The BG women’s soccer two-game win streak came to an end this past weekend.
Friday the Falcons dropped their match 0-2 at Western Michigan and Sunday’s match against Northern Illinois ended in a 0-0 double overtime tie.
With the pair of losses, BG drops to 4-12-1 overall and 3-6-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
In the first match of the weekend, the Broncos controlled the match early as they got off 14 shots and five corner kicks in the first half. Goalkeeper Lauren Cadel made nine saves in the half.
Though Western Michigan controlled the offense for the first half, they were unable to find the back of the net as the game went into halftime scoreless for either team. However, the Broncos connected on two second-half goals in the 56th and 86th minutes.
The Falcons were unable to get their offense running throughout either half. BG put up just two total shots, both of which came in the first half, compared to Western Michigan’s 26 attempts on the day.
For the fifth straight game Cadel finished with double digit saves, tallying 12 against the Broncos.
“Western Michigan is simply a better team than us. With that being said, we absorbed a lot of pressure and defended with a lot of grit and discipline in the first half to head into halftime 0-0,” said head coach Lindsay Basalyga. “Lauren [Cadel] had yet another outstanding performance and kept us in the game longer than we should have been in the second half.”
The Falcons improved their offensive attack Sunday in their game against Northern Illinois. BG got off 13 total shots in its 110 minutes of play. The Huskies had 21 shots, 11 of which came in the second period. Six of the Falcons’ 13 shots were on goal and eight of Western Michigan’s were on goal. The Broncos led the Falcons in corner kicks as well, tallying five to BG’s two.
Freshman Skylar Fleak led the Falcons with six shots, three of which were on goal. Senior Sidney Huth added three total shots for the Falcons, one of which was on goal.
The Falcons’ 3-6-1 conference record was not enough to secure a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament though they are currently fourth in the MAC East Division.
“It’s disappointing that we won’t make postseason play, but a year ago, by this game, the MAC Tournament wasn’t even a discussion,” said Basalyga. “We are going to get a few more days together and see how much further we can push
our process.”
BG will end its 2014 regular season in a conference battle with Eastern Michigan Oct. 30 at Cochrane Field.
