What To Watch For: Falcons Face #8/9 U-M in NCAA First Round

Friday, November 12

Ann Arbor, MI

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

#8/9 Michigan (First Round)

Tickets

BGSU vs Kent State Women's Soccer Mac Championship November 7 2021

Photo by: Colton Spearman, BGSU Marketing & Communications

November 10, 2021 | Women's Soccer

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BGSU meets the Wolverines Friday evening in Ann Arbor

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU at #8/9 MICHIGAN – Friday, November 12
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FIRST ROUND
6:00 p.m. | U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Video/Web Stream: NCAA.com •
• Live Stats: NCAA.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team returns to the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive season. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons travel to Ann Arbor for a Friday (Nov. 12) meeting with the University of Michigan. First touch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at U-M Soccer Stadium.

>>> JOIN THE FALCONS FOR AN NCAA SEND OFF! Thursday (Nov. 11) at 11:30 a.m. on the west side of Doyt Perry Stadium (near Gate 3)

TICKETS
• Tickets for Friday's are on sale now, and may be purchased in the following ways...
   • Online at MGoBlue.com/tickets
   • By phone (734-764-0247 or 1-866-296-6849)
   • In person at the U-M Ticket Office (1000 S. State Street in Ann Arbor)

• Tickets are $8 for reserved seats, $6 for general admission, and $3 for students. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $3 each.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• If you can't make it to Ann Arbor, Friday's match will be streamed via NCAA.com. Live stats will be available as well.

• 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.

RANKINGS
• Michigan is ninth in the nation in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, and the Wolverines are number-one in the USC's North Region. U-M is also ranked in the College Soccer News (#8) and Top Drawer Soccer (#14) listings.

• BGSU is fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Midwest Region rankings.

THE FALCONS AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Falcons have qualified for the NCAA Championships for the sixth time in program history, and the fourth time in as many seasons. BGSU advanced to the national tournament in 2004 and 2005. The '04 team was seeded eighth in the MAC Tournament, but outscored opponents by an 8-2 aggregate en route to three upset wins. Leading scorer (and BGSU women's soccer's first-ever Hall-of-Fame member) Kristy Coppes was injured in the league tourney final and missed the NCAA match, a 2-0 loss to Ohio State in Columbus.

• The 2005 club, led by coach Andy Richards, was the first team in school history to win both the MAC regular-season and tournament crowns. The '05 squad did not allow a goal in MAC Tournament play, but twice went to penalty kicks after scoreless draws, advancing past their opponent on both occasions.

• The Falcons were sent to South Bend, Ind., to face Michigan State in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. In a match that was much, much (much) closer than the score indicated, BG fell, 4-0. The Falcons outshot the Spartans, 8-1, in a scoreless first half, and it was a one-goal game until less than 20 minutes remained in the match.

• In 2018, Matt Fannon's club went a program-best 10-1-0 in MAC regular-season play, then won a pair of one-goal matches in league tourney action before advancing past Ball State via PKs in the championship match. The title came after BGSU goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve made a diving save when a BSU goal would have clinched the crown for the Cardinals.

• BGSU headed to Penn State for the first round. The Falcons saw an early goal nullified due to an offside call, then fell behind by a pair of goals after 15 minutes. Erica Hubert scored the first NCAA Tournament goal in program history midway through the opening half, off of a Nikki Cox assist, but the Nittany Lions got a pair of goals in the latter half of the second period to seal a 4-1 victory.

• In 2019, Duwve and the Falcons again went 10-1-0 in MAC regular-season play, again advanced to the league tourney final and again advanced via PKs, this time against Eastern Michigan. BGSU headed to Ann Arbor for the NCAAs, and the Brown and Orange took the lead against #19 Michigan on a Chelsee Washington goal, before the Wolverines rallied for a 2-1 win.

• The spring of 2021 saw the Falcons top BSU, 2-1, in the MAC championship, then battle Ole Miss to a scoreless draw in the NCAA Championships. The Rebels outlasted the Falcons after seven rounds of PKs.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
• The Falcons won the MAC regular-season title in 2021, then defeated Buffalo, 1-0, in the league tournament's semifinal round on Thursday (Nov. 4) at Cochrane Stadium.

• Lacee Bethea scored BG's goal vs. the Bulls, and she also found the back of the net against Kent State in a 3-0 win in the tourney final on Sunday (Nov. 7). Nikki Cox opened the scoring in the seventh minute, recording what would prove to be the game-winner, and Audrey Shea and Bethea added second-half goals to seal the deal.

• The three-goal win over KSU was BGSU's largest margin of victory in a MAC Tournament final in program history.

• Lili Berg made a total of seven saves en route to the two tourney shutouts.

• BGSU now has an overall record of 20-7-7 in MAC Tournament matches. The Falcons' total of 20 wins is the second-highest of any conference team (Miami has 21), and BG's .691 winning percentage is the best of all league schools.

• Bethea was named the MAC Tournament's MVP, while Cox, Shea and Madi Wolfbauer joined her on the MAC All-Tournament Team.

• BGSU has advanced to the league tourney final in five-straight seasons and 10 times overall, winning six titles. All three numbers are MAC records.

SUCCESS AGAINST THE MAC
• Obviously, 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. And, BGSU captured the MAC's regular-season title this fall, before beating Buffalo and Kent State by a combined 4-0 score in the league tournament.

• Through the 2021 season, the Falcons are 14-2-1 in the last 17 contests vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by a 35-7 count in that span.

• The Falcons have a 58-25-11 overall record since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 39-9-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 48-10-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time.

• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 45-18-10 overall, 33-5-1 in MAC regular-season action and 40-5-3 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 11-6-3 8-2-1   10-2-1 6-3-2 5-3-1   0-0-0

TOTALS   58-25-11  39-9-2   48-10-4 35-7-5  23-17-4  0-1-2
SINCE 2018  45-18-10  33-5-1   40-5-3   28-5-5  17-13-3  0-0-2
* All matches (regular-season & tournament) vs. MAC schools

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU currently owns an overall record of 11-6-3. The Falcons went 8-2-1 in MAC play to win the league's regular-season title yet again, and BG then blistered Buffalo and Kent State to capture the conference crown.

• The Falcons have won the MAC regular-season and tournament titles in each of the last four seasons.

• BG entered the final day of the regular season in third place, just one point behind co-leaders Kent State and Ohio, but the Falcons leapfrogged both the Golden Flashes and Bobcats with a 1-0 overtime win over Toledo, coupled with a KSU-Ohio scoreless tie.

• Last Thursday (Nov. 4), Lacee Bethea's first-half goal proved to be all the Falcons would need, as BG downed Buffalo in MAC Tournament semifinal-round action at Cochrane Stadium.

• Three days later, Nikki Cox scored in the seventh minute to lift BG to a 3-0 win over Kent State in the league tourney championship match.

• BG's grueling non-conference schedule saw the Falcons face four Big Ten schools
as well as one ACC member and a nationally-ranked Big East foe. Five of BGSU's seven non-league opponents currently are in the top 58 in the RPI, including Michigan (fifth), Xavier (11th), Notre Dame (16th), Ohio State (39th) and Michigan State (58th). BGSU played both XU and MSU to 1-1 draws.

• The Falcons went 6-3-2 at home and are 5-3-1 on the road this season. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 35-21, through 20 matches, including 23-6 in 13 matches vs. conference foes (regular-season and tournament).

• In MAC play, BGSU went 3-2-1 at home and 5-0-0 on the road, outscoring opponents, 19-6.

• BG has won nine of the last 10 matches, including a 3-0 win at Akron and the 1-0 victory over Toledo to end the regular season. The Falcons finished the road portion of the MAC schedule with that aforementioned 5-0-0 record.

• All-MAC First-Team repeat performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox lead the team in scoring. Wolfbauer has 10 goals and 22 points to pace BGSU in both categories, and she recently tied the school record by scoring at least one goal in five consecutive matches.

• Cox has 20 points this fall. She has been involved in the scoring of the game-winning goal in each of BGSU's last four matches, with goals vs. Akron, Toledo (in overtime; the first 'Golden Goal' of her BGSU career) and Kent State and an assist against Buffalo. She leads the club with eight assists.

• Bethea has 15 points and Audrey Shea 10. Bethea has seven goals to rank second on the team. She scored in both MAC Tournament wins, while Shea – who joined Cox and Wolfbauer on the All-MAC First Team – found the net in the win over KSU. Kennedy White has six points on the year, while Katie Cox, Jasmijn Dijsselhof and Lynsey Spotts have five each.

• Lili Berg has started every match in goal, and has 78 saves and a 0.94 goals-against average. She had a GAA of just 0.54 in MAC play. Berg was named to the All-MAC Second Team for the second time in as many seasons with the Falcons.

• 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. Cox – the first three-time All-MAC First-Team selection in BGSU history – now has 66 points (24 goals, 18 assists) in 71 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 has moved into sole possession of fourth place in BGSU history in career points. She is fifth in career goals scored and is tied for seventh in career assists. White is tied for 13th in goals, with 15, and is deadlocked for 15th in scoring, with 37 points in 45 career matches.

• Wolfbauer, a transfer from Illinois, has moved into a tie for 13th place on the BG career goals list, with 15. She has scored 32 points in just 28 matches at BGSU, tying her for 19th on that career chart.

• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 GAA in the spring. She enters the Michigan match with a career GAA of 0.79 in 2524 minutes played. Berg has been a part of 16 shutouts in 28 career starts at BGSU.

• Cox, as mentioned, was named to the All-MAC First Team earlier this week, earning that honor for a third time. Wolfbauer and Shea joined her on the first team, while Berg earned all-league second-team accolades.

• Wolfbauer was named the MAC's Offensive Player of the Year, the fourth Falcon to earn that award in the last five seasons. She has earned All-MAC First-Team accolades in each of her two playing seasons with the Orange and Brown.

• Shea was named to the first team after earning second-team honors in each of her first two seasons with BGSU. Berg, in her second season with the Falcons, now has been named to the all-conference second team in both years.

• Bethea was named the MAC Tournament MVP, and was joined on the all-tourney team by Nikki Cox, Shea and Wolfbauer.

THE OPPONENT
• Michigan is 15-3-3 overall. The Wolverines went 6-2-2 in Big Ten Conference play to finish third, then reeled off three wins in the conference tournament to capture the crown. Overall, U-M has won five-straight matches heading into Friday. Raleigh Loughman and Nicki Hernandez have 25 and 21 points, respectively. Loughman has nine goals and seven assists, and Hernandez has eight and five. In net, Hillary Beall has six shutouts, 75 saves and a GAA of 0.85 on the year. U-M is 9-1-1 at home, 5-2-2 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site matches this fall.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Michigan, 4-0-0, in the all-time series, and all four prior meetings have taken place in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won 2-0 regular-season decisions in both 2014 and 2019, then downed the Falcons by a 2-1 score in the '19 NCAA Championships. The teams met earlier this season, with U-M capturing another 2-1 contest (Aug. 22, 2021). Each of the last three BGSU-Michigan matches has been tied entering the 75th minute.

UP NEXT
• The BGSU-Michigan winner will face either Wake Forest or Harvard in the NCAA Championships second round on Friday, Nov. 19.
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# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #