Falcons Host Detroit Mercy in Wednesday Scrimmage

Wednesday, August 8

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Detroit Mercy

Alexis Fricke - BGSU women's soccer - Aug 7 2018 practice

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

August 07, 2018 | Women's Soccer

BGSU meets the Titans in 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the exhibition portion of the 2018 schedule on Wednesday night (Aug. 8). Head coach Matt Fannon and the Falcons will face the University of Detroit Mercy in a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium. Admission to all home BGSU soccer matches is free again in 2018.

LINKS
AUDIO: Listen to Wednesday's match via BGRSO
2018 BGSU Women's Soccer Schedule
2018 BGSU Women's Soccer Roster
2018 BGSU Women's Soccer Record Book
PHOTO GALLERY: Tuesday afternoon's practice
Aug. 2 Release: Falcons Begin Preseason Practices
Join the Falcon Club Today!

The Falcons and Titans are scheduled to play three 30-minute periods on Wednesday evening. There will be no live stats or video available, but there will be an audio broadcast courtesy of the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO).

BGSU will play a second scrimmage this weekend, hitting the road for a Sunday (Aug. 12) matchup with Wright State. That scrimmage is also slated for a 7:00 p.m. start.

Fannon and assistant coaches Cian McDonald, Dan Ball and Erin Kielmeyer welcome 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 a MAC ledger of 6-4-1. The Falcons' total of 13 victories was the second-highest in school history, while BG's six conference wins represented the team's most since 2008.

In 2017, BGSU qualified for the MAC Tournament for the first time since that '08 campaign, and the Falcons advanced to the league tourney's championship match for the first time since 2007.

The Falcons were the most improved team in the MAC a year ago, and BG tied for 28th in the country in that department, having made a four-game improvement over the 2016 campaign.

Detroit Mercy has already played an exhibition match this preseason, defeating the Markham Soccer Club by a 2-0 result on Sunday (Aug. 5). Head coach Mike Lupenec, beginning his 26th season with the program, welcomes back 15 letterwinners, including two of the top-three scorers, from last season. The 2017 Titans finished 4-13-1 overall and 1-8-0 in Horizon League play.

Wright State's roster includes six seniors and eight juniors. Head coach Pat Ferguson's Raiders finished 12-8-0 overall in 2017, posting the team's highest win total in a decade. WSU's returning players include a trio of All-Horizon League First-Team members in Aaliyah Patten, Mattie Cutts and Erin Graefen. Those three accounted for nine goals and 13 assists a year ago.

For the Falcons, Fannon, the 2017 MAC Coach of the Year, welcomes back two of the Falcons' four All-MAC selections from last fall. Erica Hubert was one of three Falcons to earn all-league first-team honors a season ago, while Alexis Fricke was named to the all-conference second team in 2017.

Nikhita Jacob was named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team last November. Hubert, Fricke and Jacob are joined by returning starters Morgan Abbitt, Victoria Cope, Maureen Kennedy and Jennifer Reyes.

Hubert led the team with 12 goals a year ago, as seven of the top-10 scorers return from a 2017 team that set a school record for goals. Kennedy tied the BGSU single-season record with 10 assists, and Cope and Kathleen Duwve combined to start all 21 matches in goal in '17.

Fannon and his staff welcome 10 newcomers, including nine true freshmen as well as transfer Nikki Cox. Cox, who spent two seasons at UNC Wilmington, is a redshirt sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Following the trip to WSU, the Falcons will fly to Hawai'i to begin the regular season with matches against Loyola Marymount (Aug. 17) and the host school (Aug. 19).

The home portion of the regular-season schedule begins on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 25, when Oakland University comes to Cochrane. The home schedule also includes matchups with Xavier, DePaul, Youngstown State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio and arch-rival Toledo. The complete and most up-to-date 2018 schedule can be found by clicking the link near the top of this page.

For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUWSoccer), Instagram (bgsuwsoccer) and Facebook (bgsuwsoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.