Oct. 10, 2010

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio - In a battle of Mid-American Conference division leaders, the Miami University women's soccer team fought back to pull even late in the second half and force overtime but Toledo captured a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at Scott Park as UT's Jaimie Morsillo scored in the ninth minute of the extra session. The RedHawks (10-4-1, 3-2-1 MAC) fell to 0-1-1 in overtime this year while the Rockets (10-2-2, 6-0-0 MAC) remained unbeaten in league play.

Toledo almost struck out of the gates as Kristen Lynn's shot bounced off the post less than six minutes into the contest. Things would settle down over the remainder of the opening half as neither side would find the back of the net.

Miami earned the half's lone corner kick in the 40th minute when the 'Hawks also fired their first shot of the match off the foot of freshman Sam Whitmore (Cincinnati, Ohio). Toledo held a 7-1 edge in shots in the first 45 minutes however, but redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kris Gasparovic (Rochester, Mich.) stopped all five blasts that were on target to keep it scoreless at the break.

After the 'Hawks were unable to capitalize on a corner kick early in the second half, the Rockets went the other way and broke the deadlock as Brittany Hensler took advantage of two RedHawk miscues to put Toledo up 1-0 in the 60th minute with her fifth goal of the year. Lynn and Rachel MacLeod earned assists on the score.

Miami responded well, putting pressure on the Rockets immediately following the goal but were still unable to come up with a tally. The RedHawks finally found the equalizer in the 76th minute as senior Julie Thompson (Glenview, Ill.) notched her third goal of the season to make it 1-1. After the Rockets earned a corner, Miami countered as freshman Katy Dolesh (South Euclid, Ohio) served the ball into the box, which was cleared out to eight yards out where Thompson one-timed it into the net.

"I thought we did a good job rallying and coming from behind," head coach Bobby Kramig said. "I was impressed with our ability to fight back at the end of the game and put ourselves in position to win, but it's disappointing that we didn't finish the job."

The 'Hawks nearly won in regulation but UT's Vicki Traven saved a shot by junior Giselle Mangal (Mississauga, Ont.) in the 89th minute to send the match into overtime. The extra session was all Toledo, as the Rockets earned three corner kicks and ripped the only two shots in extra time, including the game-winner by Morsillo with just 1:46 left in the first overtime. Rachael Kravitz earned the assist as she sent in a high corner kick that fell to the ground in the box and Morsillo cleaned up.

"It's absolutely inexcusable on our part to allow a ball to drop in the box on a corner. We just didn't do a good job of clearing it," Kramig said. "We have to do better - you can never allow a ball to drop into the box on a corner, just can't have it."

Toledo finished with a 15-4 edge in shots for the match, including 7-3 on goal, while also earning a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. Gasparovic finished with five saves while Traven made just two stops.

"It's disappointing to lose a hard-fought game and tough to go that far and not take away any (points) from it," Kramig said. "I think the shot stats are a tad misleading but I thought they had the better of play. We needed to do a better job of winning balls in the midfield. That was the difference in the game."

Miami looks to rebound next weekend as the RedHawks return home for their final home games of the regular season. Miami hosts Ohio on Friday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. and Akron Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m.

--MURedHawks.com--