Falcons went on the road to Corcoran Field in Cincinnati with a (2-2-1) record to visit the Xavier Musketeers who posed a (5-2-1) record coming into the match.
In the final non-conference game for both teams, Xavier came out the gates on fire as the Falcons went down early in the first half to a goal scored by Sophomore forward Chloe Netzel in the 13th minute, which would ultimately be the game-winner.
The Musketeers dominated the first half, outshooting the Falcons 13 to 1 and controlling all aspects of the game. But the Falcons still remained down only 1-0 going into halftime.
The Falcons pushed for an equalizer, with 4 out of their 5 shots in the game coming in the final 15 minutes. But we’re not able to find the back of the net. The Falcons finished the game being outshot 21 to 5.
Senior Keeper Lili Berg had a career night for the Falcons, with a career-high 10 saves in the game, 8 coming in the first half.
Despite ending with a loss before the Falcons return to Mid-American Conference play, Head Coach Jimmy Walker was pleased with the 2nd half performance and fight the team showed against a good Xavier side. “I was really pleased with our overall performance tonight against a very competitive Xavier team! Xavier had the better of the play in the first half and I felt we had the better of the play in the second half. Xavier is a very tough place to play and I thought we competed really well, particularly in the second half”.
Coach Walker also believes that his team is prepared to defend their crown in the Mid-American Conference “We wanted to play a difficult non-conference schedule to prepare us for the MAC schedule, and we feel we have done just that.”
The Musketeers with this win moved to (6-2-1) on the season, and will also be competing in conference play for the rest of the year in the Big East.
The Falcons will return to Mid-American Conference action for the first time this season and return to Bowling Green, as they take on their school rival the Toledo Rockets at Cochrane Stadium on September 22 at 7 P.M.