What To Watch For: BGSU Battles Buffalo

BGSU vs. BUFFALO – Thursday, October 21
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

FALCONS at AKRON – Sunday, October 24
1:00 p.m. | FirstEnergy Stadium | Akron, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN3 •
• Live Stats: GoZips.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, in the thick of the Mid-American Conference title chase, plays two key matches this week. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending MAC champions, host the University at Buffalo – the preseason conference favorite – on Thursday evening (Oct. 21), with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will close out the non-conference portion of the regular-season schedule this weekend, with a Sunday (Oct. 24) matchup with the University of Akron. The Falcons and Zips will meet in a 1:00 p.m. start at FirstEnergy Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's UB match will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. Sunday's UA contest will be streamed via ESPN3. 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.

NUMBER ONE VS. NUMBER TWO
• Thursday's Buffalo match features the teams picked to finish first and second in the MAC standings. UB was tabbed to win the conference in the 2021 preseason coaches poll, with 136 points and seven first-place votes, while the Falcons were picked for second. BG received 132 points and the other five first-place votes.

• The Falcons, the three-time defending MAC champions, are the conference's top-ranked team in the latest RPI rankings. BGSU is 81st in this week's RPI, while UB is the MAC's second-highest team, checking in at 94th.

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 UB match, the Falcons are 10-1-1 in the last 12 contests vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by a 27-6 count in that span.

• The Falcons have a 54-24-11 overall record since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 37-8-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 44-9-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time.

• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 41-17-10 overall, 31-4-1 in MAC regular-season action and 36-4-3 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    7-5-3 6-1-1 6-1-1   3-2-2   4-3-1   0-0-0

TOTALS 54-24-11 37-8-2 44-9-4 32-6-5 22-17-4 0-1-2
SINCE '18 41-17-10 31-4-1 36-4-3 25-4-5 16-13-3 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 UB match with a record of 32-6-5 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 25-3-3 against MAC teams at Cochrane Stadium in that time.

• In those 31 contests vs. conference competition, BGSU has outscored the opposition, 66-22.

SUCCESSFUL ON THE ROAD
• Heading into Sunday's UA match, the Falcons have a record of 19-5-1 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 16-2-0 in conference road contests since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, having outscored the opponents, 47-10, in those 18 games.

• The Falcons have scored at least two goals in 14 of those 18 matches, and BG has put at least three goals on the board in 10 of the 18 road 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 48-1-1 when scoring at least two goals in a match. In that time, the Falcons are 6-23-10 when being held to fewer than two goals.

• The Falcons have won 29-straight matches when scoring two or more goals at Cochrane Stadium, since a 4-3 loss to Western Michigan on Oct. 20, 2016.

TOUGH CROWD
• The Falcons finished the non-conference schedule with a record of 1-4-2. Six of BG's seven non-league opponents currently are in the top 100 in the RPI, with five of those schools in the top 51 and three in the top 20. That trio includes Notre Dame (10th), Xavier (13th) and Michigan (20th).

FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE PACK (FLOCK?) IS THE WOLF(BAUER), AND THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF(BAUER) IS THE PACK (FLOCK?)
• In her first playing season with the Falcons, Madi Wolfbauer led the team in goals and points. She had 10 points on five goals in just eight matches last spring. This fall, she has kicked her game up another notch.

• After finding the net in each of last week's two wins, Wolfbauer now has team-leading totals of 10 goals and 21 points this fall. She has recorded five of BGSU's seven game-winning goals on the season.

• Wolfbauer has 15 goals and 31 points in 23 career matches as a Falcon, and she has 17 points (eight goals, one assist) in 11 career contests at Cochrane Stadium.

• Wolfbauer has scored at least one goal in five consecutive matches, tying the school record. That record was set by Samantha Meister in October of 2002 (Oct. 11-25, 2002) and matched by Erica Hubert late in the 2017 season (Oct. 22-Nov. 5, 2017).

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the week with an overall record of 7-5-3, and the Falcons are 6-1-1 in MAC play, good for a tie for second place in the 12-team conference heading into Thursday's Buffalo game.

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

• The Falcons are 3-2-2 at home and 4-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 27-20, through 15 matches.

• BG has won five-straight matches, including a 3-0 home win over Eastern Michigan and a 1-0 overtime victory at Central Michigan last week. BGSU and Kent State have 19 points, just one behind Ohio, in the conference standings.

• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox lead the team in scoring. Wolfbauer has 10 goals and 21 points to pace BGSU in both categories, and she has scored six goals during the five-match win streak.

• Cox has 13 points, including a team-leading seven assists, while Lacee Bethea has nine points and Audrey Shea eight. Cox had a three-point match vs. EMU, with a goal and an assist. Kennedy White has six points and Katie Cox five.

• Lili Berg has started every match in goal, and has 64 saves and a 1.27 goals-against average. She has a GAA of just 0.60 in MAC play.

• Additional facts and figures can be found in the PDF version of these notes, just a click away at the top of this very page.

THE OPPONENTS
• Buffalo enters Thursday's match with a 10-3-2 record, and the Bulls are 4-2-2 in MAC play. UB topped Western Michigan, 4-3, before tying Northern Illinois, 1-1, last week. Marcy Barberic has 20 points, including eight goals, while Emily Kelly has 51 saves, four shutouts and a 1.18 goals-against average. The Bulls are 4-1-1 at home and 6-2-1 on the road this season to date.

• Akron is 3-12-1 overall, and the Zips take a 1-6-1 MAC record into a Thursday match at Toledo. UA played NIU to a scoreless tie before falling, 2-0, to WMU last week. Katie Stafford paces the offense with four goals and nine points, while Penelope Cuirinier has 75 saves, three clean sheets and a 1.84 GAA. UA is 2-5-1 at home and 1-7-0 on the road.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Buffalo, 17-9-2, in the all-time series, but the Bulls captured last season's meeting, with a 2-1 win in Western New York (March 14, 2021). That snapped a five-match series win streak for the Falcons. In 2019, BGSU won a pair of 2-1 decisions at Cochrane, including a victory in the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament (Nov. 8, 2019). The Falcons are 12-4-0 at home, 4-5-1 on the road and 1-0-0 at neutral sites vs. UB over the years.

• BGSU leads Akron, 13-6-1, in that series, and the Falcons have won the last two meetings, including a 3-0 road win in last season's opening match (March 4, 2021). BG has captured six of the last seven contests with the Zips after going 0-4-1 in the previous five matchups. BGSU is 7-2-1 in home matches and 6-4-0 in road meetings and with UA.

UP NEXT
• Following the Akron match, the Falcons will wrap up regular-season play with a home contest vs. Toledo on Thursday, Oct. 28. That match will begin at 3:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• The MAC Tournament begins on Sunday, Oct. 31, with the semifinals set for Nov. 4 and the championship match on Nov. 7.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #

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