What To Watch For: Falcons Face BSU, Miami This Week

Thursday, October 7

Muncie, IN

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Ball State

Audrey Shea scored the Falcons' second goal in the win at KSU on Sunday

Photo by: Gabby Kingston, KSU Athletics

October 06, 2021 | Women's Soccer

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MAC Championship Rematch in Muncie Thursday; Then Senior Day & Alumnae Day at Cochrane on Sunday

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FALCONS at BALL STATE – Thursday, October 7
4:00 p.m. | Briner Sports Complex | Muncie, Ind.
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN3 •
• Live Stats: BallStateSports.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

BGSU vs. MIAMI – Sunday, October 10
1:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the month of October with a rematch of last season's Mid-American Conference championship. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending MAC champions, head to Muncie for a Thursday (Oct. 7) matchup with Ball State University. First touch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Briner Sports Complex.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home for a Sunday (Oct. 10) matchup with Miami University. The Falcons and RedHawks will meet in a 1:00 p.m. start on Senior Day / Alumnae Day at Cochrane Stadium.

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

SENIOR DAY / ALUMNAE DAY
• Sunday will be Senior Day at Cochrane Stadium, and a total of nine team members will be recognized. That group includes Lili Berg, Nikki Cox, Zoe Hudson, Ruby Linton, Alexis Miller, Rachel Muller, Mackenzie Reuber, Lynsey Spotts and Madi Wolfbauer.

• It will also be Alumnae Day, with a number of Falcon greats from the first quarter century of the program expected to be on hand.

• BGSU has won five consecutive 'Senior Day' games since dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to Western Michigan on Oct. 25, 2015.
RECENT SENIOR DAY/NIGHT MATCHES
Season Date Opponent Result
2020(-21)  March 21, 2021  Kent State W, 5-0
2019 Sept. 29, 2019  Buffalo W, 2-1
2018 Sept. 16, 2018  Youngstown State W, 6-0
2017     Sept. 10, 2017  Wright State W, 2-0
2016 Oct. 23, 2016 Northern Illinois W, 2-0

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
• Thursday's game at Ball State is a rematch of the 2020(-21) MAC Championship, which was played at Cochrane Stadium less than six months ago. On April 17, Katie Cox scored midway through the second half to break a 1-1 tie, and the Falcons went on to a 2-1 win.

• The Falcons and Cardinals have met in two of the last three conference championship contests. BGSU and BSU battled to a 1-1 draw in the 2018 final (Nov. 4, 2018), before the Falcons advanced past the Cardinals via penalty kicks.

TOUGH CROWD
• The Falcons finished the non-conference schedule with a record of 1-4-2. Six of BGSU's seven non-league opponents currently are in the top 77 in the RPI, with three of those schools (Michigan, Xavier and Notre Dame) in the top 21, and two (U-M and XU) in the top eight.

SUCCESSFUL IN THE MAC
• 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 BSU match, the Falcons have a 50-24-11 overall record since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 33-8-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 40-9-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time.

• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 37-17-10 overall, 27-4-1 in MAC regular-season action and 32-4-3 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 3-5-3   2-1-1   2-1-1   1-2-2 2-3-1   0-0-0

TOTALS 50-24-11 33-8-2 40-9-4 30-6-5 20-17-4 0-1-2
SINCE 2018 37-17-10 27-4-1 32-4-3 23-4-5 14-13-3 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 Sunday's Miami match with a record of 30-6-5 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 23-3-3 against MAC teams at Cochrane Stadium in that time.

• In those 29 contests vs. conference competition, BGSU has outscored the opposition, 60-21.

SUCCESSFUL ON THE ROAD
• Heading into Thursday's BSU match, the Falcons have a record of 17-5-1 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 14-2-0 in conference road contests since the start of the 2018 season, having outscored the opponents, 44-10, in those 16 games.

• The Falcons have scored at least two goals in 13 of those 16 matches, and BG has put at least three goals on the board in 10 of those 16 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 45-1-1 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 27-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 3-5-3, and the Falcons are 2-1-1 in MAC play. BG is one of four teams tied for third place in the 12-team conference heading into Thursday's Ball State 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 1-2-2 at home and 2-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has been outscored, 19-18, through 11 matches.

• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox lead the team in scoring, with 11 and nine points, respectively. Wolfbauer has five goals to pace BGSU in that category, while Cox has two goals and a team-leading five assists.

Lacee Bethea has eight points, including four goals to rank second on the team, while Audrey Shea has six points and Kennedy White five.

• Lili Berg has started every match in goal, and has 46 saves and a 1.52 goals-against average. She has a GAA of 0.95 in MAC play.

• The Falcons returned 19 letterwinners, including all 11 starters, from last season's club. The 2020(-21) Falcons went 6-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 in MAC play, outscoring opponents by a 17-3 count in the spring.

• The returning players combined for 100 percent of the goals and 90.9% (all but one) of the assists in the spring, and Berg played approximately 96% of the minutes between the posts.

• The Falcons were picked to finish second in the MAC's regular-season race in 2021. BGSU received 132 total points and five first-place votes. Buffalo was tabbed to win the conference, with 136 total points and seven first-place votes. BGSU received six votes to win the MAC Tournament, while UB garnered four.

• 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 55 points (20 goals, 15 assists) in 63 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 11th in BG annals in assists, and is ninth in career points. Kennedy White is tied for 13th in goals, with 15, and is 16th in scoring, with 36 points in 39 career matches.

• Wolfbauer, a transfer from Illinois, has moved into a tie for 16th on the BGSU list for goals, with 10. She has scored 21 points in just 19 matches at BGSU.

• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 GAA. She enters the Ball State match with a career GAA of 1.05 in 1717 minutes played.

THE OPPONENTS
• Ball State enters Thursday's match with a 4-5-1 record, and the Cardinals are 2-1-1 in MAC play after Sunday's 3-1 win over Akron. Chelcy Ralph leads a balanced scoring attack with four goals and eight points. Alex DeRuvo has started all 10 matches in goal, and has 33 saves and a 1.69 GAA. The Cardinals are 2-1-1 at home and 2-4-0 on the road this season to date.

• Miami is 6-3-3 overall, and the RedHawks take a 3-1-0 MAC record into a Thursday match vs. Toledo. MU defeated UA (3-0) before falling to Buffalo, 2-1, last week. Haley Anspach and Julia Hoffman lead the RedHawks in scoring with nine and eight points, respectively. In goal, Izzie Vaccari has 32 saves, six shutouts and a GAA of just 0.78.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Ball State, 15-5-4, in the all-time series, but BGSU has gone 2-1-1 in the last four matches, including a 2-1 win at Cochrane Stadium in last season's MAC Championship (April 17, 2021). BGSU picked up a 3-0 win in the Falcons' last trip to Muncie, over three years ago (Sept. 23, 2018). The Falcons are 3-8-1 at home and 2-7-3 on the road vs. the Cardinals.

• BGSU trails Miami, 13-11-3, in that series, but the Falcons have won the last four meetings, including a 2-0 victory at Cochrane in the spring (March 18, 2021). BG lost eight-straight matches to begin the series, then won the next seven matchups with Miami from 2003-08. Then, MU went 5-0-3 vs. BGSU from 2009-16, before the Falcons' current four-match win streak. BGSU is 7-5-1 in home matches, 4-7-2 in road meetings and 0-1-0 in neutral-site contests with MU over the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the Miami match, the Falcons will host Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 14, before heading to Mount Pleasant to meet Central Michigan three days later (Oct. 17).

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #