The BGSU women’s soccer team is enjoying the view from the top. Two weekend road wins boosted them to first place in the Mid-American Conference and extended their winning streak to seven straight games.
The Falcons topped Central Michigan 2-1 Friday before another 2-1 win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday. With only one regular season game left, last weekend’s wins guarantee the squad a top-three finish in the conference.
The squad is now 8-2-0 in the MAC and 12-6-0 overall.
BGSU coach Andy Richards expressed pride in his team’s consistent performance.
“We got two wins on the road, which is huge,” he said. “We’re riding our luck a little bit, but we’re also playing good soccer.”
In the case of the Falcons, “playing good soccer” means getting everyone involved. After losing their leading scorer to graduation last season, the squad had to find other ways to produce offensively this year.
“We seem to be getting scores from different people,” Richards said. “What I’ve been proud of is, if you look at the team, you’ve got a lot of people scoring. We’re not just relying on one individual.”
Ironically, one individual took care of all the scoring for the Falcons Friday. Lindsey Carter netted a pair of goals against Central Michigan, one in each half of the match. Julie Trundle assisted on the first goal and Britt Anderson and Corbie Yee collected assists on the second goal.
Carter’s strong offensive performance over the weekend helped her earn MAC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career.
The Chippewas scored their lone goal with just under nine minutes left in the match. Erica Rohren found Katy Boggan for the score. BG keeper Ali Shingler and the Falcon defense held off the Chips for the remainder of the match to get the win. Sunday’s match had a touch of de ja vu to it, as the squad played to a nearly identical result to Friday’s match.
“They were both similar in several respects,” Richards said. “We went two up in both games before conceding a late goal.”
After playing a scoreless first half Sunday, the squad picked up the offense in the second stanza. Samantha Meister found Yee at 66:08 to put the Falcons up 1-0. Trundle converted a penalty kick at 85:53 for the winning goal.
The Eagles got on the board with less than two minutes left to play in the match when Trisha Roberts scored an unassisted goal at 88:32.
Shingler had another solid match in goal, picking up her seventh straight victory.
The squad’s winning streak is evidence of a much improved team that is playing with the consistency that evaded them earlier in the season.
“We’ve developed a better sense of consistency. We seem to have solved that problem. We’ve also developed composure. Earlier in the year we’d win one, lose one and then lose one, win one. We couldn’t get above .500,” Richards said.
Now well above .500, the post-season outlook is looking good for the Falcons. They have secured a berth in the tournament, beginning with a home field advantage in Tuesday’s quarter final round.
But the season’s not over yet. The Falcons need a win over Toledo on Friday to hold on to their first place standing in the MAC. With that game under their belts, they can then focus on postseason play.
