What To Watch For: EMU Comes to Town as Second Half of MAC Schedule Kicks into High Gear

BGSU vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN – Thursday, October 14
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

FALCONS at CENTRAL MICHIGAN – Sunday, October 17
1:00 p.m. | CMU Soccer Complex | Mount Pleasant, Mich.
• Video/Web Stream: Chippewa All-Access •
• Live Stats: CMUChippewas.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team has moved into a tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference standings with just over half of the league schedule complete. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending MAC champions, host Eastern Michigan University on Thursday evening (Oct. 14), with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a Sunday (Oct. 17) matchup with Central Michigan University. The Falcons and Chippewas will meet in a 1:00 p.m. start at the CMU Soccer Complex.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's EMU match will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. Sunday's CMU contest will be aired via Chippewa All-Access, and will also be free. Live stats will be available for both matches.

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2021 matches will be available on BGSUFalcons.com (on the women's soccer schedule page and at the top of the main page) on game day.

LOOKING TO CONTINUE THAT MAC SUCCESS
• The Falcons have enjoyed great success in MAC play in recent years. BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match in 2017 before falling in overtime, and the Falcons then proceeded to win both the regular-season and tournament titles in both 2018 and '19.

• In 2020 (actually 2020-21), the Falcons went 5-1-0 in MAC regular-season action, then defeated Ball State in the MAC Championship to advance to the NCAA Championships for the third-straight season.

• Entering Thursday's EMU match, the Falcons are 8-1-1 in the last 10 contests vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by a 23-6 count in that span.

• The Falcons have a 52-24-11 overall record since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 35-8-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 42-9-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time.

• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 39-17-10 overall, 29-4-1 in MAC regular-season action and 34-4-3 in all games vs. league opposition.

THE FALCONS SINCE 2017
Year Overall   MAC All MAC* Home Away Neutral
2017 13-7-1 6-4-1 8-5-1 7-2-0   6-4-1   0-1-0
2018 14-5-3   10-1-0   12-1-1 10-1-2   4-4-0   0-0-1
2019 14-6-3   10-1-0   12-1-1 8-1-1   6-5-2   0-0-0
2020(-21)  6-1-1 5-1-0 6-1-0 4-0-0   2-1-0   0-0-1
2021 5-5-3 4-1-1 4-1-1 2-2-2   3-3-1   0-0-0

TOTALS   52-24-11 35-8-2   42-9-4 31-6-5 21-17-4 0-1-2
SINCE '18 39-17-10 29-4-1   34-4-3 24-4-5 15-13-3 0-0-2
* All matches (regular-season & tournament) vs. MAC schools

SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
• The Falcons went a perfect 4-0-0 at Cochrane Stadium in the spring, with all four wins coming against MAC opponents. BGSU outscored the foes, 10-1, in those four matches.

• BGSU enters Thursday's EMU match with a record of 31-6-5 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 24-3-3 against MAC teams at Cochrane Stadium in that time.

• In those 30 contests vs. conference competition, BGSU has outscored the opposition, 63-22.

SUCCESSFUL ON THE ROAD
• Heading into Sunday's CMU match, the Falcons have a record of 18-5-1 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 15-2-0 in conference road contests since the start of the 2018 season, having outscored the opponents, 46-10, in those 17 games.

• The Falcons have scored at least two goals in 14 of those 17 matches, and BG has put at least three goals on the board in 10 of those 17 contests.

97 PERCENT OF THE TIME, SCORING TWO GOALS WORKS EVERY TIME
(alternate title: THE MORE GOALS, THE MORE BETTER)
• It would stand to reason that scoring goals increases a team's chances of winning. For the Falcons, that is most certainly the case.

• Since the start of the 2017 season, BGSU has a record of 47-1-1 when scoring at least two goals in a match. In that time, the Falcons are 5-23-10 when being held to fewer than two goals.

• The Falcons have won 28-straight matches when scoring two or more goals at Cochrane Stadium, since a 4-3 loss to Western Michigan on Oct. 20, 2016.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 5-5-3, and the Falcons are 4-1-1 in MAC play, good for a tie for second place in the 12-team conference heading into Thursday's Eastern Michigan game.

• BG's grueling non-conference schedule saw the Falcons face four Big Ten Conference schools (Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State) as well as one Atlantic Coast Conference member (Notre Dame) and a nationally-ranked Big East Conference foe (Xavier). BGSU also faced Oakland, downing the Golden Grizzlies by a 6-0 count in the fall 2021 home opener.

• The Falcons are 2-2-2 at home and 3-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 23-20, through 13 matches.

• BG has won three-straight matches, including a 2-0 win at Ball State and a 3-1 home victory vs. Miami last week. The latter win enabled the Falcons to leapfrog the RedHawks in the conference standings.

• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox lead the team in scoring. Wolfbauer has eight goals and 17 points to pace BGSU in both categories, and she is the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three goals in last week's two wins.

• Cox has 10 points, including a team-leading six assists, while Lacee Bethea has nine points and Audrey Shea eight. Shea scored the game-winning goal at Ball State on Thursday. Kennedy White has six points this fall.

• Lili Berg has started every match in goal, and has 58 saves and a 1.37 goals-against average. She has a GAA of just 0.80 in MAC play.

• Nikki Cox is the Falcons' active career leader in goals, assists and points. A two-time All-MAC First-Team selection at BGSU, she has 56 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 65 matches as a Falcon. Cox began her collegiate career at UNCW, and scored 16 points on seven goals and two assists in 23 total games for the Seahawks.

• Cox is tied for sixth in BGSU history in career goals scored. She has moved into a tie for 10th in BG annals in assists, and is ninth in career points. Kennedy White is tied for 13th in goals, with 15, and is deadlocked for 15th in scoring, with 37 points in 41 career matches.

• Wolfbauer, a transfer from Illinois, has moved into 15th place on the BG career goals list, with 13. She has scored 27 points in just 21 matches at BGSU.

• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 GAA. She enters the Eastern Michigan match with a career GAA of 1.00 in 1897 minutes played.

THE OPPONENTS
• Eastern Michigan enters Thursday's match with a 2-9-2 record, and the Eagles are 1-4-1 in MAC play. Eastern defeated Northern Illinois, 2-1, before dropping matches to Buffalo (2-1) and Akron (2-0). Madeline Olson and Lindsey Shira each have four points on the season, with Olson scoring a team-high two goals and Shira recording a goal and two assists. Chelsea Abbotts has made 10 starts in goal, including all six MAC matches. She has 56 saves, one shutout and a 1.71 GAA. The Eagles are 1-4-1 at home and 1-4-1 on the road this season to date.

• Central Michigan is 7-5-0 overall, and the Chippewas take a 4-2-0 MAC record into a Thursday match at Toledo. CMU has won four-straight matches, including victories over Akron (3-1) and Buffalo (1-0) last week. Jaelyn Dobrowolski leads a balanced scoring attack with eight points, including a team-high six assists, while Gaelle Wells has six points on three goals this fall. Allison LaPoint has played every second in goal this year, and has 58 saves, six shutouts and a GAA of just 0.80.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Eastern Michigan, 15-12-2, in the all-time series, but BGSU has gone 3-0-1 in the last four matches. The teams' last meeting was a 0-0, double-overtime draw in the 2019 MAC Tournament's championship match at Cochrane Stadium, with BG advancing via PKs. Ten of the last 11 BGSU-EMU matches have been either a one-goal decision or a draw. The Falcons are 5-7-1 at home and 7-8-1 on the road vs. EMU over the years.

• BGSU trails Central Michigan, 14-9-2, in that series, but the Falcons have won the last four meetings, including a 4-1 victory in the teams' last matchup at Cochrane. That came in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 MAC Tournament. BG has won those four matches after CMU captured the prior 11 series meetings from 2006-16. BGSU is 4-7-1 in home matches, 4-7-0 in road meetings and 1-0-1 in neutral-site contests with CMU.

UP NEXT
• Following the CMU match, the Falcons will host preseason MAC favorite Buffalo on Thursday, Oct. 21, before heading to Akron to face the Zips three days later (Oct. 24).

• The Orange and Brown then will wrap up regular-season play with a home match vs. Toledo on Thursday, Oct. 28.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #

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