Thursday evening, BGSU Women’s Soccer traveled to the University of Buffalo for a Mid-American Conference Semifinal matchup against the Ball State Cardinals. In the regular season, the Cardinals defeated the Falcons 2-0 at Cochrane Stadium.
A warm fall evening set the stage for both MAC Semifinal matches. Prior to the Cardinals and Falcons taking the pitch, the Buffalo Bulls defeated the Miami RedHawks 1-0 to secure their spot in the conference final this Sunday.
In the opening 15 minutes of the nightcap, Bowling Green and Ball State both had a look at the goal but neither were able to convert. It was in the 18th minute of the contest that the Cardinals found the opening goal on a 35 plus yard shot from Sammi Corcoran. The Cardinals would take this 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The Falcons would tie the contest at the 56-minute mark as All-MAC freshman Brynn Gardner scored via a header on a crossing pass from Lacee Bethea. Falcon opportunities weren’t hard to come by in the second half, but Bethany Moser stood tall in goal for the Cardinals. The standard 90 minute contest would not be enough as neither team could break the tie in regulation.
Ball State controlled the ball for the first portion of overtime before the Falcons pushed the ball upfield to their attacking end. Kenna White sent a crossing pass into the box towards Brynn Gardner, but Gardner was sent sprawling to the ground in the box and no whistle was blown.
After one scoreless overtime, a second was in order and once again the Falcons had the majority of the opportunities. Lili Berg and Bethany Moser both held the opposition scoreless once again in the second overtime, so the match would be settled courtesy of the penalty-kick shootout.
Penalty-kick (PK) format is a best of five scenario, and after Sammi Corcoran found the net once again for Ball State, Kenna White evened the shootout at one. Tiffani Torres struck for Ball State once again before Katie Cox’s attempt went high off the crossbar. Avery Fenchel scored the third PK goal for Ball State in as many attempts and Maya Dean’s following attempt was stopped by Moser.
With Ball State ahead 3-1 after the third round of PK’s, it gave graduate senior Jenna Dombrowski the chance to send the Cardinals to the MAC Championship with a goal. Dombrowski did just that, knocking the ball into the back of the net to seal the deal.
The Cardinals will head to the MAC Championship to take on the Buffalo Bulls on Sunday, November 6th. While Bowling Green has fallen short in their quest for five straight conference championships, there are still plenty of positives for the Falcons, who will return much of their starting lineup for next season.
For more information about the season, visit bgsufalcons.com.
