BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green women’s soccer will add a trophy to the collection for the second straight season, and the Falcons certainly didn’t skimp on the drama.
A year after winning the Mid-American Conference in penalty kicks, the Falcons did it again Sunday at Cochrane Stadium, defeating Eastern Michigan 3-1 in the PK shootout after neither side scored in 110 minutes of play.
Goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve, a Northview High School graduate, made two critical saves in the penalty shootout, and midfielder Nikhita Jacob scored from the spot to send BG back to the NCAA tournament.
The Falcons were the MAC favorite from the start, and finished 13-1-1 against MAC opposition to reclaim the league title.
“Doing it once is a real challenge; doing it back-to-back is next to impossible,” Falcons coach Matt Fannon said. “Obviously, we feel really proud of being able to do that because we’ve said all season and seen all season, we’ve had the best version of every team when they’ve come to play us.”
Bowling Green (14-5-3) will await its NCAA tournament destination, which will be announced Monday.
Last season, the Falcons qualified for the 64-team field by defeating Ball State in penalty kicks on their home field, and this year faced the same circumstances, albeit against a new opponent.
Seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan upset its way into the MAC final and kept the Falcons from scoring in regulation or either of the two extra-time periods. That led to penalties to decide the league champion, a familiar feeling to most of the BG roster.
“As a team, we’ve been in this position before,” Duwve said. “We were here last year, we knew exactly what it took, [and] we knew that we could do it. We were confident in ourselves that we could.”
The two teams combined for only six shots on goal, although Bowling Green had two golden opportunities in the first half and was unable to score.
In the seventh minute, Nikki Cox fired a grounded shot past Eastern Michigan goalkeeper Chelsea Abbotts but struck the post, and Abbotts quickly collected the ricochet to prevent a rebound.
Bowling Green won a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the 32nd minute, and despite Madi Wolfbauer’s dangerous cross dancing along the six-yard box, Kennedy White couldn’t fully redirect the ball on target, ending in a goal kick.
Abbotts tipped a dangerous Bowling Green cross out of play a minute into the first overtime, although neither side was able to find the golden-goal winner.
Falcons midfielder Chelsee Washington and White converted their penalties around a save by Duwve to start the shootout. The Falcons failed to score on their third and fourth penalties, but an EMU miss plus a second save by Duwve made sure BG never trailed in penalty kicks.
“I think it’s always a good feeling to have Duwve in goal for us, especially in PKs,” Jacob said. “We know, especially since last year, that she can come up big in the big moments, and she did it again.”
Students, mostly from BG’s other athletic teams, stormed the field after Jacob’s clinching penalty, a familiar sight for a team that once again proved ready for the high-stakes moments in the MAC tournament.
“When you’ve been there and done it, you know what to expect,” Fannon said. “I think that more than anything, though, we just have a bunch of winners on the team that, when it does get down to that moment, they’re ready for it.”
First Published November 10, 2019, 11:10 p.m.
