Valparaiso Vanquishes Visiting Falcons, 3-0 - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Valparaiso Vanquishes Visiting Falcons, 3-0

VALPARAISO, IND. - Host Valparaiso University broke a scoreless tie early in the second half, then tacked on a pair of late goals for a 3-0 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team Sunday afternoon (Sept. 9). The non-conference match was held at Eastgate Field.

With the win, the Crusaders improve to 4-2-1 on the season. The Falcons drop to 1-5-0.

Valpo's Sarrah Ludwig scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 54th minute of the match.  After a flip throw-in by Abby Kenyon sailed into the box, Ludwig headed it home to give the home side the lead for good.

The Crusaders scored two more goals in the final 10 minutes of the match, both off of corner kicks.  In the 81st minute, a corner by Tara Ellis found Janine Lytle in the six-yard box, and Lytle headed it past BGSU senior goalkeeper Becca Ison to double the home side's lead.

Under three minutes later, Ellis put another corner kick deep into the box and onto the head of Lytle once again. Ison saved Lytle's shot, but the rebound went directly to the foot of VU freshman Jordyn Ryfiak, who deposited it into the net to cap the scoring.

Valpo outshot the Falcons by a 15-8 count on the afternoon, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal.  Kristen Manski made two saves en route to the shutout in goal for the home team, while Ison made a total of five saves in the match.

Junior Madeline Wideman led the Falcons with three shot attempts, while senior Sarah VonderBrink had two.  Each player put one shot attempt on goal.

The first half saw few chances for either side, as each team had just three total shot attempts, including just one shot on goal through the opening 45 minutes.  But with the halftime break nearing a close, inclement weather was picked up nearby both on the radar and with a lightning detector, forcing the teams to retreat to their respective quarters to wait for the all-clear.  The teams waited through a 56-minute delay before beginning the second half.

VU had a narrow 6-5 edge in corner kicks, and the match featured a total of 30 fouls (15 each way) and three yellow cards.  The Crusaders are unbeaten at home through five matches for the first time in program history.

The Falcons now return to Northwest Ohio to prepare for a season-long, four-match homestand, including a pair of matches at Cochrane Field next weekend. BGSU will face Illinois State on Friday night (Sept. 14), with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. Then, the Brown and Orange will close the non-league portion of the schedule with a Sunday (Sept. 16) match vs. Loyola (Ill.). That match will begin at 1:00 p.m.