Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - The Toledo women's soccer team suffered a 3-1 loss to Western Michigan on Friday afternoon. The Mid-American Conference match was held at Scott Park.
The Rockets (6-7-3 overall, 3-5-2 MAC) dropped not only the match, but also lost a chance to make a move toward earning a spot in the MAC Tournament. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the league tourney, and the Rockets sit in 11th place after Friday's action.
"Western Michigan had the better team today," Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans said. "Their players were better attackers than us today. They are a seasoned team with a lot of experience."
Western Michigan (11-4-2, 6-3-2 MAC) opened the scoring at 12:22 on a well-orchestrated play by Andrea Tyler and Sara Cultra. Tyler split a pair of UT defenders down the right side of the field and placed a ball to an open Cultra infront of the UT goal, who promptly placed it past sophomore goalkeeper Jen Whipple for the score.
Western Michigan doubled its lead at 23:12 of the first stanza on a goal by Chantal Robinson. Off a free kick, Robinson rifled a perfect shot from about 30 yards out to the upper left corner of the net to give WMU a 2-0 lead.
Toledo cut the lead in half at 47:56 of the second half on an own goal. Junior Pam Richard made a run toward the endline and crossed the ball infront of the WMU goal. The ball got caught up in the wind and struck the Broncos' Katie Ruzinsky in the back and bounced in for the score.
But, the Rockets would get no closer. WMU got an insurance goal off the foot of Laura White with just one second left to make the final, 3-1.
The Broncos outshot the Rockets by a 13-6 margin. Whipple made four saves for the Midnight Blue and Gold, while Western Michigan's Kate Perz made three stops.
Western Michigan had eight corner kicks to UT's three, and the Rockets were whistled for two more fouls than the visitors, 13-11.
Toledo returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 24 when it hosts Northern Illinois. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Scott Park. Prior to the start of Sunday's contest, the Rockets will pay tribute to its two seniors, Rebecca Hollis and Robin Davidson, who will be appearing in their final weekend home game.
Western Michigan 3, TOLEDO 1
WMU: Sara Cultra (A. Tyler), 12:22
WMU: Chantal Robinson (Unassisted), 23:12
UT: Own Goal (Unassisted), 47:56
WMU: Laura White (Unassisted), 89:59
SHOTS: UT 6, WMU 13
SAVES: UT 4, WMU 3
CORNER KICKS: UT 3, WMU 8
FOULS: UT 13, WMU 11
