One day you’re a champion, the next day you’re an underdog.
The BGSU women’s soccer team knows this scenario all too well. The squad’s win over Kent State on Sunday clinched their second consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament title and gave them a berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Falcons will face Big Ten opponent Michigan State tomorrow at Notre Dame. This will be the second meeting of the year for the squads. BG lost to the Spartans 0-1 in their fifth match of the season.
“[We’ve changed] quite a bit [since then],” BG coach Andy Richards said. “We had a couple of kids who did not play because of injury and we also have had a couple players who emerged throughout the season, especially younger players.”
After starting the season with a record of 6-6-0, the Falcons regrouped to win their last eight games of the season and capture the MAC regular season title. The squad, now 14-6-2, has shown vast improvement over the second half of the season and is ready to take on the Spartans.
“They’re a very good team. Their very well structured and their very strong and very physical, which is typical of a Big Ten team,” Richards said.
Richards said that the size and strength of the Spartans will challenge the Falcons, but the team enjoys being the underdog.
“I think it’s good for our team. They like being the underdog. They play well in that situation,” he said.
Michigan State, on the other hand will look to dominate. The Spartans have been led offensively all season by senior forward Emma Harris. Harris has 13 goals on the season, including the game winner against BG. Keeper Nicole Galas will anchor the Spartan defense. Galas has ten shutouts this season and a .87 goals against average.
“We’ve performed well against Michigan State, even if we haven’t had the results we’ve wanted, we can play with them,” Richards said.
The Falcons have a deep lineup of reliable personnel. Samantha Meister leads the team with eight goals this season. Freshmen standout Corbie Yee has six tallies of her own and Britt Anderson has five. In goal, Ali Shingler has been reliable all season with seven shutouts and a goals against average of 1.19.
In last year’s NCAA appearance, the Falcons fell in the first round to Ohio State 0-2, but Shingler believes this year’s squad had more in them than one and done.
“We’ve been there before. This year, I think it’s going to be different. I think whoever we play, we’re going to give them a battle. It’ll definitely be different this year,” Shingler said after Sunday’s MAC tournament win.
To be successful in tomorrow’s match, the Falcons will have to change their mental approach to the game.
“It’s a change of mentality. When we were going for the MAC tournament title and in the last two or three games [of the season], we were the favorite,” Richards said. “The pressure on us was different. Now it’s turned around completely.”
Luckily for the Falcons, they have played some of their best soccer when they have had nothing to lose. They we seeded last in the 2004 MAC Tournament, yet came back to be crowned tournament champs. They hope to bring that same fire to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
