The women’s soccer team opened its season on a sunny Sunday afternoon in front of almost 300 fans at Cochrane Field. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Michigan State played spoiler, shutting out BG 4-0.
“We were all disappointed,” said Falcons head coach Andy Richards. “We all wanted desperately to play well, and for a number of different reasons we didn’t fulfill our potential.” Michigan State jumped out to an early advantage, scoring twice in the game’s first twenty minutes, on goals by Tiffany Laskowski and Emma Harris.
Despite being down 2-0, Richards was still confident. “In soccer, 2-0 is a very dangerous score,” Richards said. “I felt if we could sneak a goal in, we’d have a chance.” Instead, the Falcons found themselves playing defense for most of the remainder of the half, and went into the break still trailing by two goals.
Sophomore midfielder Nikki Pucillo felt that weather conditions could have been a factor.
“I think Michigan State ran around us,” Pucillo said. “It seemed like we were out of shape, but it could have been the heat.”
In the second half, Michigan State continued to dominate the game. The Spartans’ Michelle Purin scored at 61:38 to make the score 3-0 and essentially put the game out of reach. Abby Shepherd then closed the scoring with a goal at 68:36.
Despite the loss, Richards did not criticize the effort of his team.
“At the end of the game, we looked more tired than Michigan State, but that is only because we lost,” Richards said. “I think the effort was there, it was just that we were playing against a good team that made us work very hard, and took us away from the style of play that were trying to get our team to play within.”
One of the most telling statistics from the game were the shots on goal. Michigan State had 22 shots on goal, while the Falcons had just 2. Richards believes the Falcons have to do several things to get more shots in future games.
“We have to do a better job of keeping possession, and do a better job of denying them space and time particularly in the midfield area,” Richards said. “We also have to do a better job of moving the ball forward.”
The Falcons next game is Wednesday, at home against Detroit at 4pm. Richards thinks the game will allow the team to rebound from Sunday’s loss.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to put things right,” Richards said. “We beat Detroit last year for the first time ever, so we know it’s going to be a tough game. But we have some determination to get things right, and we are glad to be playing on Wednesday.”
Pucillo is also looking forward to the game, and is expecting the Falcons to bounce back.
“We played them last year and beat them,” Pucillo said. “We are a lot tougher and a lot quicker than last year, so I definetly think we have a good chance.”
Richards was pleased with the attendance for the first game, and hopes the fans will get to see a better outcome on Wednesday. “I thought the turnout was excellent,” Richards said. “Part of my disappointment is that we didn’t treat the people to the spectacle that they deserved. I hope all those people will return on Wednesday, because we really do need the support.”
