TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Western Michigan on Sunday afternoon at Paul Hotmer Field in the final game of its 2021 spring season. Today's contest was the Rockets' first in two weeks due to a Covid-19 pause.
 
"I'm proud of our team and how they have fought through this season," Head Coach TJ Buchholz said.  "We've had several players thrust into roles we weren't expecting and saw a lot of good things that leave us optimistic for next year."
 
Following a scoreless first half, Toledo scored first at the 53:41 mark when junior Ashton Cassel blasted a shot from 15 yards out past the outstretched arms of Bronco goalkeeper Hannah Sargent into the bottom left corner of the net. Junior Anita Mancini set up the goal when a defender tried to clear her cross but instead directed it to a wide-open Cassel.
 
Unfortunately for the Rockets, Morgan Otteson knotted the score at 1-1 less than three minutes later when her shot from just inside the right side of the penalty box eluded redshirt freshman Emma Boutorwick.
 
"We talk a lot about getting to the second goal and weren't able to do that," Buchholz said. "If you can't get to two goals, you leave yourself vulnerable at this level. Everyone is good enough to score at any point during a game and WMU capitalized on that."
 
The Broncos' Bailey Korhorn netted the game-winner with 1:57 remaining when she took a pass from Kai Sugiyama and drilled it home from just outside the goalbox.

Western Michigan held a 13-10 advantage in shot attempts during the contest, while the Rockets held a slim 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
 
"I was proud of our effort and thought we played well enough to win," Buchholz said. "We had a lot of things going for us in our attack, but we had a couple of bad clearances on both of their goals. This is a tough one to take, but it was great to see our underclassmen keep getting stronger and stronger throughout this season."