Oct. 6, 2006
ATHENS, Ohio - Freshman goalie Dominique Wright (Durango, Colo.) extended her streak to 240:29 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal and sophomore Courtney Mink (Mason, Ohio) tallied her second straight game-winning goal as the Ohio women's soccer team shut out defending Mid-American Conference Champion Bowling Green 3-0 Friday at Chessa Field.
"We made the most of our chances," Head Coach Stacy Strauss said. "Certainly we had the run of the play but we didn't have a whole lot of dangerous chances. Of those that we did we made the most of them. I thought all of the goals were nice."
The win marked the 100th win in the history of the Ohio women's soccer program. Bobcat women's soccer started in 1997 and Ohio has an all-time record of 100-82-9 in nine-plus seasons. Strauss has been at the helm for 65 of the 100 wins.
"(One-hundred wins) shows that there is a tradition of success here," Strauss said. "If our three MAC Championships don't prove that then I guess 100 wins in 10 years does."
The Bobcats got on the board first when Mink scored her second goal in as many games. Mink took a pass from senior Tiffany Horvath (Strongsville, Ohio) and lofted it over Falcon keeper Tiffany Hansen and into the net.
"Mink's great," Strauss said, "she's outgoing and I think that helps her on the field because she calls for the ball and she also has a very good understanding of the game. She makes things happen not only for herself but for the players around her."
Mink's game-winner in Ohio's 2-0 win over Western Michigan Sunday was the first goal of her collegiate career, but she now has two goals in the last two matches. Both of her collegiate goals have counted as game-winners. The goal came in the 16th minute of the match and the assist was the second of the season for Horvath.
Horvath was only getting started as she scored her second goal of the season in the 29th minute. The senior co-captain fired a shot past Hansen to give Ohio a 2-0 advantage.
"I settled their clear and was waiting for the (defender) to come mark me but she didn't really come out on me so I just shot it," Horvath said. "It was kind of more of a placement shot. I think the goalie was shielded so it just went into the corner."
The Bobcats wasted little time to widen the lead as they scored just 3:03 later. Freshman Amy Lower (West Chester, Ohio) found the back of the net on a pass from junior Lindsey Price (West Chester, Ohio) for a three-goal lead. The goal marked the first time this season Ohio has scored more than twice in one match. Lower's goal was her team-leading third of the season and Price's assist was also her third and was also good for the team lead. Ohio held onto the lead in the second half and finished with the 3-0 shutout victory.
Wright played 80:41 in goal and made one save for the win. She has not allowed a goal since the 21st minute of Ohio's 2-1 win at Central Michigan on Sept. 22. Wright made one save on the day while freshman Jess MacLean (Loveland, Ohio) held Bowling Green scoreless the final 9:19 of the contest.
The Bobcats tallied eight shots, four on goal, while limiting the Falcons to just one shot on goal and three shots total. Ohio also held a five-to-two edge in corner kicks and continued their domination of Bowling Green in the all-time series. The Bobcats now own an overall record of 8-1-1 against the Falcons, including a 4-0-1 mark in Athens.
Ohio has now won four of its last five matches, all MAC contests, and will look to continue their hot play Sunday when they host Toledo at 1:00 p.m. at Chessa Field.
"(The win) means a lot to us," Horvath said. "We definitely came out and played hard. Hopefully we can keep this momentum, play well next game and continue on with the wins."
