UT opens the season with a road win in Buchholz debut

The University of Toledo women’s soccer team opened up their 2015 campaign on the road with a 3-2 double-overtime win against Detroit on Friday before falling 3-0 to No. 9-ranked Notre Dame on Sunday.

First-year Head Coach T.J. Buchholz was impressed with the way his team responded in the opener come from behind victory.

Sophomore Isa Echeverri led the comeback with her second career brace.

“We started off slow, but the team responded well to the adversity, battled back and never quit,” Buchholz said. “That’s what I love about this team; they have a fighting attitude.”

The Rockets (1-1, MAC 0-0) found themselves in trouble early when the Titans’ redshirt senior Sara Zawacki found the back of the net in the seventh minute.

UT would be able to hold off Detroit for the remainder of the half and took a 6-2 shot advantage into the half.

The Titans came storming out in the second half, applying heavy pressure before capitalizing on their second goal of the game just four minutes into the half thanks to the right foot of junior Anna Mindling.

Toledo would settle down after the goal and found their rhythm.

In the 58th minute, senior Geri Siudzinski placed her corner kick into the middle of the box which found the head of Eschevarri to cut the lead in half, 2-1.

Just minutes later in the 67th minute, UT would get their equalizing goal with a blast from 15 yards out by sophomore Sophie Pohl.

Both teams struggled to find the winner in regulation pushing the game into a “Golden Goal” rules overtime.

Just minutes before the end of the first overtime period, Toledo would get their winning goal with the same combination of their first goal.

“[The win] felt good,” Buchholz said. “It was an exciting game from beginning to end.”

On Sunday, the team traveled south to face Notre Dame but the No. 9-ranked team in the country proved to be too much for the Rockets as they were blanked 3-0.

The Irish outshot Toledo 24-1 in a very physical match that saw 14 fouls committed from each team.

“[Notre Dame] was just a fantastic opponent,” Buchholz said. “There’s a reason they are ranked number nine in the country; they put us under pressure for 90 minutes. There were moments where we played well and worked hard, especially on defense.

“Overall, this was a test you want to learn from.”

Toledo fell into an early hole that they couldn’t recover from. The Fighting Irish scored two goals in the first 17 minutes.

ND would find their third goal in the 75th minute on a header by sophomore Taylor Klawunder off of a corner kick. The Rockets did not lose fight as they kept attacking late. Senior Megan Connor launched Toledo’s only shot of the match in the 86th minute, but the shot missed wide.

Senior goalie Sam Tiongson did her best to keep the Rockets in the game as she was credited with seven saves.

“Our entire backline stepped up, they were relentless and really made it tough for Notre Dame to get in behind,” Buchholz said. “Overall, this is a test you want; this is a test that we learn from and move forward to get prepared for Xavier on Friday.”

The Rockets will get back to the pitch when they travel to Xavier on Friday, Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. before taking on No. 16-ranked Kentucky on Sunday Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. which can be viewed on WatchESPN or the SEC network.