BGSU Battles Bobcats in Friday's MAC Tournament Semifinal Round

FALCONS vs. OHIO – Friday, Nov. 2 – MAC Tournament SF
• 7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUWSoccer
• Video: WBGU-TV | Audio: Bowling Green Radio Sports (BGRSO)

MATCH DAY / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the women's soccer schedule page right here at BGSUFalcons.com on match day

BGSU WOMEN'S SOCCER LINKS
This Week's BGSU Notes
2018 BGSU Women's Soccer Releases/Notes
2018 MAC Tournament Bracket
The Opponent: Ohio
Sunday Recap (Oct. 28): Cox, Falcons Outlast EMU, Mother Nature
2018 Women's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!

UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, after winning a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup, will host the remainder of the league tourney this weekend. Head coach Matt Fannon and the Falcons, the MAC regular-season champions and the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament, will face fourth-seeded Ohio University on Friday (Nov. 2) evening, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• The BGSU-Ohio matchup is the second game of the day, as second-seeded Ball State University will meet third-seeded Western Michigan University in a 4:00 p.m. matchup on Friday at Cochrane.

• The two semifinal-round survivors will return to the Cochrane Stadium pitch on Sunday (Nov. 4) for the MAC Tournament's championship match. That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m.

TICKETS
Ticket prices for this weekend's MAC Tournament are as follows...
   • All-tournament pass .................... $10.00
   • Adult tickets ................... $6.00 per day
   • Youth tickets (age 12 & under) .. $2.00 per day
   • College Students ....................... Free ^
   ^ students must present MAC institution ID

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters the Ohio match with an all-time record of 14-7-5 in MAC Tournament matches. The Falcons' .635 winning percentage is the third-highest among all MAC schools.

• The 2018 season marks just the second time the Falcons have been the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament. BGSU has a record of 2-0-2 as the top seed. The 2005 team did not allow a goal from scrimmage en route to the tourney title, but BG battled Toledo (quarterfinals) and Kent State (final) to scoreless draws before advancing via penalty kicks. On Sunday (Oct. 28), top-seeded BGSU downed Eastern Michigan, 2-1, in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 league tourney

• Last season, Matt Fannon – the 2017 MAC Coach of the Year – led the fourth-seeded Falcons to a pair of league tourney wins as BG advanced to the championship match before falling in overtime.

• The trip to the 2017 final marked BGSU's sixth MAC Tournament championship-game appearance in program history. The Falcons are tied for second in the league in that category, as only Miami (seven trips to the final) and Western Michigan (six) have matched or bettered BG's total.

• BGSU qualified for the MAC Tournament just twice during the first five years of the program, before making the tourney in seven-straight seasons from 2002-08. The Falcons advanced to at least the semifinal round in six of those seven years.

• The Falcons have had a knack for pulling off upset victories in the MAC Tournament over the years. BGSU was seeded either seventh or eighth for the league tourney in 2000, 2003 and 2004, but advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match in all three seasons, winning the title in '04.

• That 2004 MAC Tournament title was the first in program history. Then, in 2005, BGSU captured both the regular-season and tournament crowns, winning the league tourney title at Cochrane Stadium.

• After making the MAC Tournament in seven-straight seasons, BG then went eight years in a row (2009-16) without qualifying. The Falcons, as mentioned earlier, returned to the league tournament last season, downing Buffalo and upsetting top-seeded Kent State to advance to the final.

• BGSU is 6-1-2 at home, 5-3-1 on the road and 3-3-2 in neutral-site matches in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons are 9-1-1 in the quarterfinal round, 4-3-2 in the semifinals and 1-3-2 in championship-match appearances.

• Five of BGSU's MAC Tournament matches required penalty kicks, and the Falcons advanced past the opponent in four of those five matches.

• Much more information on BGSU's MAC Tournament history can be found on page 15 of the PDF version of these notes.

THE FALCONS VS. OHIO IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• Friday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between BGSU and Ohio in MAC Tournament play. The Bobcats are one of just two current members of the conference – Akron is the other – that BG has never met in the league tourney.

BREAKING RECORDS
• The Falcons have broken the school records for most home wins in a season and most consecutive victories at home.

• After Sunday's (Oct. 28) win over Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals, BGSU is now 9-1-1 at Cochrane Stadium this fall. The old record for home wins in a season was held by the 2008 team, which went 8-1-1. Three previous BG teams, including last year's club, posted seven wins at home.

• And, BG has won eight-straight matches at Cochrane, breaking the mark of seven set by that 2008 team.

MAC CHAMPS! FALCONS CAPTURE CONFERENCE REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
• With a 5-0 win at Buffalo on Oct. 21, the Falcons clinched the second regular-season championship in the 22-year history of the program. The 2005 team was the only previous BG club to capture a regular-season title.

• BGSU's 2-1 win over Toledo on Thursday (Oct. 25) was the Falcons' 10th MAC victory this year, a new school record. The '05 club went 9-2-0 in league play. This year's BG team also finished with the highest MAC winning percentage in school history, and the 2018 Falcons tied for the third-best winning pct. in MAC history.

MAC RECORD BOOK – HIGHEST WINNING PERCENTAGE, SEASON
.955 (10-0-1) Miami, 2012
.917 (11-1-0) Miami, 2002
.909 (10-1-0) Ball State, 2015; Toledo, 2010; CMU, 2010; Bowling Green, 2018
.909 (9-0-2)   CMU, 2009; Buffalo, 2014
.900 (9-1-0)   Ohio, 1998; NIU, 1998
.864 (9-1-1)   Ball State, 2007; Toledo, 2011; Ball State, 2016
.857 (6-1-0)   NIU, 1997
.833 (10-2-0) Ohio, 2001
.818 (9-2-0) Bowling Green, 2005; CMU, 2012; Kent State, 2017
.818 (8-1-2)   EMU, 1999; CMU, 2011; Kent State, 2016, Ball State, 2017

A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons have an overall record of 13-4-2, and BGSU finished the regular sesaon with a 10-1-0 record in conference play. The Falcons won the 2018 MAC regular-season title, the second league regular-season crown in program history, and BG's total of 13 wins this year is just one shy of the school record.

• BGSU won nine-straight games before a 1-0 loss at Akron (Oct. 18), but the Falcons bounced back with a 5-0 win at Buffalo (Oct. 21), then returned home and topped Toledo (Oct. 25) and Eastern Michigan (Oct. 28) by identical 2-1 scores.

• The Falcons are 9-1-1 at home, 4-3 on the road and 0-0-1 in neutral-site matches this season to date. BGSU has outscored opponents, 40-12, including 29-6 in the 12 contests against conference competition this fall.

• BGSU has scored two or more goals in a match on 12 occasions this season, including 10 times in the 12 matches vs. MAC foes. The Falcons have allowed as many as two goals only once, in a 2-0 loss at then-No. 15 Northwestern.

• Following that Northwestern match on Sept. 9, BGSU never trailed at any point in any game until Akron scored with just 1:41 left in that contest. The Falcons had gone a total of 1008:19 – nearly 17 hours of match time – without finding themselves behind on the scoreboard. BG did trail for over half of the UT match before rallying to win.

• Senior Erica Hubert and junior Chelsee Washington have paced the BG attack. Hubert exploded for an eight-point match at Buffalo, with a hat trick and a pair of assists, and she has BGSU-leading totals of 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points. Washington has nine goals, nine helpers and 27 points, and the junior has scored a team-leading four game-winning goals. She was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Sept. 25.

• Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox and junior Maureen Kennedy have 18 and 17 points, respectively. Cox has eight goals to rank third on the team, including both BG markers in Sunday's EMU match. Cox had all three goals in the two matches vs. the Eagles this year, and now has three game-winning goals this season.

• Kennedy also has three GWG this season. She had a goal and an assist in the Toledo match, and now has nine assists to tie Hubert and Washington for the team lead. Additionally, Kennedy is one-third of a veteran back line (along with seniors Morgan Abbitt and Alexis Fricke) that helped BG to six shutouts in 11 MAC regular-season matches.

• Junior Kathleen Duwve has started all 19 matches in goal this season, and has 71 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.65. She has posted five complete-match shutouts and combined on three other clean sheets.

• In MAC games only, Hubert led the league in goals (8), assists (7) and points (23), while Washington finished second in goals (7) and points (19). Kennedy was second in the entire conference in assists, and also was ranked among the top 10 in points.

• Duwve's GAA in MAC action was just 0.49. She allowed only five goals in 927-plus minutes, and had a saves pct. of .878 in conference clashes this season. She led/leads the MAC in GAA and saves pct., both overall and in league games only.

• Not surprisingly, the Falcons led the entire league in a veritable plethora of categories during conference play, including goals, assists, points, shots, shot percentage, fewest goals allowed, shutouts and GAA.

• Head coach Matt Fannon and his staff – assistant coaches Cian McDonald, Dan Ball and Erin Kielmeyer – welcomed back 18 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team. BGSU finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 13-7-1, and the Falcons placed second in the MAC's East Division.

• The Falcons are 16-5-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 19-6-1 in all games vs. conference foes since Fannon assumed the helm prior to the 2017 season.

A FEW MORE FASCINATING FALCON FUTBOL FACTS
• Sunday's (Oct. 28) win over Eastern Michigan was the Falcons' 26th victory since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season. BGSU has an overall record of 26-11-3 in that time.

• BGSU's total of 26 overall wins since Fannon's arrival includes 16 MAC regular-season victories. During the previous eight seasons (2009-16), BG won a total of 15 MAC regular-season matches. The Falcons were 15-61-12 in MAC play in that eight-year stretch, but BG is 16-5-1 in the league over the last two years.

• In the Fannon Era, BGSU is now a perfect 25-0-0 when scoring at least two goals, and the Falcons are 1-11-3 when being held to fewer than two goals.

• The Falcons have a record of 9-1-1 at home this season, and BGSU is 14-1-1 at Cochrane Stadium in the last 16 matches. In that time, the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 41-11, at Cochrane.

• Redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored just 1:03 into Sunday's EMU match, the Falcons' earliest goal of the season. In 12 total games vs. MAC teams this fall, BGSU has scored a goal in under eight minutes five times. And, the Falcons have taken the lead with under 15 minutes elapsed in no fewer than seven of those 12 matchups.

• The regular season-ending win over Toledo was the Falcons' first come-from-behind win of the year. BGSU has trailed during regulation in only four of this season's 19 matches – the Loyola Marymount (Aug. 17), Northwestern (Sept. 9), Akron (Oct. 18) and UT contests.

• This season, BGSU has led for a total of 846:17 and trailed for just 185:08. In 1080 total minutes against MAC foes, BG has led for an eye-popping 710:00, and the Falcons were behind for a total of 59:15.

• On the year, BGSU is now 12-0-1 when scoring first, and the Falcons are 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first.

THE OPPONENTS
• Ohio is 9-7-3 overall, and the Bobcats finished MAC regular-season play with a 6-3-2 record, good for fourth place. Ohio has won three of the last four matches. After falling, 1-0, to Kent State to end the regular season, the 'Cats turned around and defeated the Golden Flashes, 2-1, in Sunday's tourney quarterfinal. Ohio is 5-2-2 at home and 4-5-1 on the road, and the 'Cats went 3-2 away from home in MAC play. Alivia Milesky leads a balanced attack with six goals and 14 points, while three of her teammates also have scored at least 10 points. Sydney Malham has played in 14 of the team's 19 matches in goal, and has six shutouts and a GAA of just 0.88. Last year, coach Aaron Rodgers's team went 7-10-3 overall and 4-5-2 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Ohio, 12-5-5, in the all-time series, but BGSU has a three-match series unbeaten streak, including a 3-1 victory in the teams' 2018 regular-season meeting. BG is 5-5-2 at home and just 0-7-3 on the road vs. the Bobcats. The Falcons have scored fewer goals against Ohio (16) than against any other MAC team, and BGSU's average of 0.73 goals per game vs. the Bobcats is the team's lowest against any conference foe.

DOWN THE ROAD...
• The BGSU-Ohio survivor will advance to Sunday's (Nov. 4) MAC Tournament championship match, and the winner of Sunday's 1:00 p.m. contest will earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

# B G S U W O M E N ' S S O C C E R #

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Morgan Abbitt

Nikki Cox

Kathleen Duwve

Alexis Fricke

Erica Hubert

Maureen Kennedy

Chelsee Washington

Upcoming Events

Recent Results