Final Stats
BOWLING GREEN, OH - Junior Robin Davidson's goal with just under six minutes gone in overtime gave Toledo a 1-0 win over arch-rival Bowling Green in Mid-American Conference action at BGSU's Cochrane Field.
With the victory, the Rockets improve to 5-5-0 overall and 3-2 in MAC play. The Falcons drop to 3-6-1 and 1-2-1, respectively.
"I'm so excited for our players," Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans said. "I think they worked really hard today. Learning to win on emotion is a great lesson for us. This was a physical game as all games with Bowling Green are, and I thought both teams played hard."
In the extra session, UT held a 4-1 shots advantage. Senior Melissa Lesage fired back-to-back shots during one flurry with three-and-a-half minutes elapsed, but her initial shot was blocked, and her second shot was stopped by Shingler. The rebound eventually went to freshman Sarah Hazenfield, whose shot was off the mark.
The winning play began just over two minutes later. Freshman Nichole Williams won the ball and broke down the right side of the field. As she entered the penalty area, she crossed the ball to Davidson, whose shot found the mark and sparked a wild UT celebration.
"Our wide midfielders (Williams, Davidson, Sarah Crane, Casey Staples) did a great job today," Evans said. "They did an awesome job getting up and down the field and really helped get the game-winner."
The Rockets just missed on a scoring chance late in the first half. UT sophomore Kelly Langenbeck took a shot from the right side of the penalty area, and the curving shot eluded BG goalkeeper Ali Shingler, but rang off the near post with just under 12 minutes left in the half.
UT held a 7-2 edge in shot attempts in the first 45 minutes, but the teams each got off four shots in the second half. In that second stanza, the Falcons' best chance came with approximately 16:23 left in regulation. Sophomores Julie Trundle and Britt Anderson combined to win the ball in the corner flag, and Anderson's left-side cross found the head of classmate Ashley Wentzel. Wentzel's floating shot beat UT redshirt freshman goalkeeper Jen Whipple, but struck the crossbar.
Whipple made three saves in her complete-match effort to earn the shutout, while Shingler stopped five shots for BGSU.
Toledo returns to action on Friday, Oct. 3 to continue its season-long, four-match road swing, beginning with a contest at Miami. Two days later, the Rockets will head to Muncie, IN for a match with Ball State.
