Two Michigan Foes Come to Town as BGSU Begins Season-Long Four-Game Homestand

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the home portion of the Mid-American Conference schedule with a pair of matches against league unbeatens this weekend. The Falcons of first-year head coach Lindsay Basalyga begin a season-long, four-match homestand with a Friday (Oct. 4) match vs. Eastern Michigan. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.

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LIVE STATS for BGSU Home matches
EMU Women's Soccer | WMU Women's Soccer

Then, on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 6), the Brown and Orange will face Western Michigan University. Kickoff for that contest will be 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane.

Both EMU and WMU enter the weekend with 2-0-0 MAC records. This week's matches mark the first two of four-straight cross-divisional games for the Falcons.

FREE ADMISSION TO HOME FALCON FUTBOL
Admission for all Falcon men's and women's soccer home matches again this season is free. For those who can't make it to Cochrane Field, live stats are scheduled to be available for each home game via BGSUFalcons.com.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons are 0-8-0 on the young season, having dropped four of those eight matches by one goal apiece. BGSU returned 11 letterwinners, including eight starters, from a year ago. The 2012 club finished with an overall record of 1-17-1 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 0-10-1. Ten of the Falcons' losses last fall, including six in conference play, came by a single goal.

Six of BGSU's first eight matches this year have come on the road, including non-league games at Cleveland State (Aug. 25), IUPUI (Sept. 8), Michigan State (Sept. 13) and Detroit (Sept. 17). BG's two home matches both were 2-1 overtime setbacks, vs. Butler (Aug. 31) and Evansville (Sept. 22).

Last weekend, the Brown and Orange opened Mid-American Conference play with a pair of road matches, dropping intra-divisional contests to Ohio on Friday (Sept. 27) and Kent State Sunday (Sept. 29).

Senior Madeline Wideman leads the Falcons in scoring, with seven points on the season. Wideman and fellow senior Kaitlyn Tobin each have two goals apiece this fall. Last weekend, Tobin scored in the MAC opener at Ohio, while Wideman had a goal in the KSU match. Tobin is second on the team with four points this fall.

Junior Ashley Garr and freshman Haley Malaczewski each have one goal on the season. Malaczewski came off the bench to score her first collegiate goal in her first collegiate match, at CSU. Garr scored the first goal of her BGSU career vs. Butler.

Wideman leads the Falcons with three assists on the year, while classmate Alyssa Carmack and junior Sidney Huth each have one assist apiece this fall to date.

In goal, redshirt freshman Lauren Cadel has started all eight matches this season. She has a total of 60 saves, a saves percentage of .769 and a goals-against average of 2.45. True freshman Michelle Denley made her collegiate regular-season debut in Sunday's Kent State game, playing the last 69-plus minutes.

BGSU's list of returning starters includes the team's two 2013 co-captains, Carmack and Jenny Fowler. Carmack was one of just two players to start all 19 matches last fall, playing at a center-back position. Fowler, a fifth-year Falcon, made 17 starts in 2012.

Other returning letterwinners include seniors Tobin, Wideman and Ivi Casagrande, redshirt junior Kylie Briem, true juniors Garr, Huth and Kaylee Draper and sophomores Emma Norris and Haley Parkinson. Huth led the Brown and Orange in scoring with three goals and seven points a year ago, while Wideman had a pair of goals and five total points in '12.

Cadel, the lone returnee among the goalkeepers, is in her first playing season with the Falcons, having sat out the 2012 season as a redshirt. The goalkeeping corps also includes true freshmen Denley and Jenna DiTusa.

Cadel is one of three Falcons on the current roster who did not see action last fall. Fourth-year Falcon Kailey Paszko and redshirt freshman Lexie Schmidt both missed the 2012 campaign due to injury.

Denley and DiTusa are two of the nine true freshmen on the roster this season. That list also includes Malaczewski, Paige Amodio, Taylor Bucaro, Sabrina Cisneros, Jessica Creech, Taylor Dackin and Melissa Needham.

CADEL, FALCONS AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Lauren Cadel leads the MAC, and ranks among the top 10 in the nation, in saves per game. Cadel has 60 saves in eight contests, an average of 7.50 per game. She ranks 10th in NCAA Division I in that category. Cadel also leads the MAC, and ranks 25th nationally, in total saves.

As a team, BGSU is 13th in the country in saves per game.

FAST FALCON FACTS
• Senior Madeline Wideman's goal at Kent State was the seventh of her BGSU career. She leads all active Falcons in that category, and also paces all members of the 2013 team in career assists and points, with 12 helpers and 26 total points as a Falcon. With seven points this season, Wideman already has topped her total (five) for all of last year.

• Wideman leads the Falcons with seven points this season. No BGSU player scored more than seven points during all of last year.

• Senior Kaitlyn Tobin's goal at Ohio was her second of the season, and the third of her career. All three goals have come on the road. Tobin's first collegiate goal was a last-minute game-winner in the Falcons' victory at Youngstown State two years ago (Sept. 11, 2011). She also scored in this season's Michigan State match (Sept. 13).

• The Falcons have scored six goals this season. Last year, BGSU had a total of just nine goals in 19 matches.

• BGSU has scored a total of four goals on the road in 2013, having already topped the total for all of last season. The 2012 Falcons scored just three goals in road games.

• The 2013 Falcons have scored four first-half goals, matching the total for all of last season.

• Redshirt freshman Lauren Cadel made seven saves in Friday's match at Ohio. Cadel has made a total of 60 saves this season to date, with at least six stops in each of her seven complete-match efforts.

• Falcon goalkeepers have posted double-digit save totals in six of the last 11 matches, dating to last season. BGSU had 10 or more saves in each of the last three 2012 games, and Cadel has had totals of 12 stops vs. Butler and 10 saves against both IUPUI and Evansville this fall.

• Seven of the first 15 players to see the field for the Falcons on Friday at Ohio were freshmen. The starting lineup included three true frosh and one redshirt freshman, and three of the first four substitutes were first-year Falcons as well.

• Two days later at Kent State, the starting lineup again featured four freshmen. And, three of the Falcons' first six players off the bench were frosh.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan has an overall record of 5-4-1, and the Eagles are off to a 2-0-0 start in MAC play heading into Friday's match at Cochrane Field. Eastern picked up home wins over Northern Illinois (4-1) and Toledo (4-3) last weekend, and the Eagles have scored at least four goals in each of the last four matches. The Eagles are 5-1-0 in home matches and 0-3-1 in road contests heading into this weekend. EMU leads the MAC in goals (25) and assists (29), as well as goals and assists per game, and the Eagles are 24th in the nation in scoring offense. Eastern was picked to finish second in the West Division in the MAC's preseason coaches poll. Individually, Cara Cutaia leads the team with six goals and 16 points. Both Bianca Rossi and Angela Vultaggio have 14 points on five goals and four assists to date. In goal, Megan McCabe has started all 10 matches, and has 50 saves and a goals-against average of 1.55. Head coach Scott Hall welcomed back a whopping 20 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from a year ago. The 2012 edition of the Eagles went 11-6-2 overall and 8-3-0 in MAC play.

A LOOK AT THE BRONCOS
Western Michigan has an overall record of 4-3-2, and the Broncos are 2-0-0 in the MAC. WMU plays at Central Michigan on Friday (Oct. 4) before heading to BG for Sunday's match. Last weekend, WMU scored nine goals in two wins, topping Toledo by a 5-1 count before downing NIU, 4-2. WMU has won three consecutive matches, having scored at least four goals in each of those three games. The Broncos are a perfect 3-0-0 at home, and Western is 1-3-2 on the road heading into Friday's match at CMU. Aubrey Sudomier has eight points to lead a balanced attack. Sudomier has a team-leading four assists this fall. Three players – Nicole Hatcliffe, Gina Maddi and Kylie Nylen – each have seven points, including three goals. Michelle Watson has started all nine matches to date, and has 33 saves, three shutouts and a GAA of 1.09. Nate Norman is in his second season as head coach of the Broncos. His first WMU team finished with a 5-9-4 overall record and a 1-5-4 MAC ledger.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Eastern Michigan, 11-8-1, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Eagles captured last year's meeting. BG led at the half in Ypsilanti, but the Eagles got a pair of second-half goals for a 2-1 win (Sept. 28, 2012). Two years ago (Oct. 7, 2011), in the last meeting at Cochrane Field, a 'Golden Goal' by Sidney Huth gave the Falcons a 2-1 victory, snapping a three-game EMU series winning streak. BGSU is 3-4-0 at home and 5-7-1 on the road vs. the Eagles over the years.

BGSU trails Western Michigan, 12-7-1, in that series, and the Broncos have won four consecutive meetings. A year ago, Western got a first-half goal for a 1-0 win over the Falcons in Kalamazoo (Sept. 30, 2012). Two seasons ago, Western left Cochrane Field with a 2-0 win (Oct. 21, 2011). BGSU is 4-3-1 at home, 1-9-0 on the road and 2-0-0 in neutral-site matches vs. the Broncos.

Series information and match-by-match results for all of BGSU's opponents can be found on pages 40-42 of the BGSU Women's Soccer Media Guide, which is available on the web at BGSUFalcons.com. Series information for this weekend's #MACtion can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

THE 2013 CAPTAINS
Seniors Alyssa Carmack and Jenny Fowler are the co-captains of the 2013 Falcons. Fowler, a fifth-year Falcon, is a team captain for the second-straight year.

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following Sunday's WMU match, the Falcons' homestand continues with games vs. Northern Illinois (Oct. 11) and Toledo (Oct. 13). BGSU will play six of nine October matches at Cochrane Field. After the UT match, the Brown and Orange will hit the road to face a pair of MAC East Division opponents in Buffalo (Oct. 18) and Akron (Oct. 20).

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