On a Thursday night at Cochrane Stadium, BGSU women’s soccer (3-2-1) finished their non-conference schedule with a 0-0 tie against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
Here’s how it went down:
First Half:
Bowling Green began the first half aggressively. Sophomore defender Christine Erdman immediately got a shot on goal, which Oakland goalie Julia Zangerl saved.
The Falcons kept on the attack, getting another chance at a goal with their first corner kick of the half. Junior forward Brynn Gardner received the ball off the set piece, but her pass to a teammate ricocheted out of bounds.
This would be a common theme for the Falcons in the first 45′.
Bowling Green stayed on the attack, controlling possession of the ball and keeping pressure on Oakland’s defense.
Halfway through the first half, sophomore midfielder Michelle Hochstadt had a chance at a goal, but her shot sailed right over the top of the net.
With nearly 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Bowling Green freshman forward Lilly Boebel struck a hard shot for a potential goal, causing Oakland’s Zangerl to dive for the save.
The first half ended with a score of 0-0. Bowling Green took eight shots on goal during the half, compared to the Golden Grizzlies’ zero.
Second Half:
Bowling Green and Oakland battled back and forth to open the half. Oakland employed a more aggressive style of defensive play, keeping the Falcons on their toes.
The Orange and Brown got their first opportunity of the second half to finally get on the scoreboard, with sophomore forward Emma Stransky taking a shot that was kick-saved by Zangerl.
Bowling Green had opportunity after opportunity to sink a shot into the back of the net but came up empty time and time again.
After 90 minutes of tough play, Bowling Green and Oakland finished the night scoreless.
Bowling Green head coach Chris Fox spoke postgame about the result:
“The difficult ones to take for sure, the games that look normal on the scoreboard but feel like a loss, Fox said. “But testament to that, at the end of the day, they executed a really good gameplan, made it really difficult for us and we’ve got to learn and keep improving.”
Bowling Green finished the night with 17 shots, seven of which were on goal, compared to Oakland’s three shots and one on goal.
Fox also touched on the team’s growing pains in the final third, and how to improve:
“Minor details, things we’ve been talking about all season long since I’ve started here, body shape, anticipation,” Fox said. “First touches, finding the moments when we should be looking to play, moments when we should be looking to keep things simple, just playing with a purpose keeping things simple.”
Bowling Green ends its non-conference schedule with three wins, two losses, and one draw. The Falcons’ Mid-American Conference (MAC) schedule officially begins in one week.
The Orange and Brown travel to Muncie, Indiana, to take on the Ball State Cardinals, with a kickoff time of 4 p.m.
