Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo scored three first-half goals on Friday afternoon and registered a 3-1 victory over Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams at rainy Scott Park. With the victory, the Rocket improve to 2-5-2 overall, 1-0-0 in the league, and snap a five-match losing streak to the Broncos (1-7-1, 0-1-0 MAC).
"We battled hard today and were able to come away with a big win over a good team," Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans said. "We've challenged our players to step up individually and perform and we're now starting to see that. I thought our forwards did a good job of creating opportunities and finishing and also our defense played well."
Toledo came out with its guns blazing and scored the contest's first goal in just the third minute. Off a junior Suzi Siwinki corner kick, the Rockets kept the action deep in the Broncos goal box. Sophomore Annie Sullivan recovered a loose ball with space in front of her and fired a shot from about 20-yards out over the head of the WMU netminder Sara Phillips for her first tally of the season.
Facing a one-goal deficit, Western Michigan looked to have knotted the score in the 15th minute when Laura White was open at the top of the UT goal box. She blasted a shot high, but fortunately for the home team it hit the cross bar and kept the score 1-0.
The visitors had another quality scoring chance just minutes later when Cassandra Nelson received a pass at about 30-yards out on the right side and blasted a shot toward the far post, but UT senior goalkeeper Jen Whipple made an acrobatic stop to keep WMU off the board.
Just as it looked like the Broncos had the momentum with quality back-to-back scoring opportunities, the Rockets quickly retaliated and doubled their advantage on freshman Molly Cornwell's goal at 26:47. The Pickerington, OH native made the score 2-0 after perfectly bending a corner kick with her left foot into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.
Toledo was still not done in the first half and upped its edge to 3-0 at 39:41 following freshman Heather Wesley's second tally of 2006. The goal was set up on a deep cross into the goal box by UT senior Julia Lyons to an open Wesley, who had made beautiful run behind the last line of the Broncos' defense and blasted a shot past Phillips to establish a three-goal cushion at the intermission.
In the second half, the teams battled back-and-forth and endured wet conditions. Western Michigan pressed the action and outshot Toledo, 4-1, and scored the only goal in the final 45 minutes on a tally by Stacy Rogers at 77:51. Rogers received a pass from teammate Michele Roffey on the right side and made a nice cut to the top of the UT goal box and fired a shot that hit the crossbar and deflected off Whipple into the back of the net.
The Broncos continued to mount an attack and nearly cut the deficit to a single score when Nelson hit the crossbar for the second time in the contest at 82:13. Favorably for the Midnight Blue and Gold, WMU would not threaten again and the home team claimed its first home victory of the season.
UT's Whipple made four saves in the match, including three in the first stanza. For the Broncos, Phillips and Jenna Schrumpf shared time between the posts and made one save apiece.
The Rockets return to action on Sunday, Sept. 24 when they host Northern Illinois at 1:00 p.m.
TOLEDO 3, Western Michigan 1
UT: A. Sullivan (Unassisted), 2:38
UT: M. Cornwell (Unassisted), 26:47
UT: H. Wesley (Lyons), 39:41
WMU: S. Rogers (Roffey), 77:51
SHOTS: UT 9, WMU 9
CORNER KICKS: UT 7, WMU 1
SAVES: UT 4, WMU 2
FOULS: UT 12, WMU 11
