Falcons Head to Mid-Michigan for Thursday's CMU Clash

Thursday, October 31

Mount Pleasant, MI

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Central Michigan

Senior Day - Seniors and families - Garza photo

The Falcons' seven seniors were recognized prior to Sunday's match vs. Miami. BGSU battled the East Division-leading RedHawks to a 1-1 draw, & the Falcons close the 2013 season with a Thursday match at Central Michigan.

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

October 29, 2013 | Women's Soccer

BGSU faces Chippewas in 3:00 p.m. start

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team closes the 2013 season with one final road match this week. The Falcons of first-year head coach Lindsay Basalyga head to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a Thursday (Oct. 31) game against Central Michigan University. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at the CMU Soccer Complex.

BGSU NOTES & STATISTICS - PDF
CMU Women's Soccer

LIVE STATS
There will not be a video or audio stream for Thursday's game at CMU, but live stats will be available through CMUChippewas.com. The link will also be available here at BGSUFalcons.com - on game day, click on the 'calendar' link on the front page of the site, or go to the women's soccer schedule page and click the handy link.

THANKS, SENIORS!
• Sunday's (Oct. 27) match vs. Miami was 'Senior Day' for the Falcons, as seven members of the BGSU women's soccer program were recognized in ceremonies prior to kickoff. That group included Alyssa Carmack, Ivi Casagrande, Jenny Fowler, Amanda Nelson, Kailey Paszko, Kaitlyn Tobin and Madeline Wideman.

• Nelson was medically disqualified prior to the 2013 season, and has served as a student assistant coach and helped the Falcons in a variety of roles this season. Each of the other six seniors saw action in Sunday's match, with five of the six drawing a start against the Redhawks.

• Each of those seven seniors has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.11 or higher, and five of the seven have better than a 3.75 GPA.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons are 0-14-2 on the season, and BGSU is 0-8-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Seven of BG's losses this fall have been by a single goal. Last weekend, the Brown and Orange dropped a 2-0 decision to visiting Ball State on Friday night (Oct. 20), before battling MAC-leading Miami to a 1-1,double-overtime draw on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 27) at Cochrane Field.

The Falcons have been tied or held the lead in the second half in 12 of this year's 16 games to date.

Head coach Lindsay Basalyga and her staff returned 11 letterwinners from a year ago. The 2012 club finished with an overall record of 1-17-1 and a MAC mark of 0-10-1. Ten of the Falcons' losses last fall, including six in league play, came by a single goal.

The Falcons went 0-6-2 at home this year, with four of the eight home games requiring overtime. The Falcons' six home losses included three by one goal, and two more by two goals. Each of the two-goal setbacks was a tie game in the second half.

Senior Madeline Wideman leads the Falcons in scoring, with nine points on the season. Wideman and fellow senior Kaitlyn Tobin each have three goals this fall to tie for the team lead in that category. Tobin is second on the team with six points.

Tobin's goals came in road matches against Michigan State and Ohio, and in Sunday's home match vs. Miami. Wideman scored the Falcons' goals in the Evansville, Kent State and Akron matches.

Junior Ashley Garr and freshmen Taylor Bucaro and 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 Cleveland State. Garr scored the first goal of her BGSU career vs. Butler, and Bucaro scored her initial goal on a blast from distance in the Eastern Michigan match.

Wideman leads the Falcons with three assists on the year, while junior Sidney Huth has two. Seniors Alyssa Carmack and Ivi Casagrande each have one assist this fall to date.

Wideman has been involved in the scoring of six of the Falcons' nine goals this year, including five-straight BG goals during one stretch.

In goal, redshirt freshman Lauren Cadel started the first 14 matches of the season, while true freshman Jenna DiTusa drew the start in each of last weekend's two matches. Cadel has a total of 109 saves, a saves percentage of .796 and a goals-against average of 2.14 this fall.

DiTusa had 16 saves, an .842 saves pct. and a GAA of 1.35 in last weekend's two games. True freshman Michelle Denley has seen action in a pair of games in relief, both during the MAC schedule, and has played just under 113 minutes, making nine saves, this fall.

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 Casagrande, Tobin and Wideman, 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. She is one of three players 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 eight true freshmen on the roster. That list also includes Bucaro, Malaczewski, Paige Amodio, Jessica Creech, Taylor Dackin and Melissa Needham.

Amodio, Carmack and Wideman each have started all 16 matches this fall, while Fowler and Garr have made 15 starts each and Cadel 14. Carmack has played all 1489-plus minutes for the Falcons this season. Amodio has been on the field for 1365 minutes, while Garr (1318) and Wideman (1308) each have played more than 1300 minutes this fall to date.

In the 10 MAC matches, Carmack has played all 940 minutes, while Amodio and Garr have been on the pitch for 891 minutes apiece.

FAST FALCON FACTS
• As mentioned earlier, the Falcons have been tied or held the lead in the second half in 12 of this year's 16 games to date, including in each of the last six contests.

• In fact, BGSU has not allowed a first-half goal over the last six games. BGSU led one of those six matches (at Akron on Oct. 20) by a 1-0 score at the half, and the other five games all were nil-nil draws at the intermission.

• BG has shut out eight of this year's 10 MAC opponents to date in the opening half.

• Falcon goalkeepers have combined to put together a solid season. Redshirt freshman Lauren Cadel currently has a total of 109 saves on the year. Despite not playing in either of last weekend's matches, Cadel has 11 more saves than any other 'keeper in the MAC.

• Cadel's saves percentage stands at .796. If the season ended today, that pct. would rank sixth on the BGSU single-season list.

• Cadel leads the MAC in both saves and saves per game. She is averaging 7.79 saves per contest, over two more than the MAC's second-place goalie (5.76). Cadel ranks seventh in the nation in saves per game, and 14th in the country in total saves. She ranks second among all freshmen in saves per game, and third nationally among frosh in total saves.

• As a team, the Falcons are first in the MAC in both saves (141) and saves per game (8.81). The second-place MAC teams in those categories have 104 total saves and 5.78 stops per game. BG is sixth in the nation in saves per contest.

• Cadel is in her first playing season with the Falcons, but her total of 109 saves already ranks her fifth on the BGSU career list. Becca Ison, a senior on last year's team, is fourth on that list after ending her BG tenure with 143 saves. Each of the top-three players on the list – Erika Flanders, Alexa Arsenault and Ali Shingler – made over 330 saves in their respective careers.

• Cadel has moved into a tie for seventh place on the BGSU single-season saves list. Flanders holds the school record with 137 total saves in the 2002 season. The complete lists of single-season and career saves records can be found on page 4 of the PDF version of this release.

• Freshman Jenna DiTusa made her collegiate debut against Ball State Friday, and had eight saves. She had eight more stops on Sunday, including a diving save of a first-half penalty kick by Miami's Kelsey Dinges.

• Senior Kaitlyn Tobin scored the Falcons' goal on 'Senior Day,' heading home a short diagonal ball from junior Sidney Huth. Tobin's goal was her third of the season, tying her with classmate Madeline Wideman for the team lead.

• Tobin now has 11 career points on four goals and three assists. Her totals of three goals and six points this season are career bests.

• Tobin's goal on Sunday was the fourth of her career, but her first-ever goal at Cochrane Field. She scored the match-winning goal in the 90th minute at Youngstown State in her sophomore year, and has goals on the road vs. Michigan State and Ohio this season.

• Huth's assist on Sunday was her second of the season and the third of her career. Huth now has 13 career points, with five goals along with those three assists.

• The Falcons have a record of 6-1-3 in the last 10 'Senior Day' games at Cochrane Field.

SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan has an overall record of 7-10-1, and the Chippewas are 7-3-0 in MAC action after splitting a pair of 1-0 decisions last weekend. Central saw a four-game winning streak come to an end with a loss at Miami on Friday, before bouncing back with a double-overtime victory over Ball State on Sunday. CMU enters Thursday's match in third place in the MAC's West Division, and the Chippewas have clinched a top-four berth and a home game in Sunday's (Nov. 3) league tournament quarterfinal round. CMU is 3-3-1 at home, 4-5-0 on the road and 0-2-0 in neutral-site matches this season to date. Individually, Laura Gosse leads the team with five goals and 11 points, while Emily Cooksey and Nicole Samuel have two goals apiece. Estee Outcalt leads the Chippewas with three assists. In goal, Grace Labrecque has started 13 matches, and has 57 saves, six shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.81. First-year CMU coach Peter McGahey inherited 18 letterwinners, including four starters, from the 2012 team. Last year's club went 15-7-1 overall, 9-2-0 in the MAC and advanced to the NCAA Championships.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Central Michigan, 10-5-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and the Chippewas have won seven consecutive series meetings. Last season, Central picked up a 4-0 win at Cochrane Field on the last day of the regular season (Oct. 25, 2012). The Falcons' last trip to Mount Pleasant saw BG become the first team to score on CMU in nearly a month's time, but the Chippewas pulled out a 2-1 win (Oct. 9, 2011). BGSU's last win over Central was a 2-1 decision at the CMU Soccer Complex eight years ago (Oct. 21, 2005). The Falcons are 1-6-1 at home, 3-4-0 on the road and 1-0-1 in neutral-site meetings vs. the Chippewas. The home team has won only five times in series history.

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 here at BGSUFalcons.com. Series information for Thursday's #MACtion can be found in the PDF release, wiht the link available near the top of this very page.

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.