BGSU women’s soccer (3-2-0) improved to 3-2 on the year with a dominant win over the Cleveland State Vikings (0-5-1) on Sunday afternoon at Krenzler Field.
Head coach Chris Fox had the boxes checked off on his list after a textbook performance in terms of possession and energetic defense, as the Falcons gave the Vikings no room for comfort throughout all 90 minutes of the match.
The win comes after back-to-back road losses to Duquesne and Loyola Chicago left spirits low for BG after such a great start to the season at Cochrane Stadium, and the first road win of the season surely will give confidence for a Falcon team that has one game left before Mid-American Conference (MAC) play begins.
BG kept possession throughout much of the first half thanks to unrelenting defensive pressure that stifled Cleveland State, as they didn’t get their first shot until the 25th minute when Mayra Sesmas sent one toward the goal that was stopped by BGSU redshirt junior goalkeeper Madison Vukas.
A prevalent side effect of the pressure that the Falcons were putting on the Vikings was the number of offensive opportunities that they received, with seven shots in the first half as opposed to only one for Cleveland State.
The first goal would come from the head of sophomore forward Emma Stransky via a corner kick that was sent close to sophomore midfielder Michelle Hochstadt but then sent into the box, where Stransky sent her header into the back of the net.
The second half would see much of the same, with possession taking the advantage of Bowling Green, but ClevelandState was doing a fantastic job stifling the Falcons despite their offensive pressure, only allowing two shots threw the first 30 minutes of the second half.
Bowling Green’s second goal would come via redshirt sophomore forward Alaina Uncapher in her second of the year from a fantastic sliding takeaway by Stransky in front of the box that would lead to a chance with no opposition right in front of the goal for Uncapher to double the lead for the Falcons.
Both the offense and the defense looked comfortable in their roles against a Viking team that has struggled mightily to begin the season after falling to 0-5-1.
14 total shots for the Falcons compared to only three for the Vikings is all you need to hear to believe how dominant the possession was all day, and considering how important having valuable possession is in winning consistent games, the Falcons did a fantastic job on that front, as they have all year to this point.
The scoring chances were there, and Stransky and Uncapher capitalized on those chances, which is a great thing to see from BG after the tough offensive time they had in the last couple of weeks against Duquesne and Loyola Chicago.
Bowling Green returns to Cochrane Stadium for their final non-conference test on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. against Oakland.
