BGSU women's soccer team loses heartbreaker in NCAA opener

Apr. 28—The confidence steadily grew for the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team throughout a scoreless NCAA tournament opener against Mississippi on Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C., before the Falcons suffered an absolutely heartbreaking loss in the seventh round of a penalty-kick shootout.

At the end of a terrifically played game that saw no goals scored in regulation and overtime, Mississippi edged BG in the shootout 4-3.

The Falcons led 2-1 in the shootout session on goals from leading scorer Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox. But Ole Miss goalkeeper Ashley Orkus, the Southeastern Conference goalie of the year, then stopped three of the next four BG shooters to clinch the win for the Rebels.

Jasmijn Dijsselhof kept Bowling Green's hopes alive when she tied it at 3 in the shootout. Mo O'Connor scored for Ole Miss in the top of the seventh round. BG's Rachel Muller then had Orkus out of position on the potential tying penalty kick, but her shot hit the post, giving the Rebels the victory.

Bowling Green sophomore goalkeeper Lili Berg was very solid, finishing with five saves in regulation. Berg also stopped three shooters in the shootout, including two fantastic diving saves on the Rebels' first two attempts.

"It was a great game against a great opposition and it could have quite easily gone our way tonight," first-year coach Jimmy Walker said. "Our ladies played really hard. I couldn't have asked any more from them. We gave a good SEC team everything they could handle. We had our chances and they had their chances. It was an even game, two really good teams. We were inches away from going to the next round."

The Falcons (6-1-1) were seeking to become the first team in the history of the women's soccer program to win an NCAA tournament game. BG won the Mid-American Conference tournament title to earn a third straight entry into the national tournament.

BG played Ole Miss (11-5-0) even and had the edge at some points in the first-round match in UNC Wilmington.

Ole Miss advances to play No. 8 seed Southern California (7-3-3) in the second round at 6 p.m. Friday.

The Rebels outshot BG 5-3 in regulation as both teams had moments of sustained pressure. The game then went to sudden-death overtime, where neither team registered an official shot.

Bowling Green's Cox, Wolfbauer, and Ruby Linton each had shots on goal in regulation.

The stadium in North Carolina drew eerily quiet in the shootout as Berg stopped the Rebels' leading goal scorer, Channing Foster, with a dive to her left on the first PK.

"Lili was amazing in the PK shootout," Walker said. "She made a couple of great saves."

Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox scored before Dijsselhof tied it at 3.

BG hit a post for the second time in the match on the final PK attempt. White, Lynsey Spotts, Linton, and Muller missed in the PKs as Orkus stepped up her game.

"Our girls are disappointed because they know they can do better there. It's very uncharacteristic of us to miss four penalties like that. I've seen them score those same chances in practice," Walker said.

BG finished with a 13-12 edge in total shots at the University of North Carolina Wilmington Soccer Stadium. The Falcons also had a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.

The Falcons also were playing without an injured Katie Cox, who had produced 11 points with four game-winning goals in her career.

"There was no intimidation tonight," Walker said. "We came out and gave Ole Miss everything they could handle. It will be remembered as a great game. We played one of the top programs in the country to a 0-0 tie. I'm really proud of the ladies."

In a scoreless first half, Berg had two fantastic saves. Berg then kept the game scoreless with a key stop with 7:49 left in regulation.

The Falcons had a strong wind in their faces in the first half before enjoying the breeze at their backs in the second half. And the difference was clear.

BG asserted heavy pressure and controlled the flow for the majority of the second half with two quality shots on goal.

The Falcons had the wind in the first of two, 10-minute sudden-death overtimes. But the Rebels came out on the attack in OT and the stingy BG defense had to be stout again. Neither team had a shot on frame in the first overtime.

In the second OT, Ole Miss had the wind at its back and the Rebels continued to turn up the pressure. Berg made a save 1:20 in to keep the season alive.

But BG flipped the momentum and began pushing back.

With just under 7 minutes left, Wolfbauer hit the crossbar on a free kick. The loose ball led to a scramble before Ole Miss could clear it.

"It was a great shot from Madi that came off the bar and we almost got the rebound, as well," Walker said.

Berg then made one final save with 43 seconds left.

The Falcons had their first quality chance of the second half on a free-kick seven minutes in, but the ball was quickly cleared out of the box.

BG then came up with heavy pressure after Mackenzie Reuber and Ruby Linton had a two-on-one break that did not result in a shot but led to four consecutive corner kicks for BG.

The Falcons' Maya Dean had BG's best chance at that point in the match but was denied by Orkus. Linton had a perfect feed with the corner kick on the play as Orkus dove to her left to make the best save of the game.

The traditionally stout BG defense also limited the Rebels' ability to operate in the Falcons' end.

Berg punched a high shot away with 3:10 left in the first half to keep it scoreless.

The Falcons earned a third consecutive berth in the NCAA tournament. It was the program's fifth overall appearance in the national tournament in school history. In their previous four appearances in the national tournament, the Falcons had fallen each time to teams from the Big Ten.

Led by a stout and stingy defense, the Falcons gave up just three goals all season. Walker said he is immensely proud of his team's effort.

"The girls know they played well tonight," he said. "They are disappointed but they are proud of themselves. They came down here and gave a good accounting of themselves. There is nothing for these girls to hang their heads over tonight. They represented our institution, northwest Ohio, the state of Ohio, and the MAC very well."

First Published April 27, 2021, 9:37pm