BOWLING GREEN, Ohio- Western Michigan men's soccer let a 1-0 lead slip away and fell in a heated 2-1 overtime battle at Bowling Green on Saturday. The loss bumped the Broncos from first place in the conference standings.
The two teams played a scoreless first half with BGSU leading the shot count in the first 45 minutes, 8-2.
The Broncos'
Carlos Suarez put Western Michigan on the scoreboard midway through the second half.
Kyle Farris served a cross in the box that was deflected by the BGSU goalkeeper in the 64th minute. Suarez banged in the loose ball for his fourth goal of the season. Bowling Green came up with an equalizer in the 76th minute, as Max Auden headed in his first of two goals of the game for the Falcons. WMU's
Sean Conerty nearly took back the advantage late in regulation, ringing a shot off the crossbar from 20 yards out.
As the intensity of the match wore on, five cards were issued in the second half. After earning a caution in the 60th minute, Western Michigan defensive back
Zach Bock was sent off the field with a red card at the 89:49 mark.
Western Michigan won a corner kick and had a chance to put the game away in the opening minute of overtime.
Nick Wysong snapped a header that just missed off the cross bar and the rebound came down to the Broncos, who put the ball back on net. Bowling Green field player Joe Sullivan deliberately blocked the shot with his hands, earning a straight red card and also awarded WMU a penalty kick,
Conerty lined up for the PK and sent his shot low left. Bowling Green goalkeeper Ryan Heuton made a diving save and then was shaken up as the two sides fought for the rebound. Heuton had to be replaced in the game by backup Nick Landsberger, who finished out the match.
With both teams playing 10 v 10 and time winding down in the overtime period, BG's Jacob Roth brought a ball down the right side and served a diagonal ball into the box. Auden again rose above the crowd and headed the ball in with 14 seconds left for the unbelievable Falcon victory.
“This was an extremely disappointing result for us,” said WMU head coach
Chad Wiseman. “We had a huge opportunity going into today's game and we let it slip past us. There were plenty of chances to win the game, but we lacked discipline in certain areas and were a bit unfortunate in others.
“
Sean Conerty was the best player on the field today and gave an outstanding effort. Our game can be very cruel at times and today was one of those times.
“Adversity has hit our team, but I am confident that our guys will pull through. We still have a lot to play for look forward to next Saturday's game.”
After defeating No. 19 Akron last week, the Broncos were in control of their own destiny and had a Mid-American Conference regular season title in sight. The loss to Bowling Green was costly however, and Akron (3-1-0 MAC record) slipped back into first place in the conference standings after defeating Northern Illinois Saturday.
Western Michigan takes a 2-1-1 MAC, 8-5-4 overall record into the regular season finale next weekend, hosting West Virginia on Senior Day, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m.
