Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Begins Season-Long Four-Game Homestand this Weekend
September 26, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, having wrapped up the non-conference portion of the 2007 schedule, begins the Mid-American Conference slate this weekend ... the Falcons of head coach Andy Richards (3-4-1) will begin a season-long four-game homestand by hosting Northern Illinois University on Friday afternoon (Sept. 28) ... kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field ... then, on Sunday (Sept. 30), the Brown and Orange will host Western Michigan University in a 1:00 p.m. start at Cochrane.
BGSU Release & Statistics in PDF Format
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LIVE STATS ON THE WEB
Both of this weekend's matches will have live stats on the web ... all of BGSU's home games will have live stats via Gametracker ... for up-to-the-minute statistical information on all matches at Cochrane Field throughout the season, log on to BGSUFalcons.com.
THE FALCONS ARE ...
• 93-107-17 all-time, eight matches into the 11th season in program history;
• 47-51-11 in Mid-American Conference regular-season matches;
• 27-21-3 overall in the last two seasons (plus eight games);
• 25-12-4 vs. MAC schools over the last three seasons (including regular-season and tournament matches), and 17-7-2 vs. conference foes in the last two years;
• 45-46-8 in home games, including 15-7-2 at Cochrane Field in the last two-plus seasons (the '05 and '06 seasons mark BGSU's only two winning home records in history);
• 40-52-8 in road contests;
• 0-3-1 in Friday matches this season to date;
• 3-1-0 in Sunday contests so far in 2007;
• 6-3-1 in MAC openers over the years;
• 4-5-1 in the first MAC home game of the season;
• 2-3-1 when the MAC opener is played at Cochrane Field;
• 36-45-7 in the month of September through the years;
• 1-2-0 all-time in matches played on Sept. 28, with the win coming over Friday's opponent, Northern Illinois (a 4-2 road victory in 2001 - the other two Sept. 28 games were 1-0 losses at Eastern Michigan [1997] and at home vs. Toledo in overtime [2003]); and
• 0-2-0 in contests played on Sept. 30, with neither of those matches having been played at Cochrane (a 1-0 loss at Sunday's opponent, WMU, in 2001, and a 3-0 setback at Ball State two years ago - tangent alert: after the BSU game, the Falcons went on a school-record eight-game winning streak, and BGSU has gone 16-5-2 vs. MAC opposition since that time).
LAST WEEKEND
The Falcons finished the non-conference schedule on a successful note, going 1-0-1 over the weekend ... on Friday (Sept. 21), the Brown and Orange earned a 1-1 double-overtime draw at Michigan State ... redshirt junior Gina Rossi scored BG's goal, late in the first half, while redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault made six saves in her first collegiate start, including several diving stops in the first 45 minutes ... on Sunday (Sept. 23), Arsenault earned her first collegiate shutout, and freshman Jackie Tamerlano had the first two-goal game of her brief Falcon career, as BG downed host Youngstown State, 3-0.
TAMER-RIFFIC
Freshman Jackie Tamerlano has burst onto the scene in her first season at BGSU ... Tamerlano had her first collegiate multiple-goal match in Sunday's 3-0 win at Youngstown State ... a native of North Royalton, Ohio, she leads the team with three goals and six points.
PRONOUNCED ARSEN-NO (AS IN NO GOALS ALLOWED)
Redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault has had a successful start to her collegiate career ... Arsenault made her debut in goal in the Purdue match on Sept. 16, playing the second half ... she made seven saves on eight shots in that game, then had another successful outing on the road against a Big Ten opponent, with six stops in Friday's double-OT draw at Michigan State ... then, on Sunday, Arsenault picked up her first shutout with four stops in the win at Youngstown State ... she has a record of 1-0-1, a total of 17 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.73.
TOUGH CROWD
The Falcons have perennially played a challenging non-conference schedule, and this season has been no exception ... Andy Richards and Company played six of the eight non-league matches away from home this fall, going 3-4-1 ... five of the eight opponents are currently ranked regionally, according to Soccer Buzz, with two among the national top-20 and a third receiving votes ... in this week's (Sept. 24) poll, West Virginia is rated third in the Mid-Atlantic Region and 20th in the country ... four Falcon non-conference opponents are ranked in this week's Great Lakes Region top 15 ... that list includes Purdue (second in the region, 15th in the country), Kentucky (sixth regionally, receiving votes nationally), Wright State (11th) and Michigan State (13th) ... those five teams are a combined 31-8-4 on the season.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU is 3-4-1 on the young season ... the Falcons have a 1-1 record at Cochrane Field and a 2-3-1 mark on the road to date ... BG scored four goals in last weekend's two games, matching the team's total for the first six games of the season ... freshman Jackie Tamerlano leads the Falcons with three goals and six points this fall, while sophomore Stacey Lucas has two goals and five points ... freshman Meagan Moran and soph Faith Juillerat each have three points on a goal and an assist ... in goal, redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault has started the last two games after making her collegiate debut the prior weekend ... Arsenault is 1-0-1 with a team-high 17 saves and a team-low goals-against average of 0.73 ... junior Christy Zabek has started five matches, and has 16 saves and a 1.87 GAA to date ... senior Tiffany Hansen has seven saves in her three matches played ... the Falcons returned 16 of 20 letterwinners, including nine starters, from a youthful 2006 squad that went 10-10-0 overall and 7-4-0 in MAC play ... the '06 Falcons tied for third in conference action ... the Brown and Orange advanced to the league tournament for the fifth consecutive year ... senior Danielle Cygan is the top returning scorer, having scored 10 points last season, while juniors Brianne Eisenhard and Corbie Yee had eight and seven points, respectively, in '06 ... all three players had three goals, including two game-winning goals, to tie for the team lead in both categories ... Hansen had a 5-8-0 record and a 1.74 GAA a year ago, while Zabek had a 5-2-0 mark and a MAC-leading 0.67 GAA.
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
Sunday's BGSU-Western Michigan game is scheduled to be televised by the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) in the Toledo area on a tape-delay basis ... according to the BCSN web site (www.bcsn.tv) the station will air the game on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ... the match will likely be shown additional times in the following days (BCSN schedule beyond this week is TBA).
HEAD COACH Andy Richards
Andy Richards is in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Falcons ... he has guided the Brown and Orange to unprecedented heights during that time ... the 2005 MAC Coach of the Year, Richards currently has an overall record of 74-73-13, including a MAC Tournament mark of 8-4-3 ... upon his arrival in Northwest Ohio, he took over a team that had gone 19-34-4 in the previous three seasons ... last year, Richards guided the youthful Falcons to 10 overall wins and a tie for third place in the MAC standings ... that came on the heels of the '05 campaign, in which he led the Falcons to the first regular-season title in BG annals and a second-straight MAC Tournament crown ... Richards has led BGSU to the semifinal round of the league tourney 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 in '05, as BGSU again won the MAC Tournament crown.
FALCON FIRSTS
A number of Falcons achieved career firsts over the weekend ... as mentioned, redshirt freshman Alexa Arsenault made her first collegiate start on Friday at Michigan State ... sophomore Faith Juillerat picked up the first assist of her BGSU career in that match, which was the first tie for the Falcons since the 2005 season ... soph Jen Czapka made her first start of the season, and the second of her career, in the MSU match ... two days later at Youngstown State, the Falcons scored three goals in a match for the first time since late in the '05 campaign ... freshman Jackie Tamerlano had the first two-goal game of her career, while classmate Meagan Moran scored her first goal as a Falcon ... Arsenault recorded her first shutout in that win ... two players - Czapka and fellow soph Carolyn Nesline - had their first collegiate assists vs. the Penguins.
FIRST GOAL IS MIGHTY IMPORTANT
Soccer enthusiasts and brain surgeons know that, in technical terms, scoring the first goal of the match can be really important ... for the Falcons in recent years, however, scoring the opening goal has been really, REALLY important (sorry for all of the technical jargon) ... believe it or not, in every BGSU match over the last two-plus years, the team scoring the first goal has not lost ... that streak now spans 48 matches (including three draws) ... not since Sept. 11, 2005, has a team scored first, but eventually lost the match ... on that date, the Falcons surrendered a goal at Northern Arizona before rallying for a 2-1 win ... in the ensuing 48 contests, 36 have been shutouts.
THAT HAVING BEEN SAID ...
Despite the previous note, a word of advice for fans who venture out to Cochrane Field this weekend ... if one team takes a two-goal lead, do not assume that the game has been decided ... in 217 matches in the history of the BGSU women's soccer program, only eight times has a team gone ahead by two goals and failed to win the match ... we're not saying it will happen this weekend, but ... five of those eight matches have come when the Falcons are facing either Northern Illinois or Western Michigan (this weekend's opponents) ... the complete list is in the pdf version o' this release.
THE OPPONENTS / THE SERIES
Northern Illinois enters the week with an overall record of 3-2-2 ... the Huskies have allowed only three goals in seven matches this season to date ... NIU, like BGSU, has a two-game unbeaten streak, with a tie at DePaul (1-1, Sept. 16) and a 3-0 home win over Saint Francis (Sept. 23) ... Jestina Orlando had three goals and six points to lead the team in each category ... in goal, Lindsey Curnock has two shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.58, while Audrey Holmer has not allowed a goal in 212:47 over four matches this season ... head coach Marci Miller Jobson welcomed back 15 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from last year's team that finished 8-11-2 overall and 5-6-0 in MAC play ... NIU finished seventh in the MAC regular season, but advanced all the way to the championship match of the league tournament before falling ... Miller Jobson is currently in China, competing with the US National Team in the World Cup ... the school's athletics web site is www.niuhuskies.com.
Western Michigan has a 2-4-1 record entering Friday's match at Toledo ... the Broncos are looking to snap a two-game losing streak, having lost to Wright State and Purdue last weekend ... WMU's wins have come against Arkansas and North Florida ... individually, Kelly Blenner has team-high totals of two goals and four points ... in net, Julia Francy has played in five of the team's seven matches, and is 2-2-1 with 36 saves and a GAA of just 0.96 ... head coach Mike Haines returned 17 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's club ... the 2006 edition of the Broncos went 3-15-1 overall and 2-9-0 in the MAC ... the school's athletics web site is www.wmubroncos.com.
The Falcons lead Northern Illinois by a 6-5-0 count in the all-time series between the teams ... BGSU has a four-game winning streak vs. the Huskies, including last year's 1-0 home victory on Danielle Cygan's goal with just one second left in the first half ... the Falcons are 2-4-0 in home matches vs. the Huskies, but BG has won two-straight meetings with NIU at Cochrane Field.
The Falcons are 4-8-1 in the Western Michigan series, and the teams are deadlocked at 2-2-1 in games played in BG ... the Brown and Orange won last year's meeting by a 2-0 count at Cochrane, on goals by Cygan and Faith Juillerat.
FALCONS PICKED SECOND
MAC play starts this weekend ... the Falcons have been picked to finish second in the MAC in 2007, according to the preseason coaches poll released in mid-August ... the second-place prediction is the highest spot ever forecasted for the Brown and Orange in school history ... BGSU was picked for third in last year's preseason poll, and wound up in a tie for third ... Ball State was the coaches' choice to win the MAC regular-season and tournament titles in 2007 ...
2007 MAC PRESEASON POLL:
1 - Ball State 7 - Central Michigan 2 - Bowling Green T8 - Eastern Michigan 3 - Ohio T8 - Toledo 4 - Miami 10 - Buffalo 5 - Kent State 11 - Akron 6 - Northern Illinois 12 - Western Michigan
PREDICTED MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: Ball State
