Falcon fans love to be entertained and there was no shortage of excitement at Sunday’s women’s soccer match against Western Michigan. BG supporters packed the stands at Cochrane Field and cheered wildly as the squad came back from a 0-2 deficit late in the game to tie the score at two. The team settled for the 2-2 draw after both sides failed to score in two overtime periods.
Prior to Sunday’s match, the Falcon’s beat Mid-American Conference opponent Northern Illinois 2-1 on Friday. Captain Beth Rieman scored the first goal for BG and Samantha Meister netted the game-winner. Julie Trundle, Nikki Pucillo and Ashley Wentzel all had assists in the match. Keeper Ali Shingler picked up the win in goal with four saves.
“It was a must-win game and we managed to do it,” head coach Andy Richards said. “This weekend’s results give us a chance in the tournament. This time of year, it’s about results.”
Sunday’s match got off to a rough start for the Falcons, despite their dominating play. The Broncos’ Sara Cultra took a lofted pass from teammate Lisa Witt and headed it over Shingler just 4:18 into the game. BG continued to keep the ball in Western’s side of the field, but was unable to get on the scoreboard. Shingler had a huge save midway through the half when she stopped a Western breakaway to keep the Falcons in the game.
Both teams came out aggressively in the second half, but again, it was Western who found the net. The Broncos’ Chelsea McNally got a piece of a free kick and sent the ball past the outstretched hands of Shingler at the 76:37 mark to put Western up 2-0.
The fans continued to stomp, cheer and clap thunder sticks together as the clock wound down. Freddie and Frieda Falcon were both on hand to help bolster support for the squad. The cheering seemed to work, as Trundle scored her first goal of the season with 13:23 remaining in the match. Britt Anderson and Wentzel picked up the assists.
Time was running out, but the Falcons weren’t ready to quit. With 3:04 left in regulation, forward Kristy Coppes slid into Western keeper Kate Perz. Perz reacted and was ejected for verbal abuse toward the referee, forcing Western to play a player down for the rest of the match. Perz’s sister, Lea, replaced her in net.
Just two seconds later, Anderson scored on the subsequent free kick to knot the score at two. In the final minutes, Coppes tried to finish off the game on a breakaway, but was stopped by Perz. Time ran out and after a short break, the first of two ten-minute overtime periods began. Once again, BG dominated play, but neither team was able to score in either overtime and both were forced to settle for the tie. Shingler had four saves in the match.
The last home game of their careers was no disappointment for seniors Rieman, Pucillo, Coppes, Jenny Berlovan, Kylene Newell, Katie Piening, and Jenifer Kernahan. They were honored prior to the game. Richards was proud of the seniors’ effort in the match.
“[The seniors were] a good reference of what we needed today. They stepped to their task tremendously well,” Richards said.
Richards also credits the fans who filled the bleachers at Cochrane Field to capacity with helping cheer the team on to come back from a 0-2 deficit late in the game.
“We’d love to have that many fans come to every game. It was inspirational to our players, trying to come back from two down,” he said.
