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Friday, September 16
Bowling Green, Ohio
5:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
IPFW
Junior Emily Rothwell & the Falcons return home for a pair of matches this weekend (photo by Doug Sampson)
Mastodons, Crusaders Up Next for Women's Soccer Falcons
September 13, 2011 | Women's Soccer
BGSU hosts IPFW, Valparaiso to close non-conference schedule
The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team concludes the non-conference portion of the 2011 schedule with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Andy Richards will meet IPFW on Friday (Sept. 16), with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
CUMULATIVE STATS: BGSU | IPFW | Valparaiso
Scroll to the bottom of the page for an interview with BGSU head coach Andy Richards
Then, the Brown and Orange will face a Horizon League opponent for the fifth time in as many weekends, squaring off against Valparaiso University on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 18). That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane.
FALCONS vs. IPFW
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 • 5:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 2-5-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• IPFW: 2-3-0 (7-9-1, 4-4-1 Summit League in 2010)
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 2-0-0 | STREAK: BGSU - 2
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 1, IPFW 0 (Sept. 6, 2009)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: at BGSU 1, IPFW 0 (Sept. 6, 2009)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 104-113-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• IPFW: Margaret Saurin, 14-57-3 in fifth year at IPFW and overall
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
FALCONS vs. VALPARAISO
Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS (heading into Friday's matches):
• BGSU: 2-5-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• Valparaiso: 3-3-1 (5-8-5, 1-5-2 Horizon League in 2010) – VU hosts Green Bay on Friday
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 3-0-0
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 3, VU 0 (Oct. 18, 2002)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: at BGSU 3, VU 0 (Oct. 18, 2002)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 104-113-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• VU: John Marovich (Purdue-Calumet, '94), 29-26-6 in fourth year at VU and overall
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
* Note: Series information can be found on pages 47-49 of the 2011 BGSU online media guide, which is available in both PDF and flip interactive formats here at BGSUFalcons.com
LIVE STATISTICS
Again in 2011, all BGSU home women's soccer matches, and most away contests, will have live statistics available on the web. If you can't make it to the field, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com at game time. The live stats links can be found on the front page of the site (in the 'schedule' section) or by clicking on the women's soccer schedule and choosing the corresponding match.
ON THE HORIZON...
The Valparaiso match will be the Falcons' fifth against a Horizon League team in as many weekends. BGSU has a 2-2-0 record vs. HL foes this season to date, having lost to Loyola (Ill.) and Detroit, but bouncing back with wins at both Cleveland State and Youngstown State.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons will enter the weekend with a record of 2-5-0 on the season. BGSU split last weekend's two matches, falling at Michigan State by a 2-0 count on Friday (Sept. 9), but posting a 2-1 victory at Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 11).
Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro and junior Sarah VonderBrink have four points apiece to share the team's scoring lead. Zuccaro is the lone Falcon to have scored two goals on the year, including the first goal of Sunday's YSU match, while VonderBrink has one goal and is tied for the team lead with two assists this year to date. 'Vondy' assisted on the Falcons' 90th-minute goal at YSU.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin scored that late winner vs. the Penguins, and classmate Ashley Miller and freshman Kaylee Draper each have one goal this season as well.
Senior Megan Amann has two assists this fall to date, while sophomore Madeline Wideman has one. Amann's assists came on VonderBrink's winning goal at Cleveland State (Sept. 2) and Zuccaro's goal at YSU, while Wideman assisted on Zuccaro's other goal, which came against Niagara (Sept. 4).
Redshirt junior Becca Ison has played the entirety of all seven matches in goal this season. Ison has a MAC-leading total of 47 saves, a goals-against average of 1.97 and one shutout. Ison made a career-high 11 stops in the Illinois State game on Aug. 21, and she had nine saves at MSU and eight vs. both Detroit (Aug. 28) and Niagara.
Along with Ison, sophomore Alyssa Carmack has played every second of all seven matches this fall, while Draper has played 632 of the 638-plus minutes. Zuccaro has been on the field for 630 minutes, while redshirt freshman Kylie Briem has played 614. Those five players each have started all seven matches, as has redshirt sophomore Jenny Fowler.
Head coach Andy Richards and his staff, assistants Kellie Evans and Jimmy Walker, welcomed back a total of 17 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. BGSU's returning players combined for nearly 67 percent of the team's goals and almost 73% of the assists a year ago. Four of the Falcons' top-five scorers returned from the 2010 campaign, including Zuccaro, who led the team in scoring. Zuccaro had one-third of the team's goals, with eight, and also led the Brown and Orange with six assists. Her total of 22 points was the highest by a BGSU player since the 2005 season.
LAST WEEKEND
Three-time All-American Laura Heyboer scored midway through the first half, giving host Michigan State the lead for good as the Spartans downed BGSU, 2-0, Friday afternoon (Sept. 9) in East Lansing. Olivia Stander scored early in the second half for the home team. Redshirt junior Becca Ison made nine saves in goal for the Falcons.
On Sunday (Sept. 11), sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin scored with just 32 seconds left to give BG a 2-1 win at Youngstown State. The Falcons were not out of the woods until a YSU shot glanced off the crossbar with just two seconds remaining and went out of bounds. Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro scored BGSU's first goal in the win, while Ison made a pair of saves.
YOU CAN'T SPELL 'GOALZ' WITHOUT 'Z'
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro's goal in Sunday's Youngstown State match was the 17th of her BGSU career. She has moved into sole possession of seventh place on the school's career list for goals. Zuccaro has moved past Britt Anderson (2002-05) on that chart.
A FEW MORE NOTES ABOUT ALYSSA ZUCCARO
• Senior Alyssa Zuccaro now has a career total of 44 points, ranking her ninth on that BGSU list.
• Zuccaro led the Falcons in goals (eight), assists (six) and points (22) last season. Her 2010 goal and point totals were the highest by a BGSU player since 2005 (Samantha Meister, eight goals and 22 points).
• Last year, through seven matches, Zuccaro had three points on a goal and an assist. In fact, she had three points after eight matches, before scoring 19 points over the final 12 games.
• During that stretch, 'Z' scored 15 points in a four-match span, a school record. She had a then career-high five points in the Indiana State game (Sept. 19), then topped that total with six points on a hat trick vs. Buffalo (Sept. 24). Zuccaro assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Kent State (Sept. 26), and had a three-point match at Eastern Michigan.
• With her performances in the Indiana State and Buffalo games, Zuccaro became the first Falcon to score five goals over a two-game span in over six years.
• In her Falcon career, Zuccaro has 24 points (nine goals, six assists) in home matches and 20 points (eight goals, four assists) in away contests.
VONDY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN SOME BIG GOALS
• Junior Sarah VonderBrink has played a major part in each of the Falcons' last three road wins. Last season, she scored with under 12 minutes left, giving the Brown and Orange a 3-2 win at Indiana State. Last weekend (Sept. 2), 'Vondy' scored the lone goal in BG's win at Cleveland State. And, on Sunday (Sept. 11), she had the primary assist on sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin's last-minute winner at Youngstown State.
• VonderBrink is tied for the BGSU scoring lead with four points, on a goal and two assists. She now has 13 career points on four goals and five assists.
AMANN ASSISTS AGAIN
• Senior Megan Amann had the lone assist on classmate Alyssa Zuccaro's goal at Youngstown State. Amann now has a career total of 20 assists, ranking her fourth in BGSU program history.
• Amann now has 30 career points in her BGSU tenure. She has moved into sole possession of 12th place on that school list.
• The Falcons have a record of 16-1-4 in matches in which Amann scores a point, and BGSU is 7-34-7 in contests when she is scoreless during her three-plus seasons.
A CAREER YEAR FOR ISON
Redshirt junior 'keeper Becca Ison has played all 638:28 in goal this season, and now has a total of 47 saves. She entered the 2011 campaign with career totals of 18 saves and just over 306 minutes played.
FALCON COACH ANDY RICHARDS
BGSU head coach Andy Richards, now in his 12th season at the helm, has proven himself to be one of the most successful mentors in MAC women's soccer history. He has guided the Falcons to an overall record of 104-113-26, and a record of 55-55-15 in MAC regular-season play. Richards picked up the 100th victory of his collegiate head-coaching career in the Falcons' 3-2 win at Indiana State last season (Sept. 19).
Richards' teams perennially play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MAC. In his first decade-plus in BG, he has led the Falcons to the MAC Tournament on eight occasions, with the team advancing to the semifinals seven times. BGSU is 10-5-5 in MAC Tournament matches during his tenure, and no coach has more trips to the league tourney title game than Richards' five. Two of those appearances – in 2004 and 2005 – resulted in MAC Tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Championships. Richards and the Falcons also won the '05 regular-season crown.
A native of Warwick, England, Richards earned his Bachelor of Education degree from Sheffield City Polytechnic in 1989. He received his Master of Education degree from Oregon State in 1997.
RICHARDS IS IN THE TOP-FOUR
Falcon head coach Andy Richards is one of the winningest mentors in MAC women's soccer history. Currently, Richards ranks fourth on the conference's all-time wins list.
OVERALL WINS BY MAC COACHES
(since the MAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 1997 – totals through games of Monday, Sept. 12)
148 Bobby Kramig, Miami (1997-present)
125 Scott Hall, EMU (1999-present)
106 Brad Evans, Toledo (2001-present)
104 Andy Richards, BGSU (2000-present)
95 Stacy Strauss, Ohio (2000-present)
91 Jean-A. Tassy, Buffalo (1998-2007) *
89 Mike Haines, WMU (1998-2008)
84 Rob Marinaro, Kent State (2001-present)
70 Ron Rainey, Ball State (1999-2005)
* Tassy had 113 total wins at UB from 1995-2007, but the Bulls did not join the MAC until the 1998 season
THE OPPONENTS
IPFW will enter Friday's match with a record of 2-3-0 on the season. The Mastodons have defeated Indiana State and Niagara, and have suffered losses to Valparaiso, Toledo and Buffalo. All but the ISU match were played on the road. Last weekend, the 'Dons split two matches in Western New York, with a 3-2 win over NU and a 1-0 loss to UB. Lisa Underwood, who was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Monday (Sept. 12), leads the team with four goals and nine points. Kristen McFadden and Jessica Schein have split time in goal this year. McFadden has 13 saves and a goals-against average of 1.28, while Schein has five stops and a GAA of 3.00. Head coach Margaret Saurin and the Mastodons went 7-9-1 overall and 4-4-1 in Summit League play last saeson. The school's athletics web site is gomastodons.com.
Valparaiso will take a 3-3-1 record into Friday's match vs. Green Bay. The Crusaders have picked up wins over IPFW, Coastal Carolina and Eastern Illinois, while losing to Morehead State, Evansville and Liberty. Last weekend, VU tied IUPUI, 1-1, before posting a 2-0 win at Eastern Illinois. Rachel Hoaglin has three goals and seven points to lead the 2011 team in scoring. Kristen Manski has played in five of the team's seven matches in goal to date, and has 20 saves and a GAA of just 0.97. Head coach John Marovich welcomed back a whopping total of 21 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from a year ago. The 2010 Crusaders went 5-8-5 overall and 1-5-2 in Horizon League play. The school's athletics web site is valpoathletics.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead IPFW, 2-0-0, in the all-time series between the teams. The schools played in back-to-back years, with the Falcons winning a 4-0 contest in Fort Wayne three seasons ago (Sept. 5, 2008) and a 1-0 verdict at Cochrane Field the following year (Sept. 6, 2009). Alyssa Zuccaro scored her first career goal in the 2008 game at IPFW, and it proved to be the game winner. Megan Amann recorded her first career assist in that match, and scored the lone goal of the 2009 contest.
THE BGSU-IPFW SERIES
(BGSU leads, 2-0-0)
Sept. 5, 2008 -- BGSU 4, at IPFW 0
Sept. 6, 2009 -- at BGSU 1, IPFW 0
The Falcons lead Valparaiso, 3-0-0, in that series, but Sunday's meeting will be the first between the teams in nearly nine years. BGSU won a 2-1 decision in Northwest Indiana in the 1998 season, then captured a 5-1 victory in the return match the following year. In the only prior meeting in the Andy Richards Era, the Brown and Orange posted a 3-0 home win over the Crusaders in the 2002 season. Additionally, Richards and the Falcons bussed to Valpo on Sept. 26, 2003, but thunderstorms rolled in and prevented the match from being played.
THE BGSU-VALPARAISO SERIES
(BGSU leads, 3-0-0)
Sept. 1, 1998 -- BGSU 2, at Valparaiso 1
Aug. 29, 1999 -- at BGSU 5, Valparaiso 1
Oct. 18, 2002 -- at BGSU 3, Valparaiso 0
EXTRA TIME (A FEW FINAL FALCON NOTES)
Sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin's goal at Youngstown State on Sunday was the first of her collegiate career ... obviously, it was her first game-winning goal at BGSU ... the goal came on her first shot attempt of the season • the Falcons now have a 2-3-0 record in road games this season ... BGSU won only one match away from home in both 2009 and 2010 • The Falcons' starting lineup on both Friday at Michigan State and Sunday at YSU included four freshmen along with a redshirt frosh ... Friday's match marked the first time that four true frosh were in the starting eleven for head coach Andy Richards • multiple Falcons made their collegiate starting debuts last weekend ... on Friday, freshman Ashley Garr and sophomore Ivi Casagrande each were in the starting lineup for the first time at BGSU ... then, on Sunday, frosh Leslie Henny and Sidney Huth each made their first collegiate start • a total of 19 players have started at least one match this season to date • Friday's MSU match saw both redshirt freshman Amanda Nelson and true freshman Lindsey Thompson make their respective BGSU playing debuts ... Nelson, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, missed all of last season due to injury ... she entered the MSU match at the 83:31 mark ... Thompson, from Cincinnati, played the final two-plus minutes of the second half • in all, a total of 23 players saw action for the Brown and Orange in the Michigan State match • BGSU now leads the series with Youngstown State by a 6-0-0 count ... the Falcons have scored 25 goals and allowed only four in the six series meetings.
FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN EAST
The Falcons have been picked to finish fifth in the MAC's East Division standings in 2011, according to the preseason coaches poll. The 2011 season marks the second year that a divisional format has been utilized for MAC women's soccer. Last year, the Brown and Orange tied for fourth in the East.
THE 2011 CAPTAIN
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro is the captain of the 2011 women's soccer Falcons.
UP NEXT
After the Valparaiso match, the Falcons will begin the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule with a pair of matches on the road. BGSU will travel to Buffalo for a match on Friday night, Sept. 23, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Then, the Brown and Orange will stop off in Kent, Ohio, on the way home, facing Kent State on Sunday, Sept. 25, in a 1:00 p.m. start.
CUMULATIVE STATS: BGSU | IPFW | Valparaiso
Scroll to the bottom of the page for an interview with BGSU head coach Andy Richards
Then, the Brown and Orange will face a Horizon League opponent for the fifth time in as many weekends, squaring off against Valparaiso University on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 18). That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane.
FALCONS vs. IPFW
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 • 5:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 2-5-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• IPFW: 2-3-0 (7-9-1, 4-4-1 Summit League in 2010)
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 2-0-0 | STREAK: BGSU - 2
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 1, IPFW 0 (Sept. 6, 2009)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: at BGSU 1, IPFW 0 (Sept. 6, 2009)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 104-113-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• IPFW: Margaret Saurin, 14-57-3 in fifth year at IPFW and overall
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
FALCONS vs. VALPARAISO
Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS (heading into Friday's matches):
• BGSU: 2-5-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• Valparaiso: 3-3-1 (5-8-5, 1-5-2 Horizon League in 2010) – VU hosts Green Bay on Friday
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 3-0-0
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 3, VU 0 (Oct. 18, 2002)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: at BGSU 3, VU 0 (Oct. 18, 2002)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 104-113-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• VU: John Marovich (Purdue-Calumet, '94), 29-26-6 in fourth year at VU and overall
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
* Note: Series information can be found on pages 47-49 of the 2011 BGSU online media guide, which is available in both PDF and flip interactive formats here at BGSUFalcons.com
LIVE STATISTICS
Again in 2011, all BGSU home women's soccer matches, and most away contests, will have live statistics available on the web. If you can't make it to the field, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com at game time. The live stats links can be found on the front page of the site (in the 'schedule' section) or by clicking on the women's soccer schedule and choosing the corresponding match.
ON THE HORIZON...
The Valparaiso match will be the Falcons' fifth against a Horizon League team in as many weekends. BGSU has a 2-2-0 record vs. HL foes this season to date, having lost to Loyola (Ill.) and Detroit, but bouncing back with wins at both Cleveland State and Youngstown State.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons will enter the weekend with a record of 2-5-0 on the season. BGSU split last weekend's two matches, falling at Michigan State by a 2-0 count on Friday (Sept. 9), but posting a 2-1 victory at Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 11).
Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro and junior Sarah VonderBrink have four points apiece to share the team's scoring lead. Zuccaro is the lone Falcon to have scored two goals on the year, including the first goal of Sunday's YSU match, while VonderBrink has one goal and is tied for the team lead with two assists this year to date. 'Vondy' assisted on the Falcons' 90th-minute goal at YSU.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin scored that late winner vs. the Penguins, and classmate Ashley Miller and freshman Kaylee Draper each have one goal this season as well.
Senior Megan Amann has two assists this fall to date, while sophomore Madeline Wideman has one. Amann's assists came on VonderBrink's winning goal at Cleveland State (Sept. 2) and Zuccaro's goal at YSU, while Wideman assisted on Zuccaro's other goal, which came against Niagara (Sept. 4).
Redshirt junior Becca Ison has played the entirety of all seven matches in goal this season. Ison has a MAC-leading total of 47 saves, a goals-against average of 1.97 and one shutout. Ison made a career-high 11 stops in the Illinois State game on Aug. 21, and she had nine saves at MSU and eight vs. both Detroit (Aug. 28) and Niagara.
Along with Ison, sophomore Alyssa Carmack has played every second of all seven matches this fall, while Draper has played 632 of the 638-plus minutes. Zuccaro has been on the field for 630 minutes, while redshirt freshman Kylie Briem has played 614. Those five players each have started all seven matches, as has redshirt sophomore Jenny Fowler.
Head coach Andy Richards and his staff, assistants Kellie Evans and Jimmy Walker, welcomed back a total of 17 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. BGSU's returning players combined for nearly 67 percent of the team's goals and almost 73% of the assists a year ago. Four of the Falcons' top-five scorers returned from the 2010 campaign, including Zuccaro, who led the team in scoring. Zuccaro had one-third of the team's goals, with eight, and also led the Brown and Orange with six assists. Her total of 22 points was the highest by a BGSU player since the 2005 season.
LAST WEEKEND
Three-time All-American Laura Heyboer scored midway through the first half, giving host Michigan State the lead for good as the Spartans downed BGSU, 2-0, Friday afternoon (Sept. 9) in East Lansing. Olivia Stander scored early in the second half for the home team. Redshirt junior Becca Ison made nine saves in goal for the Falcons.
On Sunday (Sept. 11), sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin scored with just 32 seconds left to give BG a 2-1 win at Youngstown State. The Falcons were not out of the woods until a YSU shot glanced off the crossbar with just two seconds remaining and went out of bounds. Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro scored BGSU's first goal in the win, while Ison made a pair of saves.
YOU CAN'T SPELL 'GOALZ' WITHOUT 'Z'
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro's goal in Sunday's Youngstown State match was the 17th of her BGSU career. She has moved into sole possession of seventh place on the school's career list for goals. Zuccaro has moved past Britt Anderson (2002-05) on that chart.
A FEW MORE NOTES ABOUT ALYSSA ZUCCARO
• Senior Alyssa Zuccaro now has a career total of 44 points, ranking her ninth on that BGSU list.
• Zuccaro led the Falcons in goals (eight), assists (six) and points (22) last season. Her 2010 goal and point totals were the highest by a BGSU player since 2005 (Samantha Meister, eight goals and 22 points).
• Last year, through seven matches, Zuccaro had three points on a goal and an assist. In fact, she had three points after eight matches, before scoring 19 points over the final 12 games.
• During that stretch, 'Z' scored 15 points in a four-match span, a school record. She had a then career-high five points in the Indiana State game (Sept. 19), then topped that total with six points on a hat trick vs. Buffalo (Sept. 24). Zuccaro assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Kent State (Sept. 26), and had a three-point match at Eastern Michigan.
• With her performances in the Indiana State and Buffalo games, Zuccaro became the first Falcon to score five goals over a two-game span in over six years.
• In her Falcon career, Zuccaro has 24 points (nine goals, six assists) in home matches and 20 points (eight goals, four assists) in away contests.
VONDY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN SOME BIG GOALS
• Junior Sarah VonderBrink has played a major part in each of the Falcons' last three road wins. Last season, she scored with under 12 minutes left, giving the Brown and Orange a 3-2 win at Indiana State. Last weekend (Sept. 2), 'Vondy' scored the lone goal in BG's win at Cleveland State. And, on Sunday (Sept. 11), she had the primary assist on sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin's last-minute winner at Youngstown State.
• VonderBrink is tied for the BGSU scoring lead with four points, on a goal and two assists. She now has 13 career points on four goals and five assists.
AMANN ASSISTS AGAIN
• Senior Megan Amann had the lone assist on classmate Alyssa Zuccaro's goal at Youngstown State. Amann now has a career total of 20 assists, ranking her fourth in BGSU program history.
• Amann now has 30 career points in her BGSU tenure. She has moved into sole possession of 12th place on that school list.
• The Falcons have a record of 16-1-4 in matches in which Amann scores a point, and BGSU is 7-34-7 in contests when she is scoreless during her three-plus seasons.
A CAREER YEAR FOR ISON
Redshirt junior 'keeper Becca Ison has played all 638:28 in goal this season, and now has a total of 47 saves. She entered the 2011 campaign with career totals of 18 saves and just over 306 minutes played.
FALCON COACH ANDY RICHARDS
BGSU head coach Andy Richards, now in his 12th season at the helm, has proven himself to be one of the most successful mentors in MAC women's soccer history. He has guided the Falcons to an overall record of 104-113-26, and a record of 55-55-15 in MAC regular-season play. Richards picked up the 100th victory of his collegiate head-coaching career in the Falcons' 3-2 win at Indiana State last season (Sept. 19).
Richards' teams perennially play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MAC. In his first decade-plus in BG, he has led the Falcons to the MAC Tournament on eight occasions, with the team advancing to the semifinals seven times. BGSU is 10-5-5 in MAC Tournament matches during his tenure, and no coach has more trips to the league tourney title game than Richards' five. Two of those appearances – in 2004 and 2005 – resulted in MAC Tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Championships. Richards and the Falcons also won the '05 regular-season crown.
A native of Warwick, England, Richards earned his Bachelor of Education degree from Sheffield City Polytechnic in 1989. He received his Master of Education degree from Oregon State in 1997.
RICHARDS IS IN THE TOP-FOUR
Falcon head coach Andy Richards is one of the winningest mentors in MAC women's soccer history. Currently, Richards ranks fourth on the conference's all-time wins list.
OVERALL WINS BY MAC COACHES
(since the MAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 1997 – totals through games of Monday, Sept. 12)
148 Bobby Kramig, Miami (1997-present)
125 Scott Hall, EMU (1999-present)
106 Brad Evans, Toledo (2001-present)
104 Andy Richards, BGSU (2000-present)
95 Stacy Strauss, Ohio (2000-present)
91 Jean-A. Tassy, Buffalo (1998-2007) *
89 Mike Haines, WMU (1998-2008)
84 Rob Marinaro, Kent State (2001-present)
70 Ron Rainey, Ball State (1999-2005)
* Tassy had 113 total wins at UB from 1995-2007, but the Bulls did not join the MAC until the 1998 season
THE OPPONENTS
IPFW will enter Friday's match with a record of 2-3-0 on the season. The Mastodons have defeated Indiana State and Niagara, and have suffered losses to Valparaiso, Toledo and Buffalo. All but the ISU match were played on the road. Last weekend, the 'Dons split two matches in Western New York, with a 3-2 win over NU and a 1-0 loss to UB. Lisa Underwood, who was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Monday (Sept. 12), leads the team with four goals and nine points. Kristen McFadden and Jessica Schein have split time in goal this year. McFadden has 13 saves and a goals-against average of 1.28, while Schein has five stops and a GAA of 3.00. Head coach Margaret Saurin and the Mastodons went 7-9-1 overall and 4-4-1 in Summit League play last saeson. The school's athletics web site is gomastodons.com.
Valparaiso will take a 3-3-1 record into Friday's match vs. Green Bay. The Crusaders have picked up wins over IPFW, Coastal Carolina and Eastern Illinois, while losing to Morehead State, Evansville and Liberty. Last weekend, VU tied IUPUI, 1-1, before posting a 2-0 win at Eastern Illinois. Rachel Hoaglin has three goals and seven points to lead the 2011 team in scoring. Kristen Manski has played in five of the team's seven matches in goal to date, and has 20 saves and a GAA of just 0.97. Head coach John Marovich welcomed back a whopping total of 21 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from a year ago. The 2010 Crusaders went 5-8-5 overall and 1-5-2 in Horizon League play. The school's athletics web site is valpoathletics.com.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead IPFW, 2-0-0, in the all-time series between the teams. The schools played in back-to-back years, with the Falcons winning a 4-0 contest in Fort Wayne three seasons ago (Sept. 5, 2008) and a 1-0 verdict at Cochrane Field the following year (Sept. 6, 2009). Alyssa Zuccaro scored her first career goal in the 2008 game at IPFW, and it proved to be the game winner. Megan Amann recorded her first career assist in that match, and scored the lone goal of the 2009 contest.
THE BGSU-IPFW SERIES
(BGSU leads, 2-0-0)
Sept. 5, 2008 -- BGSU 4, at IPFW 0
Sept. 6, 2009 -- at BGSU 1, IPFW 0
The Falcons lead Valparaiso, 3-0-0, in that series, but Sunday's meeting will be the first between the teams in nearly nine years. BGSU won a 2-1 decision in Northwest Indiana in the 1998 season, then captured a 5-1 victory in the return match the following year. In the only prior meeting in the Andy Richards Era, the Brown and Orange posted a 3-0 home win over the Crusaders in the 2002 season. Additionally, Richards and the Falcons bussed to Valpo on Sept. 26, 2003, but thunderstorms rolled in and prevented the match from being played.
THE BGSU-VALPARAISO SERIES
(BGSU leads, 3-0-0)
Sept. 1, 1998 -- BGSU 2, at Valparaiso 1
Aug. 29, 1999 -- at BGSU 5, Valparaiso 1
Oct. 18, 2002 -- at BGSU 3, Valparaiso 0
EXTRA TIME (A FEW FINAL FALCON NOTES)
Sophomore Kaitlyn Tobin's goal at Youngstown State on Sunday was the first of her collegiate career ... obviously, it was her first game-winning goal at BGSU ... the goal came on her first shot attempt of the season • the Falcons now have a 2-3-0 record in road games this season ... BGSU won only one match away from home in both 2009 and 2010 • The Falcons' starting lineup on both Friday at Michigan State and Sunday at YSU included four freshmen along with a redshirt frosh ... Friday's match marked the first time that four true frosh were in the starting eleven for head coach Andy Richards • multiple Falcons made their collegiate starting debuts last weekend ... on Friday, freshman Ashley Garr and sophomore Ivi Casagrande each were in the starting lineup for the first time at BGSU ... then, on Sunday, frosh Leslie Henny and Sidney Huth each made their first collegiate start • a total of 19 players have started at least one match this season to date • Friday's MSU match saw both redshirt freshman Amanda Nelson and true freshman Lindsey Thompson make their respective BGSU playing debuts ... Nelson, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, missed all of last season due to injury ... she entered the MSU match at the 83:31 mark ... Thompson, from Cincinnati, played the final two-plus minutes of the second half • in all, a total of 23 players saw action for the Brown and Orange in the Michigan State match • BGSU now leads the series with Youngstown State by a 6-0-0 count ... the Falcons have scored 25 goals and allowed only four in the six series meetings.
FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN EAST
The Falcons have been picked to finish fifth in the MAC's East Division standings in 2011, according to the preseason coaches poll. The 2011 season marks the second year that a divisional format has been utilized for MAC women's soccer. Last year, the Brown and Orange tied for fourth in the East.
THE 2011 CAPTAIN
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro is the captain of the 2011 women's soccer Falcons.
UP NEXT
After the Valparaiso match, the Falcons will begin the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule with a pair of matches on the road. BGSU will travel to Buffalo for a match on Friday night, Sept. 23, with kickoff scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Then, the Brown and Orange will stop off in Kent, Ohio, on the way home, facing Kent State on Sunday, Sept. 25, in a 1:00 p.m. start.
Emme Butera Post-Match Interview (Sept. 14, 2025)
Monday, September 15
Chris Fox Post-Match Interview (Sept. 14, 2025)
Monday, September 15
Emma Stransky Post-Match Interview (Sept. 14, 2025)
Monday, September 15
Chris Fox Post-Match Interview (Sept. 7, 2025)
Sunday, September 07