Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Picked to Finish Second in MAC in 2007
August 13, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 13, 2007
CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Mid-American Conference women's soccer coaches have made their predictions for the 2007 season, and the Bowling Green State University Falcons have been picked to finish second. The poll, released Monday (Aug. 13), is a result of voting by the league's 12 head coaches.
MAC Office Release in PDF Format
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The second-place prediction is the highest spot ever forecasted for the Falcons in school history. BGSU was picked to finish third a year ago, and wound up in a tie for third. The entire preseason poll history for BGSU can be found at the bottom of the page.
The Falcons of eighth-year head coach Andy Richards return 17 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year's squad. A youthful BGSU club went 10-10-0 overall and 7-4-0 in league play in 2006, tying for third place in the conference.
The 2007 edition of the Falcons will open the season on Friday, Aug. 31, at West Virginia. The home opener is two days later, as BGSU faces Eastern Illinois on Sunday, Sept. 2, at Cochrane Field.
Ball State was picked to win the regular season and tournament titles in poll. The Cardinals return 17 letterwinners, including eight starters, and were selected by three of the leagues coaches to win the conference tournament. The 2006 MAC regular-season champions will be led by '06 All-MAC first-team selection Emily Rein after losing three other first-team selections (Amy Holst, Vandi Ogden and Sarah Maxwell) to graduation. Rein played in 19 of 20 matches last season and finished tied as the conference leader in goals (9), while ranking second in points (22) and game winning goals (4).
BGSU, as mentioned, was picked to finish second in the league. Among the returnees for Richards and assistants Scott Gloden and Britt Anderson are 2006 All-MAC Second-Team selection Corbie Yee and All-Freshman Team pick Colleen Kordan. Yee, the 2005 MAC Freshman of the Year, played in all 20 matches last season and finished the season with three goals, while dishing out one assist. Senior Danielle Cygan also returns for the Falcons after leading the team assists (4) and points (10) and tying for the team lead in goals (3).
Tiffany Hansen, Rachael Ross and Tiernay Tilford join Cygan in the senior class, and the Falcons also have six juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen (including one redshirt freshman) on the 25-player roster for 2007.
Coaches tabbed Ohio to finish third this season. The Bobcats return 17 letterwinners, including seven starters. Among those returning for Head Coach Stacy Strauss is All-MAC first-team selection Rachael Goulding and MAC All-Freshman team selection Amy Lower. Goulding appeared in and started 18 matches, while finishing tied for the team with six points. Lower had an outstanding debut season and led the team and finished eighth in the MAC with eight goals . She also posted a team-best 18 points with 40 total shots and 26 shots on goal.
Miami was picked to finish fourth behind Ohio. The RedHawks were followed by Kent State and Northern Illinois filling the top six spots. Central Michigan was seventh with Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo, Akron and Western Michigan rounding out the poll.
MAC regular season non-conference action begins on Friday, August 24 as Western Michigan hosts Michigan State at 4 p.m. Conference play will begin on Friday, September 28 with a full slate of games. The MAC Men's Soccer preseason coaches poll will be released tomorrow; Tuesday, Aug. 14.
2007 MAC PRESEASON POLL
1. Ball State 2. Bowling Green 3. Ohio 4. Miami 5. Kent State 6. Northern Illinois 7. Central Michigan T8. Eastern Michigan T8. Toledo 10. Buffalo 11. Akron 12. Western MichiganPREDICTED MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: Ball State
MAC PRESEASON POLL HISTORY
Year Poll Favorite (AF) BGSU Picked... BGSU's Actual Finish 1997 Northern Illinois (1st) Tie-Fifth Eighth of 8 1998 Northern Ill. (T-1st) Ninth Sixth of 11 1999 Ohio (5th) Sixth 10th of 12 2000 Eastern Michigan (2nd) Eighth Seventh of 12 2001 Miami (3rd) Sixth 12th of 13 2002 Miami (1st) Ninth Fourth of 13 2003 Ohio (T-5th) Fourth Eighth of 13 2004 Western Michigan (T-3rd) Tie-Fifth Eighth of 13 2005 Kent State (T-6th) Fourth First of 12 2006 Central Michigan (T-3rd) Third Tie-Third of 12 2007 Ball State SecondAF - poll favorite's actual finish
(Portions of this release courtesy MAC office)
