Falcons Tangle with Toledo in 2017 MAC Championship Game

Sunday, November 5

Kent, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Photo by: Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

November 04, 2017 | Women's Soccer

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

KENT, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team seeks the third Mid-American Conference championship in school history when the Falcons play in the MAC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship on Sunday, Nov. 5. The Falcons, seeded fourth, will face the third-seeded Toledo Rockets. The game will be begin at 1:00 p.m. ET at Kent State's Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio. This will be the sixth title contest for BGSU and first since 2007. The Falcons are 2-3 in those games. BGSU and Toledo played in the 2017 regular season finale for both teams; the Rockets won, 2-1.

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
The 2017 MAC Tournament Championship Game will be played at Dix Stadium, Kent State's football facility, in Kent, Ohio. Tickets for the championship game are only available at the gate. Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: $6
Youth (12-and-under): $2
Students (with ID): Free

LINKS
BGSU Women's Soccer Game Notes (.pdf)
Live Stats | Live Video
2017 BGSU Women's Soccer Stats
2017 MAC Women's Soccer Stats
2017 NCAA Women's Soccer Stats
BGSU Women's Soccer Record Book

LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons advanced to the final by winning the semifinal match against top-seed Kent State on the Golden Flashes' home turf. BGSU faced five KSU shots in the first 8:30, matching the Flashes game total from the regular season meeting, but Erica Hubert scored from 15 yards out in the 22nd minute to put the Falcons ahead to stay. Rachel Winters scored her fourth goal of the season on a free kick with 19:21 left, and that proved to be her fourth game-winner when KSU scored in the 80th minute. Bowling Green won 2-1 to complete a two-game season sweep of the 2017 MAC regular season champions.

SCOUTING TOLEDO
The Rockets are currently 11-7-3 overall and finished 6-3-2 against the MAC. Toledo started their MAC slate 4-1-2. The Rockets then dropped back-to-back 1-0 games to Buffalo and Kent State. Since, Toledo has won four in a row by 2-1 margins. They clinched the third seed in the MAC tourney with wins over Ohio and BGSU, then advanced to the semifinals over Western Michigan. Toledo won their semifinal over Ball State on a Regan Price (1) goal with 3:41 left in double overtime.

Toledo has outscored opponents 29-27 in 2017. They have improved to third in the MAC in goals per game (1.38) and rank seventh in goals allowed (1.23). Hannah Scafaria is fourth in the MAC with eight goals, while Isa Echeverri is tied for eighth with six. Sophie Pohl leads the Rockets with four assists. Goalkeeper Madison Perrin has started every game (11-7-3) and has five shutouts. She has allowed 27 goals against 124 shots for a goals against average of 1.23 and a save percentage of .782.

Toledo head coach T.J. Buchholz is in his third season with the Rockets. He owns a record of 28-29-4 at Toledo and a 14-16-3 mark in MAC games. His inaugural 2015 team was a quarterfinalist in the MAC Tournament.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
BGSU traveled to Toledo on Thursday, Oct. 26 to close the regular season against the Rockets. Erica Hubert gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead just 11:54 into the game, but Toledo scored an equalizer with just one second left in the first half after a scramble in front of the net. Sophie Pohl put home the deciding goal with only 4:51 left on the clock. BGSU was out-shot 13-8 and had only three shots on goal during the match. Toledo has now won ten straight games in the Battle of I-75 and owns a 14-7-4 record in the series. The Falcons' last win was a 2-1 victory at Toledo on Nov. 1, 2007.

FALCONS VS. ROCKETS IN THE POSTSEASON
BGSU has faced Toledo four previous times in tournament play, in each of their last four tournament appearances (2005-08). In the 2005 quarterfinals, the Falcons won 3-2 on penalty kicks following a scoreless double-overtime draw at Cochrane Stadium. Toledo won at Cochrane 3-0 in the 2006 quarterfinals. The pair played for the MAC title in Muncie, Ind. in 2007, and Toledo won 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw. Finally, the Rockets won a semifinal match 1-0 at Toledo in 2008..

HOORAY FOR HUBERT
Junior Erica Hubert has been an offensive machine for the last month. Since the beginning of October, she has eight goals in ten games and has scored in seven of those ten, including a two-goal effort against Buffalo in the MAC quarterfinals. She has scored five of BGSU's last seven goals. In addition to her quarterfinal scores, she posted the Falcons' final goal in their 3-1 regular season win over Kent State, the first goal in the 2-1 semifinal win over the Flashes, and BGSU's only goal against Toledo. She is now tied for the team lead and second in the MAC with 11 goals. Hubert's specialty this season has been the "insurance goal". Of her 11 goals, six of them have been the Falcons' final scores in two-goal victories. Four have occurred in the final 11 minutes of a match. Bowling Green is 9-1 when she scores a goal in 2017.

WINTER(S) IS HERE
As a defender, senior Rachel Winters does not get many opportunities to rack up offensive statistics. When she does, they always seem to happen in the most critical situations. Against Kent State in the MAC semifinals, Winters dropped a free kick over the goalkeeper's head for a goal in the 71st minute. That provided the winning margin in the Falcons' 2-1 victory over the Golden Flashes. Winters now has four goals in 2017 -- and all of them are game-winners. She scored the first goal in a 2-0 Senior Day win over Wright State, broke a 0-0 second half deadlock to lead BGSU to a 2-0 win over Morehead State, She also headed home the quarterfinal game-winner in the 3-1 victory over Buffalo at Cochrane Stadium. She is tied for the team lead and second-most game-winners in a season with fellow senior Skylar Fleak.

FANTASTIC FLEAK
Senior forward Skylar Fleak is having one of the best offensive seasons in BGSU history. Against Buffalo, she posted her second hat trick of 2017 with three goals in 20:16, the fourth-fastest hat trick by a Falcon, as BGSU came back from 2-0 down to beat Buffalo. Her first hat trick was a four-goal game at Oakland. She added an assist in a 2-0 win over Akron for a seven-point weekend. She has 11 goals and 27 points (each third-most in BGSU history) and a personal-best five assists. She is second in the MAC in points and goals, and she ranks in the top 50 nationally for both. In her career, Fleak has 27 goals (third most at BGSU) and 64 points (fourth most at BGSU). Her efforts have earned three MAC Offensive Player of the Week awards in 2017.

OFFENSE ON THE PROWL
BGSU continues to own the MAC's best offense. They have a league-best 42 goals (2.10/game), scored by 11 different players. Fifteen players have combined for a MAC-best 48 assists (2.40/game). The Falcons are also first with 16.55 shots per game. The Falcons have outshot their opponents in all but three games this year and have a current margin of 331-203 (1.63:1). BGSU's next goal will set a school record, and they are ten shots away from second most in team history (361; 2004). The Falcons are also on pace for fewest-ever shots allowed (213), and its fewest goals allowed since 2008 (25).

ASSISTS MACHINE
BGSU owns a superior offense, and much of that is owed to the team's skill in their attacking third. The Falcons rank in the top ten nationally with 48 assists and 2.40 assists per game. Fifteen of the team's 26 players have at least one, and nine have multiple assists. Four players have combined for six multi-assist games. Maureen Kennedy leads the team and the MAC with nine, and she is one shy of the BGSU single-season record. Madison Schupbach has eight. Both are in the top 25 nationally. Skylar Fleak (5) and Erica Hubert (3) have career highs. Marissa Swindell has added six, including two multi-assist games. This is the third-most assists in team history; the school record is 53, set in 1998.

FIRST-TIME SCORERS
The Falcons feature eight first-year players on their 2017 roster, and four of them have combined for seven of the team's 40 goals. Marissa Swindell has three goals, while Sophia Barnes owns two. Paige Casto's goal at Western Michigan was the first of her career, and Nikhita Jacob scored at Detroit Mercy. First year Falcons have also combined for 14 of the team's 46 assists. Additionally, junior Alexis Fricke posted her first career goal, and Elisa Baeron earned her first career point with an assist versus Buffalo.

SUNDAY FUN-DAY
Bowling Green has been very successful on Sundays in 2017. After losing to #20 Butler 2-0 on Sunday, Aug. 27, the Falcons have won their last seven Sunday contests. They started the streak with a 2-0 win on Senior Day over Wright State, then routed Miami 4-1. In October, they defeated Northern Illinois (2-1), Central Michigan (3-1), Akron (2-0), Kent State (3-1), and Buffalo (3-1) on Sundays. Dating back to the start of 2016, the Falcons are 11-4-1 on Sunday and 10-12-1 on all other days.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Admission to all home BGSU men's and women's soccer matches at Cochrane Stadium is free. For those who cannot make it to a given match, live stats are available online via BGSUFalcons.com. Live game updates will also be provided on Twitter through @BGSUWSoccer. In addition, weekly game notes and updated statistics can be obtained through BGSUFalcons.com. For fans who cannot make it to Sunday's game, links to a live video stream and a radio broadcast are also available through BGSUFalcons.com.