What To Watch For: Falcons Face Flashes in the Final

BGSU vs. KENT STATE – Sunday, November 7
MAC TOURNAMENT FINAL
1:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN+ •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, after a win in the Mid-American Conference tournament's semifinal round, returns to the championship match for the fifth consecutive season. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the top seed for the conference tourney, will meet third-seeded Kent State University on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 7), with first touch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• The winner of Sunday's match will earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

TICKETS
Ticket prices for this weekend's MAC Tournament are as follows...
   • All-tournament pass ................... $10.00
   • Adult tickets .................. $6.00 per day
   • Youth tickets (age 12 & under) . $2.00 per day
   • College students ...................... Free ^
   ^ students from the participating schools must present a valid MAC institution ID

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• If you can't make it to Cochrane Stadium, Sunday's championship match will be streamed via ESPN+. 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.

FALCONS IN THE FINAL
• BGSU has advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament for the fifth-straight season. The Falcons are the first team in league history to qualify for the final in five consecutive years.

• Overall, the Falcons are appearing in the final for the 10th time, also a MAC record. Miami is second with seven championship-match appearances, while Western Michigan has made it to the final six times.

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters the Kent State match with an all-time record of 19-7-7 in MAC Tournament matches. The Falcons' .682 winning percentage is the highest among all MAC schools, and BG's total of 19 MAC Tournament victories ranks second in the conference.

• The 2021 season marks the fifth time the Falcons have been the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament. BGSU has a record of 7-0-4 as the top seed. On the first such occasion, the 2005 team did not allow a goal from scrimmage en route to the tourney title, but BG battled Toledo (quarterfinals) and Kent State (final) to scoreless draws before advancing via penalty kicks.

• In 2018, top-seeded BGSU downed Eastern Michigan, 2-1, in the quarterfinal round before topping Ohio, 1-0, in the semifinals. The 2018 championship match saw BGSU and Ball State play to a 1-1 draw before the Falcons advanced via PKs.

• In 2019, BGSU downed Central Michigan, 4-1, before besting Buffalo, 2-1, to advance to the finals. Again, the championship match saw the teams play to a draw. This time, EMU was the opponent, and the score after 110 minutes was 0-0, but once again, BGSU advanced via PKs.

• In the spring of 2021, the Falcons defeated BSU, 2-1 in regulation, in the MAC's championship match. Following Thursday's semifinal-round win over Buffalo, BGSU has now advanced to the MAC Tournament final a league-record 10 times.

• BGSU qualified for the MAC Tournament just twice during the first five years of the program, before making the tourney in seven-straight seasons from 2002-08. The Falcons advanced to at least the semifinal round in six of those seven years.

• The Falcons have had a knack for pulling off upset victories in the MAC Tournament over the years. BGSU was seeded either seventh or eighth for the league tourney in 2000, 2003 and 2004, but advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match in all three seasons, winning the title in '04.

• That 2004 MAC Tournament crown was the first in program history. Then, in 2005, BGSU captured both the regular-season and tournament crowns, winning the league tourney title at Cochrane Stadium, and the 2018 and '19 clubs repeated that feat.

• After making the MAC Tournament in seven-straight seasons, BG then went eight years in a row (2009-16) without qualifying. The Falcons returned to the league tournament in 2017, downing UB and upsetting top-seeded Kent State to advance to the final.

• BGSU is 11-1-4 at home, 5-3-1 on the road and 3-3-2 in neutral-site matches in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons are 10-1-1 in the quarterfinal round, 7-3-2 in the semifinals and 2-3-4 in championship-match appearances.

• Seven of BGSU's MAC Tournament matches have required penalty kicks, and the Falcons advanced past the opponent in six of those seven matches, meaning that BG has survived and advanced in 25 of 33 league tourney contests.

THE FALCONS VS. KSU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters Sunday's match with a record of 2-0-1 vs. Kent State in the MAC Tournament, including an 0-0-1 mark at Cochrane Stadium and a 2-0-0 record on the road.

• In the quarterfinal round in 2004, the eighth-seeded Falcons went on the road and upset top-seeded KSU, 2-1 in overtime, and BG went on to pull two more upsets to win the title. The next season, BGSU was the top seed while KSU was seeded seventh, and the teams battled through a scoreless draw in the championship match, before the Falcons advanced via penalty kicks.

• The teams met four years ago (2017) in the semifinal round, with BG the number-four seed and KSU the top seed. The Falcons picked up a 2-1 road victory.

LOOKING TO CONTINUE THAT MAC SUCCESS
• The Falcons have enjoyed great success in MAC play in recent years. As mentioned earlier, 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 has captured the MAC's regular-season title in 2021.

• Entering Sunday's KSU match, the Falcons are 13-2-1 in the last 16 contests vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by a 32-7 count in that span.

• The Falcons have a 57-25-11 overall record since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 39-9-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 47-10-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time.

• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 44-18-10 overall, 33-5-1 in MAC regular-season action and 39-5-3 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 10-6-3 8-2-1 9-2-1   5-3-2 5-3-1   0-0-0

TOTALS   57-25-11  39-9-2   47-10-4   34-7-5   23-17-4 0-1-2
SINCE '18 44-18-10  33-5-1   39-5-3   27-5-5   17-13-3   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 KSU match with a record of 34-7-5 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 27-4-3 against MAC teams at Cochrane Stadium in that time.

• In those 34 contests vs. conference competition, BGSU has outscored the opposition, 68-23.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• BGSU currently owns an overall record of 10-6-3, and the Falcons went 8-2-1 in MAC play to win the league's regular-season title yet again. 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.

• Then, on Thursday afternoon, 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.

• 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 55 in the RPI, including Xavier (seventh), Michigan (10th), Notre Dame (14th), Ohio State (39th) and Michigan State (55th). BGSU played both XU and MSU to 1-1 draws.

• The Falcons are 5-3-2 at home and 5-3-1 on the road this season. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 32-21, through 19 matches, including 20-6 in 12 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 eight of the last nine matches, including a 3-0 win at Akron and the aforementioned 1-0 victories over UT and UB. 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 21 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 18 points this fall. She scored the game-winning goal at Akron and against UT – the latter goal was the first 'Golden Goal' of her BGSU career – and she leads the club with eight assists (including one on Thursday vs. UB). Bethea has 13 points and Audrey Shea eight. Bethea has six goals to rank second on the team. Kennedy White has six points and Katie Cox and Lynsey Spotts five each

• Lili Berg has started every match in goal, and has 73 saves and a 0.99 goals-against average. She had a GAA of just 0.54 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. Cox – the first three-time All-MAC First-Team selection in BGSU history – now has 64 points (23 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 fifth place in BGSU history in career goals scored. She is tied for sixth in career points and deadlocked for seventh in career assists. White is tied for 13th in goals, with 15, and is tied 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 31 points in just 27 matches at BGSU, ranking 20th on that career chart.

• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 GAA in the spring. She enters the KSU kerfuffle with a career GAA of 0.82 in 2434 minutes played.

• 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.

THE OPPONENT
• Kent State is 13-4-3 overall, and the Golden Flashes finished MAC regular-season play with a 7-1-3 league ledger. KSU tied for second in the conference, and the third-seeded Flashes have scored seven goals in a pair of MAC Tournament wins (4-2 over Toledo, 3-2 vs. Ohio). The Flashes are unbeaten in the last nine matches, having gone 7-0-2 since suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to the Falcons on Oct. 3. Cameron Shedenhelm and Karly Hellstrom are two of the top strikers in the MAC, with 30 and 25 points, respectively. Shedenhelm has a team-leading 12 goals, while Hellstrom paces the Flashes with 11 assists. Sarah Melen has started all 20 matches in goal, and has six shutouts, 89 saves and a GAA of 1.32, but Melen received a red card in Thursday's win over Ohio. Heidi Marshall has played 36 minutes, including 17 on Thursday, and picked up the win vs. the Bobcats. KSU went 6-2-1 at home and is 6-2-2 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site matches this fall to date.

THE SERIES
• BGSU leads Kent State, 17-7-5, in the all-time series, and the Falcons have captured the last six meetings, including a 3-2 road win in this season's regular-season contest (Oct. 3, 2021). In the teams' last matchup at Cochrane, the Falcons exploded for five goals in a 5-0 win last season (March 21, 2021). BGSU is 8-2-5 in home games and 9-5-0 in road meetings with KSU. BGSU is 2-0-1 against the Flashes in MAC Tournament matchups, including a 0-0-1 mark at home and an 0-0-1 record in the championship match.

UP NEXT
• The BGSU-KSU winner will earn the MAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

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