more from there, however, to send the action to overtime.

Ainsley Bodi (Strongsville, Ohio) came close to ending things late in 94th minute, but her shot sailed slightly wide of the net. Pichel also came awfully close to ending it in the waning seconds of the first overtime, but the Falcons' keeper made another nice save to force a second overtime period.

BGSU nearly ended the contest in the 106th minute, but its attempt hit off the post and was cleared away by the `Cats' defense. Just over 30 seconds later, the Falcons threatened again with a close header off a corner kick, but Ohio's defense made a beautiful play and blocked the ball away to take the tie.

The Green and White will return to action Sunday afternoon when it battles defending conference-champion Toledo. First touch is set for 1 p.m.