Women’s soccer (13-3-3, 6-2-3 MAC) eliminated Central Michigan (9-8-1, 6-4-1 MAC), 2-1, Sunday on a wild game-winning double-overtime goal at the 105-minute mark in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The game started off as a physical affair, but UB accepted the challenge and applied pressure early on. Graduate midfielder Marcy Barberic had an early opportunity, but sailed her shot above the crossbar.
At the nine-minute mark, graduate forward Gianna Yurchak was fouled in CMU’s box. Barberic converted the ensuing penalty kick, as UB jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. The Chippewas had an identical opportunity two minutes later when senior defender Tess Ford was called for a foul, but senior goalkeeper Emily Kelly made the impressive stop to preserve the lead.
Costly mistakes inside the box hurt the Bulls when Yurchak was called for a handball at the 16-minute mark, resulting in a penalty kick conversion by CMU senior midfielder Samantha Kaye-Toral, who tied the game at one.
After an action-packed first half, neither side was presented with many opportunities to take the lead, thanks to strong defensive play and back-and-forth possessions. Neither side found the net at the end of regulation, resulting in overtime.
Women’s soccer is heading to the MAC semifinals after defeating Central Michigan Sunday.
After 105 minutes of game time and 12 corner kicks, the Bulls finally capitalized when senior defender Abbey Callaghan crossed the ball into CMU’s box, where she found junior midfielder Payton Robertson, who headed it in the top right corner of the net, sealing the 2-1 victory.
UB outshot CMU 15 to 9 while Kelly made two saves compared to CMU’s sophomore goalkeeper Allison LaPoint’s five. The Bulls held a clear advantage in corner kicks, recording 12 compared to the Chippewas’ one.
With the win, the Bulls advance to the Mid-American Conference semifinals, where they will take on the defending MAC Champions and top-seeded Bowling Green Falcons (9-6-3, 8-2-1 MAC), the same team they beat 1-0 nearly two weeks ago. The game will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Bowling Green, OH.
Hunter Skoczylas is the assistant sports editor and can be reached at hunter.skoczylas@ubspectrum.com or @HunterSkoczylas on Twitter
Hunter Skoczylas is the sports editor for The Spectrum. In his free time, he can be found looking up random sports statistics, jamming to Fleetwood Mac and dedicating his Sunday afternoons to watching the Buffalo Bills.
