Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Kick Off Four-Game Road Swing This Weekend
October 02, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 2, 2006
Complete Release, Stats & Last Weekend's Box Scores in PDF Format
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, having opened the Mid-American Conference schedule with a 3-1-0 record for just the second time in program history, begins the longest road swing of the season with a pair of matches this weekend ... the Falcons of head coach Andy Richards, the defending MAC regular-season and tournament champions, travel to Athens, Ohio, to face Ohio University in Friday (Oct. 6) action ... kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Chessa Field ... then, on Sunday (Oct. 8), the Brown and Orange will face the University of Akron ... that game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start at Lee Jackson Field.
BGSU'S MAC START TIES SCHOOL RECORD
The Falcons, for only the second time in the 10-year history of the program, have begun MAC play with three wins in the first four games ... the 2006 team's 3-1-0 conference start matches the four-game start posted by the 2000 team ... that team, in Andy Richards' first season as head coach, went on to advance all the way to the championship match of the MAC Tournament for the first time in program annals ... last year's team, the first-ever BG squad to win the MAC's regular-season title, began the year with a 1-2-0 MAC mark, before roaring through the month of October with eight consecutive wins to end with a 9-2-0 league ledger ... the list of BGSU's four-game MAC records through the years can be found in the pdf version of this release, located at the top of the page.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES (also titled, 'LINCOLN,' 'KENNEDY,' 'FALCONS' AND 'OCTOBER' ALL HAVE SEVEN LETTERS)
There is still a long way to go before the 2006 regular season comes to an end ... but, there are some eerie similarities between the 2005 and '06 Falcons as the month of October begins ... we're not saying outside forces are at work here, but we'll let you be the judge ... last season, the Falcons ended the month of September with a multiple-goal loss to Ball State, but began October with a two-goal win over Miami, and did not lose again until the NCAA Tournament ... this season, the Brown and Orange saw September end with a multi-goal loss (2-0) to BSU, but started the month of October with a two-goal victory over Miami (2-0).
LAST WEEKEND
The Falcons split a pair of 2-0 decisions at Cochrane Field ... BGSU fell to Ball State on Friday (Sept. 29), but bounced back with a victory over Miami Sunday (Oct. 1) ... junior goalkeeper Tiffany Hansen made five saves in the BSU game, and picked up her fifth shutout of the season in the Miami match ... in that MU contest, sophomore Brianne Eisenhard broke a scoreless tie with just under 11 minutes left in the second half, while freshman Faith Juillerat scored her second goal in as many Sundays ... Hansen was called upon to make just one save in the win, at the Falcons held a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal.
WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS (BECAUSE THE FALCONS HAVE BEEN MIGHTY GOOD IN OCTOBER)
With apologies to Green Day, the title of the band's 2005 song could apply to the Falcons over the last few years ... BGSU's record in September has been solid enough, as the Falcons have gone 5-4-0 overall in that month in each of the last two seasons ... but, Andy Richards' team has enjoyed great success in October ... last year's BGSU team was a perfect 8-0-0 during the 10th month of the year, all in MAC play, and the Falcons began this October with a win over Miami Sunday ... the Falcons have won nine-straight October games since a 1-0 loss at Wright State on Oct. 30, 2004 ... BGSU has a 13-game undefeated streak vs. MAC foes during October, having gone 12-0-1 since a setback at Kent State on Oct. 15, 2004.
LENGTHY STREAKS COME TO AN END
The Falcons saw a number of lengthy streaks come to an end in Friday's (Sept. 29) loss to Ball State ... to briefly summarize, the afternoon marked the end of:
* a 10-game MAC regular-season winning streak,
* a 13-game unbeaten streak against league opposition,
* a home unbeaten streak of 11 games vs. conference foes, and
* a shutout streak of 924:16 vs. MAC teams at Cochrane Field
NOW, IN MORE DETAIL ...
* The loss to Ball State snapped a 10-game regular-season winning streak vs. MAC opponents ... it was BG's first loss to a conference team in 364 days, since a 2005 setback to BSU in Muncie (3-0 on Sept. 30, 2005) ... following that match, the Falcons won eight-straight MAC games to end the regular season, and BG had won the first two league matches this fall.
* Friday's loss also broke an overall 13-match unbeaten streak vs. MAC foes for the Falcons ... BGSU, as mentioned, had those eight consecutive wins to end the '05 regular season, and the Falcons went 1-0-2 in the conference tournament, before winning vs. Northern Illinois and Western Michigan in this year's opening weekend of MAC action.
* BGSU had not lost at home to a MAC school in nearly two years, since Ball State's last visit (on Oct. 10, 2004) ... on that date, the Cards had posted a 2-1 win ... since that time, the Falcons had gone 8-0-3 vs. MAC opponents at Cochrane Field, prior to Friday's setback.
* Ball State's initial goal on Friday was the first by a conference rival at Cochrane since Oct. 24, 2004 (a 2-2 tie vs. Western Michigan in the final home game of the '04 season) ... BGSU's home shutout streak ended at 924:16 ... the Falcons had posted nine consecutive home shutouts vs. MAC opponents, and BG had scored 16 unanswered goals vs. league foes at home.
HOME IS WHERE THE GAMES ARE
The Falcons' 2006 schedule includes a school record-tying 11 home contests ... BGSU played four of eight non-conference games at Cochrane Field ... additionally, seven of September's nine matches were at home ... after playing just four of 11 MAC matches at home last year, the Falcons meet seven of the 11 league foes inside the friendly confines of Cochrane Field in 2006 ... BGSU's only four MAC road games, however, are the Falcons' next four contests ... the Falcons head to, in order, Ohio, Akron, Kent State and Buffalo, before returning home for the final three regular-season games.
HEAD COACH Andy Richards
Andy Richards is in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Falcons ... the 2005 MAC Coach of the Year, Richards led the Brown and Orange to both the MAC's regular-season and tourney titles last fall ... he has an overall record of 67-65-12, including a MAC Tournament mark of 8-3-3 ... Richards has led BG to the five finest seasons in school history in his tenure, including '05, as he guided the Falcons to the first regular-season title in BG annals ... he has led BGSU to the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament on five occasions, to the championship match four times, and, in 2004, to the first league tourney title and NCAA Tournament berth in school history ... Richards and the Falcons repeated that feat last year, as BGSU again won the MAC Tournament crown ... Erik Burstein is in his first season with the program, while Ashley Wentzel, a co-captain on the 2005 team, is in her first season as a student assistant coach.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
Ohio is 5-6-0 on the season, and the Bobcats -- like the Falcons -- are off to a 3-1 start in MAC action ... OU has nearly doubled last year's overall win total, and has tripled 2005's MAC victory total ... the 'Cats split a pair of home games over the weekend, losing a 1-0 decision to Northern Illinois before bouncing back with a 2-0 win over Western Michigan ... junior Lindsey Price and freshman Amy Lower have six points apiece to share the team scoring lead ... in goal, frosh Dominique Wright and Jess MacLean have split time ... Wright has a 1-1-0 record and a team-low 1.50 goals-against average ... MacLean is 4-5-0 with a 2.14 GAA ... the Bobcats have been outscored by a 21-11 count this year, but Ohio has a 6-3 goals advantage in the four MAC games to date ... head coach Stacy Strauss has 16 letterwinners, including eight starters, back from last year's team that finished 3-14-0 overall and 1-10-0 in MAC play.
Akron has a record of 8-3-0, and the Zips are 1-3-0 in MAC play heading into a Friday home match vs. Toledo ... UA already has tied the school record for wins in a season ... last weekend, the Zips split a pair of home contests, with a 3-1 loss to WMU but a 1-0 win over NIU ... sophomore Christine Vacha paces the team with four goals and nine points, while classmate Jessica Fix has three goals and six points ... junior Krystin Wilson has started every game in goal for UA this fall, and has 39 saves and a GAA of just 0.74 ... last year, the Zips of head coach Catherine Byrne had an overall mark of 5-11-2 and a 3-7-1 MAC slate ... Byrne welcomed back 13 letterwinners, including nine starters, from that team.
The Falcons trail Ohio, 7-1-1, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Bobcats have outscored the Falcons by a 15-3 margin throughout the years ... in fact, BGSU went the first six series games without scoring a single goal ... BG, however, won the last meeting with the 'Cats, a 2-0 win at Cochrane Field last fall (Oct. 7, 2005), as Corbie Yee scored the game winner ... the Falcons are 0-3-1 vs. the Bobcats at Chessa Field throughout the years ... BGSU leads the series with Akron by a 5-0-0 count, and the Falcons have picked up two wins in as many games at Lee Jackson Field ... last year, the Brown and Orange posted a 1-0 win over the Zips at Cochrane Field (Oct. 9, 2005), with current assistant coach Ashley Wentzel scoring the lone goal off a Lindsay Carter assist ... BG won a 3-0 decision in the last trip to the Rubber City (Oct. 3, 2004), with Gina Rossi and Tiernay Tilford among the goal-scorers.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
* 86-99-16 all-time, in the 10th season in program history;
* 43-48-11 in Mid-American Conference regular-season matches;
* 28-23-4 overall and 21-8-4 vs. MAC schools over the last two-plus seasons (including regular-season and tournament matches);
* 42-44-8 in home games;
* 37-46-4 in road contests;
* 2-4-1 in games at Ohio's Chessa Field through the years (including a 2-1-0 mark in MAC Tournament contests -- a 2-1 double-overtime loss to Northern Illinois eight years ago [Nov. 6, 1998], and a pair of wins [4-1 over Western Michigan, 2-0 vs. Central Michigan] and a league tourney title in November of 2004);
* 36-42-7 in the month of October through the years;
* 15-3-1 in October contests since the start of the 2004 season;
* 0-2-0 in games played on October 6 (including a 1-0, overtime loss to Ohio at Cochrane Field in 2002); and
* 2-2-0 in October 8 matches (having outscored opponents, 5-2-0, in those contests).
FALCON NOTES
Last Friday's Ball State match was the 200th game in school history • The Falcons fell from the ranks of the MAC's unbeaten with that loss ... BGSU's 2-0 start in conference play was only the third in the history of the program • Eleven of this season's 12 matches have been shutouts, with the Falcons on the winning side in six of those games • Sophomore Brianne Eisenhard's goal in the Miami game was the first of her collegiate career ... obviously, it was her first game-winning goal as a Falcon • Junior Tiffany Hansen, in her first year with the Falcons, now has five shutouts this season ... Hansen, a transfer from Louisville, has seven career complete-game shutouts, with one in each of her first two seasons with the Cardinals • Hansen's shutout total ties her for third on the BGSU single-season list ... the school record for shutouts in a season by an individual is seven, amassed by Erika Flanders in 2002 and matched by Ali Shingler last year • Three of Hansen's shutouts have come in MAC action ... she has an overall goals-against average of just 1.43 this year, but that GAA drops to a miniscule 0.50 in conference play • Freshman Faith Juillerat's goal vs. Miami was her second of the season ... she is tied for the team lead with classmate Stacey Lucas and junior Danielle Cygan • Lucas picked up her second assist of the year on Eisenhard's goal Sunday vs. MU ... Lucas is tied with Cygan for the Falcon lead in both assists and points (six) • Miami holds an 8-5-0 lead in the all-time series with BGSU ... but, the Falcons now have won five consecutive games vs. the RedHawks after dropping the first eight series meetings.
