Falcons Face Eagles in Sunday's MAC Tournament Championship

Sunday, November 10

Bowling Green, OH

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Eastern Michigan (Final)

Hannah Dolfuss & the Falcons beat Buffalo on Friday night to advance to the MAC Tournament's championship match

Photo by: Isaiah Vazquez/BGSU Athletics

November 09, 2019 | Women's Soccer

Vote for Maureen Kennedy for the Senior CLASS Award MAC Tournament Central 2019 BGSU Women's Soccer Releases/Notes EMU Women's Soccer 2019 Schedule 2019 Roster 2019 Media Guide / Record Book Join the Falcon Club Today!

BGSU battles Eastern Michigan in a 1:00 p.m. start at Cochrane

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

FALCONS vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN – Sunday, Nov. 10
MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
1:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN3
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc

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

–––––––

UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team has advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament's championship match for the third consecutive season. Head coach Matt Fannon and the Falcons, the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive year, will face seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan University on Sunday (Nov. 10), with first touch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• The winner of Sunday's match will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

Senior CLASS AWARD -- Vote for Maureen!

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

There is no presale -- tickets will only be available at the Cochrane Stadium gate.

THE STARTING XI (ELEVEN SOMEWHAT FASCINATING FALCON FACTS)
• The Falcons have advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Chelsee Washington and Katie Cox scored first-half goals as BGSU downed Buffalo, 2-1, in semifinal-round action at Cochrane Stadium on Thursday night.

• BGSU will play in the league tourney final for the eighth time in program history, a MAC record.

• The Falcons are now 17-7-6 in MAC Tournament matches, and the BGSU is now 9-1-3 in home league tourney contests through the years.

• Friday's victory was the Falcons' 14th win of the season, tying the school record. The 2005 team originally set the mark, with a record of 14-7-2. That club won the first MAC regular-season championship in program history, then went on to capture the league tourney for the second consecutive year. Then, last year's BG bunch went 14-5-3, again winning regular-season and tourney titles.

• BGSU's first goal on Friday night enabled the Falcons to set another record. With two goals on Friday vs. UB, BG has now scored a school-record 45 goals this season. The 'old' record of 43 goals was set in 2017 and matched in 2018.

• BGSU won the MAC regular-season title for the second consecutive year. The Falcons posted a 3-1 win at Toledo (Oct. 31) to clinch the outright crown, with a 10-1-0 league record for the second-straight season. BGSU captured the regular-season title for the third time in the history of the program.

• The 2005 Falcons won the first MAC regular-season championship in program history, finishing with a then program-best 9-2-0 league mark. Last season, the Falcons went 10-1-0 in the MAC to set new school records for conference wins and winning percentage. Both the '05 and '18 teams, like the 2019 club, won outright league titles. With another 10-1-0 league ledger this season, BGSU has become the first program in MAC history to win 10 conference games in back-to-back seasons.

• BGSU opened MAC Tournament play with a 4-1 win over Central Michigan at Cochrane Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 3). In that win, the Falcons tied the school record for goals in a league tournament match. BG also found the net four times in a 4-1 win over Western Michigan in the 2004 tourney's semifinal round.

• BG now has an overall record of 41-17-6 since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season. The Falcons are 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches in Fannon's first three years at the helm, and BG enters the EMU match with a record of 6-1-1 in league tourney games in Fannon's tenure.

• BGSU has met Eastern Michigan five times in MAC Tournament action. The Eagles are tied for the Falcons' most common league tourney opponent. BG is a perfect 5-0-0 in conference tourney action. All five previous BGSU-EMU MAC Tournament matches took place in the quarterfinal round, and all five were one-goal wins for the Falcons.

• BG and EMU met in the league tourney quarterfinal round in 1998, 2000 and '03, with all three taking place in Ypsilanti. Then, the Falcons and Eagles faced off in the quarters in BG in both 2007 and '18.

OFF THE BENCH (A SPECIAL BONUS 12TH NOTE)
• For a span of nearly 20 minutes late in the first half of the Buffalo match, the Falcons' lineup included six freshmen. Lena Kovar, Makenzie Ortman and Audrey Shea were in the starting XI, and they were joined on the field by Katie Cox, Jasmijn Dijsselhof and Kennedy White within the first 24-plus minutes of the half. Cox scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on Friday night.

THE FALCONS ARE...
• 41-17-6 overall since Matt Fannon became head coach prior to the 2017 season;
• 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches in Fannon's first three years at the helm;
• 24-2-1 against the MAC (both regular-season and tournament matches) since the start of the 2018 campaign;
• 37-1-1 when scoring at least two goals in a match in the Fannon Era.
• 19-2-1 in all home matches (both regular-season and tournament) against MAC opposition since Fannon came to BG; and
• 10-1-0 in MAC road matches since the start of the 2018 season. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 32-6, in those 10 games.

THE OPPONENT
• Eastern Michigan is 8-11-2 on the year, and the Eagles finished MAC regular-season play with a 5-6-0 league ledger. The Eagles have won four consecutive matches heading into Sunday. Eastern picked up wins over Buffalo and Central Michigan to end the regular season, securing the seventh seed for the MAC Tournament. Then, the Eagles went on the road and upset second-seeded Ball State, 2-1, in the quarterfinal round. On Friday night, Kristin Hullibarger exploded for four goals as EMU defeated sixth-seeded Ohio, 5-2, at Cochrane Stadium. Hullibarger now has seven goals and a team-high 18 points to pace four double-digit scorers. Sabrina McNeill and Amanda Cripps each have seven goals as well, while Lindsey Shira has scored six. In goal, Mabel Dunn has played in 13 matches and has 70 saves and a 2.25 GAA. Chelsea Abbotts has seen action in eight games, and has a 5-2-0 record, 37 stops and a 1.68 GAA. Abbotts made 13 saves vs. the Bobcats on Friday night. Head coach Scott Hall's club went 10-11-0 overall and 5-6-0 in MAC play a year ago.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Eastern Michigan, 15-12-1, in that series, but BG captured the regular-season meeting with an improbable come-from-behind victory in overtime. Maureen Kennedy scored with just 19.3 seconds remaining in regulation, and Chelsee Washington found the net in overtime as the Falcons posted a 2-1 win just under a month ago (Oct. 13, 2019). BG won a pair of meetings vs. the Eagles last year, with a 1-0 regular-season victory and a 2-1 triumph in the MAC Tournament's quarterfinal round. Both of the 2018 BGSU-EMU matches took place at Cochrane, Nikki Cox scored all three BG goals vs. the Eagles a year ago. Eight of the last nine BGSU-EMU meetings have ended with a 2-1 final score. BG is 5-7-0 at home and 7-8-1 on the road vs. Eastern through the years.

DOWN THE ROAD...
• The BGSU-EMU survivor, as mentioned, earns the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Championship field will be announced on Monday (Nov. 10) afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

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