Bowling Green State University Athletics
A School Record-Tying 11 Home Matches Highlight BGSU's 2006 Schedule
May 24, 2006 | Women's Soccer
May 24, 2006
Click HERE for the most up-to-date 2006 schedule
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University women's soccer head coach Andy Richards has announced the team's schedule for the 2006 season. The Falcons are slated to play a total of 19 regular-season matches, including a school record-tying 11 contests inside the friendly confines of Cochrane Field.
The Falcons, who won the 2005 Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships, will face three other NCAA tourney participants in the first seven matches of the year. BGSU's eight non-conference opponents posted a combined winning percentage of .564 (82-61-22) last fall.
"We have another challenging schedule this season," said Richards. "The MAC, as always, will be very competitive. Every year, we all (MAC head coaches) say the same things about the parity, the competitiveness and the strength of the league from top to bottom. Each weekend in our league is just so tough, with two games against strong conference opponents, and this year will be no different."
The Brown and Orange, after playing just four of 11 MAC matches at home last year, will meet seven of the 11 league foes at Cochrane in 2006. The Falcons will begin conference action with four consecutive home contests, and BG will close the regular-season schedule with a three-game homestand.
To say that BGSU begins the season with a challenge would be an understatement. The Brown and Orange will head to Milwaukee, Wis., for a pair of matches against two formidable foes. BGSU will take on Marquette (Aug. 25) and UW-Milwaukee (Aug. 27) as part of the Milwaukee Cup, co-hosted by those two institutions. Marquette went 19-4-1 last season, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, while UWM posted a 12-5-5 record and advanced to the second round of the national tournament before losing to Marquette.
"The tournament in Milwaukee is a highlight of our schedule," said Richards. "We will face two very strong programs from within our region, each at their home field, and it will be quite a test for us as we begin a new era in BGSU soccer. Then, we play three consecutive games vs. programs that are relatively unfamiliar to us."
There are a total of 13 NCAA Division I women's soccer programs in the state of Ohio, and BGSU has played 11 of the other 12 programs. Xavier is the lone in-state institution that the Falcons have never faced, but that will change on Sept. 1, when BG opens the home portion of the '06 slate vs. the Musketeers. That match opens a three-contest homestand, as the Falcons will face Western Illinois two days later (Sept. 3) and Youngstown State the following Friday (Sept. 8). BGSU has not met WIU since 1998, and the YSU contest will be the first match between the Falcons and Penguins in five years.
BGSU then meets two familiar non-league opponents, beginning with a trip to Eastern Illinois (Sept. 10). The 2006 campaign will mark the fifth consecutive year that the Falcons and Panthers have met. In 2005, EIU fell just a game shy of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row.
The Falcons return home for a Sept. 15 game vs. Michigan State, in a rematch of a 2005 NCAA Championships first-round contest. The Spartans, who captured that national-tourney matchup in Notre Dame, Ind., are the Falcons' most common non-league opponent, as BG will meet the Green and White for the 11th time. The two teams have squared off in the regular season in every year since BGSU began the varsity women's soccer program in 1997.
"Having a Big Ten Conference opponent come to our field is always nice, and it will be exciting to host a rematch of a national-tournament game," said Richards. "Michigan State is another strong opponent from within our region, and they always present a stern test for us."
A trip to Wright State (Sept. 17) closes the non-league schedule, before the Falcons play 11 consecutive matches against MAC foes. BGSU's first four league contests are at Cochrane, beginning with Northern Illinois (Sept. 22) and Western Michigan (Sept. 24) in the opening weekend of MAC play.
The Falcons then face Ball State (Sept. 29) and Miami (Oct. 1) the following weekend, before beginning a four-match road swing. The Brown and Orange will travel to face Ohio (Oct. 6) and Akron (Oct. 8), then will face Kent State on Friday the 13th (Oct. 13), in a rematch of the 2005 MAC Tournament championship. The Falcons and Golden Flashes battled to a scoreless draw through regulation and two overtimes, before BGSU advanced to the NCAA Championships via penalty kicks.
The road slate concludes at Buffalo (Oct. 15), and the Falcons return home for matches against Central Michigan (Oct. 20) and Eastern Michigan (Oct. 22). For the third consecutive year, the Brown and Orange will close the MAC schedule with a match vs. arch-rival Toledo (Oct. 26). For the first time in that three-year span, however, the BG-UT matchup will take place at Cochrane Field.
BGSU and Toledo have had several spirited matches over the past two seasons. In 2004, the Falcons headed to the Glass City needing a win to secure the eighth and final seed for the MAC Tournament. BGSU picked up a victory, then proceeded to capture three consecutive matches to win the first league tournament title in school history. Last year, the Falcons headed to UT needing a win to clinch the first regular-season crown in school annals. BG picked up a narrow win, and the teams then met just four days later in MAC Tournament quarterfinal action at Cochrane. That contest resulted in a scoreless tie, before the Brown and Orange advanced via PKs.
The 2006 season marks the 10th year of the BGSU women's soccer program. The Falcons have played 11 home matches twice before, in 1999 and 2005. Last season, BG had eight regular-season matches at Cochrane Field, then played a total of three home MAC Tournament matches in '05.
The 2006 MAC Tournament begins with quarterfinal-round matches at campus sites on Sunday, Oct. 29. The four survivors from that day's play will converge on the site of the highest-remaining seed for the semifinals on Nov. 3 and the championship on Nov. 5. The MAC Tournament winner earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Falcons posted an overall record of 14-7-2 in 2005, including a 9-2-0 mark in MAC play. The Brown and Orange, as mentioned, won the first MAC regular-season title in school history, then captured the league tourney and advanced to the NCAAs for the second consecutive year. BGSU's MAC Tournament championship-game appearance was the team's fourth in Richards' six years. The Falcons lost nine seniors from that 2005 squad.
"Again, we are beginning a new era in BGSU women's soccer," said Richards. "With the loss of nine seniors from last year, and the addition of 14 newcomers, we will be a different team in 2006. There is some uncertainty, but also some excitement, as we prepare for the '06 season, and this schedule will provide us with many challenges as we strive for success within the MAC and the region."
The complete 2006 schedule follows...
2006 BGSU WOMEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
August 18 Fri. at Dayton (Exhib.) ...... 7:30 25 Fri. at Marquette # .......... 6:00 27 Sun. at UW-Milwaukee # ....... NoonSeptember 1 Fri. XAVIER .................. 5:00 3 Sun. WESTERN ILLINOIS ........ Noon 8 Fri. YOUNGSTOWN STATE ........ 5:00 10 Sun. at Eastern Illinois ..... 1:00 15 Fri. MICHIGAN STATE .......... 5:00 17 Sun. at Wright State ......... 2:00 22 Fri. NORTHERN ILLINOIS * ..... 4:00 24 Sun. WESTERN MICHIGAN * ...... 2:00 29 Fri. BALL STATE * ............ 4:00
October 1 Sun. MIAMI * ................. 1:00 6 Fri. at Ohio * ............... 4:00 8 Sun. at Akron * .............. 1:00 13 Fri. at Kent State * ......... 4:00 15 Sun. at Buffalo * ............ 1:00 20 Fri. CENTRAL MICHIGAN * ...... Noon 22 Sun. EASTERN MICHIGAN * ...... 1:00 26 Thu. TOLEDO * ................ 3:00 29 Sun. MAC Tournament Quarterfinals (campus sites)
November 3 Fri. MAC Tournament Semifinals (site of highest-remaining seed) 5 Sun. MAC Tournament Championship (semifinal site)
All times p.m. and local to site HOME matches held at Cochrane Field * Mid-American Conference match # Milwaukee Cup
