After battling gusting winds and a physical Kent State team, BGSU women’s soccer midfielder Julie Trundle just wanted to go home. After 90 minutes of regulation play, 20 minutes of overtime play and nine penalty kicks, Trundle netted the game winning goal and got her wish. Not only was she going home, she was going home with her second consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament championship.
“Walking up there, I just wanted to hit it in the back of the net so we could get out of here,” Trundle said. “It was a long game, but give credit to everyone out here, even Kent State. We played extremely hard for the entire 110 minutes.”
Britt Anderson and Lindsay Carter also scored penalty kicks for BG and Falcon keeper Ali Shingler came up with two clutch saves to give BG a 3-2 advantage in the game-deciding penalty kick period.
A strong Bowling Green wind, gusting up to 41 mph, at times redirected the ball in mid-flight and made play difficult for both teams throughout the match. After a scoreless first half battle, Kent State stepped up their offense, aggressively pounding a solid BG defense.
“It was just a barrage,” BG coach Andy Richards said. “The wind was tough, but it was the same for both teams. I think Kent knew that the longer they could keep us at bay, the longer they could prevent us from scoring, the better chance they would have.”
Kent State’s pressure paid off in some excellent offensive opportunities in the second half. The Golden Flashes best chance of the match came at the 78:38 mark when Kimberly Dimitroff and Brittany Fracasso found themselves in a two-on-one situation. Shingler saved Dimitroff’s shot and Fracasso’s follow-up shot sailed wide.
Later in the half, with just over eight minutes remaining, Kent State had another golden opportunity when they were awarded a direct free kick from 18 yards out. Catharine Marosszeky took the shot, which was headed out of the area by the Falcons’ wall.
Both teams battled desperately through the remainder of regulation time and through two 10 minute overtime periods to no avail. At that point Richards and the Falcons were just happy to make it to the ten game-deciding penalty kicks.
“We talked about how the game has phases and you have to take advantage when it’s your phase and make sure you score. And when it’s not your phase, you just have to survive, and that’s exactly what we did,” Richards said.
A penalty kick shoot-out was familiar to the Falcon squad, as they won their quarterfinal match against Toledo on penalty kicks. In a shoot-out, each team alternates shooting on the opposing keeper, with each team getting five shots on goal.
“Once we got into the shoot-out, I was confident we would do well,” Richards said.
Shingler echoed Richards’ confidence.
“Andy tells [the team] before we go out there, which I try not to listen because I try to do my own thing, but he always tells them, ‘if you make your shots, Ali’s going to make at least one save,'” she said. “Every time I’ve made at least one and today I made two, so I’m happy with that.”
Shingler had six saves in the match in addition to her penalty kick saves.
“She definitely saved us in the second half and during the penalty kick shoot-out,” Trundle said of Shingler. “She made some great saves.”
Richards has stressed preparation and consistency all season and the team displayed both in the championship match.
“It’s something we practice for a lot, for shoot-outs,” Richards said. “We have kids who are able to step up and perform under pressure.”
Several Falcons who performed notably well under pressure were recognized after the match as part of the MAC All-Tournament team. Corbie Yee and Molly Bremen joined Trundle and Shingler on the All-Tournament team.
Yee scored a goal in Friday’s 2-0 semi-final win over Miami. Danielle Cygan also scored in that match, giving the Falcons a chance at their eventual championship title.
Along with the tournament title, the team also gets an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The team made a short appearance in the tournament last year, falling to Ohio State 0-2 in the opening round.
Shingler has high confidence for the team to make a longer tournament run this year.
“If we go out there and we can beat some NCAA teams, which I definitely think we’re capable of, I think we’ll really put BG on the map and I think we’ll get a lot more respect for that, especially the MAC will get some more respect as well,” she said.
