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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Kathleen Duwve, shown here saving a penalty-kick attempt during the 2019 MAC Tournament championship match, has signed a pro contract in Italy
Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications
Duwve Signs Professional Contract in Italy
September 10, 2020 | Women's Soccer
Bowling Green State University women's soccer standout Kathleen Duwve will begin her professional career overseas. Duwve, the starting goalkeeper for the 2018 and '19 Mid-American Conference champions, has signed a contract with Italian side Apulia Trani.
Apulia Trani is a Serie C team in Trani, Italy. Duwve signed a contract in early August, and after applying and receiving a student Visa, she arrived in Trani on the morning of Aug. 31. Duwve will also take classes while in Trani.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to play again and look forward to growing as both a player and as a person these next few months," said Duwve, a native of Sylvania, Ohio.
Upon her arrival, Duwve had to quarantine until she was tested for Covid-19. Following the quarantine period, she was able to begin practicing with the team on Friday (Sept. 4).
Her contract runs through Dec. 31, and she then will have the option to remain with Apulia Trani or be placed on a different team. She is one of three players from the United States on the club.
"With the pandemic, it has been difficult finding teams willing to sign American players, so I am very happy and grateful to Apulia Trani for giving me a chance," said Duwve. "Our goal is to win the division and earn promotion to Serie B, with the long-term goal of moving up to Serie A within the next few years."
Duwve started 44 of BGSU's 45 matches over the last two years, helping the team win both the MAC regular-season and tournament titles in each season. She started all 22 league regular-season matches during that time, as BG went 10-1-0 in conference play each year. The Falcons became the first program in MAC history to win 10 league matches in back-to-back seasons.
Duwve was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2019 after earning all-league first-team honors the previous year. She was named to the OCSA All-Ohio First Team in each of those two seasons, and among numerous other honors, she also was a multi-time Academic All-MAC Team selection.
She won 32 career matches, the second-highest total in school history, but made arguably her biggest saves in a pair of draws at Cochrane Stadium. Both the 2018 and '19 MAC Tournament championship matches required penalty kicks, and in '18, she made a diving save of a Ball State PK that, if successful, would have given the Cardinals the title. BGSU wound up winning the crown after six rounds of PKs.
In 2019, Duwve allowed Eastern Michigan to score just once in four penalty-kick attempts as BGSU again captured the league tourney title to advance to the NCAA Championships.
Duwve set the school records for career winning percentage (64.5%) and goals-against average (1.02), and is ranked among the top-five on all of BGSU's career goalkeeping lists.
A graduate of Sylvania Northview H.S., she was the Northern Lakes League Player of the Year as a senior, helping the Wildcats to the league title. Duwve was an All-Ohio Second-Team selection in her senior campaign.
A biology major at BGSU, she graduated with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.895.
On the pitch, Duwve helped the Falcons to an overall record of 49-28-8, a MAC regular-season mark of 29-13-2 and a 35-14-4 ledger in all games vs. MAC foes during her four seasons with the program.
Over the last three seasons, the Falcons went 41-18-7 overall, 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 32-7-3 in all games vs. conference opposition. BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match in each of the last three seasons, winning the title in both 2018 and '19.
And, in the last two years – with Duwve starting all but one match – BGSU went 28-11-6 overall, 20-2-0 in the MAC and 24-2-2 in all matches vs. league foes. In those two years, the Falcons earned two MAC regular-season titles, two MAC Tournament crowns and two trips to the NCAA Championships.
Apulia Trani is a Serie C team in Trani, Italy. Duwve signed a contract in early August, and after applying and receiving a student Visa, she arrived in Trani on the morning of Aug. 31. Duwve will also take classes while in Trani.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to play again and look forward to growing as both a player and as a person these next few months," said Duwve, a native of Sylvania, Ohio.
Upon her arrival, Duwve had to quarantine until she was tested for Covid-19. Following the quarantine period, she was able to begin practicing with the team on Friday (Sept. 4).
Her contract runs through Dec. 31, and she then will have the option to remain with Apulia Trani or be placed on a different team. She is one of three players from the United States on the club.
"With the pandemic, it has been difficult finding teams willing to sign American players, so I am very happy and grateful to Apulia Trani for giving me a chance," said Duwve. "Our goal is to win the division and earn promotion to Serie B, with the long-term goal of moving up to Serie A within the next few years."
Duwve started 44 of BGSU's 45 matches over the last two years, helping the team win both the MAC regular-season and tournament titles in each season. She started all 22 league regular-season matches during that time, as BG went 10-1-0 in conference play each year. The Falcons became the first program in MAC history to win 10 league matches in back-to-back seasons.Duwve was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 2019 after earning all-league first-team honors the previous year. She was named to the OCSA All-Ohio First Team in each of those two seasons, and among numerous other honors, she also was a multi-time Academic All-MAC Team selection.
She won 32 career matches, the second-highest total in school history, but made arguably her biggest saves in a pair of draws at Cochrane Stadium. Both the 2018 and '19 MAC Tournament championship matches required penalty kicks, and in '18, she made a diving save of a Ball State PK that, if successful, would have given the Cardinals the title. BGSU wound up winning the crown after six rounds of PKs.
In 2019, Duwve allowed Eastern Michigan to score just once in four penalty-kick attempts as BGSU again captured the league tourney title to advance to the NCAA Championships.
Duwve set the school records for career winning percentage (64.5%) and goals-against average (1.02), and is ranked among the top-five on all of BGSU's career goalkeeping lists.
A graduate of Sylvania Northview H.S., she was the Northern Lakes League Player of the Year as a senior, helping the Wildcats to the league title. Duwve was an All-Ohio Second-Team selection in her senior campaign.
A biology major at BGSU, she graduated with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.895.
On the pitch, Duwve helped the Falcons to an overall record of 49-28-8, a MAC regular-season mark of 29-13-2 and a 35-14-4 ledger in all games vs. MAC foes during her four seasons with the program.
Over the last three seasons, the Falcons went 41-18-7 overall, 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 32-7-3 in all games vs. conference opposition. BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match in each of the last three seasons, winning the title in both 2018 and '19.
And, in the last two years – with Duwve starting all but one match – BGSU went 28-11-6 overall, 20-2-0 in the MAC and 24-2-2 in all matches vs. league foes. In those two years, the Falcons earned two MAC regular-season titles, two MAC Tournament crowns and two trips to the NCAA Championships.
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