Bowling Green State University Athletics
Thursday, August 19
South Bend, IN
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Notre Dame
Rachel Muller & the Falcons open the 2021 regular-season schedule on Thursday night at Notre Dame
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
What To Watch For: Falcons Head to Notre Dame, Michigan as Regular Season Gets Underway
August 18, 2021 | Women's Soccer
FALCONS at NOTRE DAME – Thursday, August 19
7:00 p.m. | Alumni Stadium | Notre Dame, Ind.
• Video/Web Stream: ACC Network Extra ($$) •
• Live Stats: UND.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •
FALCONS at RV MICHIGAN – Sunday, August 22
7:00 p.m. | U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Video/Web Stream: Big Ten Network+ ($$) •
• Live Stats: MGoBlue.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the 2021 regular season with a pair of road matches this week. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, face the University of Notre Dame on Thursday evening (Aug. 19), with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
• Then, on Sunday night (Aug. 22), the Orange and Brown will venture to Ann Arbor to face the University of Michigan. That match is also scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start, at U-M Soccer Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's Notre Dame match is scheduled to be streamed via ACC Network Extra (ACCNX). Sunday's Michigan contest will be available via Big Ten Network Plus (BTN+).
• Live stats for both matches will be available, and twitter updates will be available at @BGSUwsoc.
• 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.
FUN FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons return 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 goalkeeper Lili Berg played approximately 96% of the minutes between the posts.
• Berg and the Falcons tied for first in the entire nation in shutout percentage (.750) last season, recording six shutouts in eight matches. BG earned the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season.
• BGSU was a perfect 4-0-0 at home last season, outscoring opponents, 10-1, at Cochrane Stadium. The Orange and Brown went 2-1-0 in true road matches and 0-0-1 in neutral-site contests.
• That neutral-site match came in the NCAA Championships, where BGSU battled Ole Miss to a scoreless draw before the Rebels advanced via penalty kicks.
• 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 picked 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 and Madi Wolfbauer each return after being named to both the All-MAC First Team and the USC All-Region First Team. Wolfbauer led the Falcons in scoring with five goals and 10 points in last year's eight matches.
• Cox is just the third player in program history to be named to the all-region first team on two occasions.
• Berg, Jasmijn Dijsselhof and Audrey Shea each were named to the All-MAC Second Team last season. Berg and Kennedy White each landed on the USC All-Region Second Team.
• White was second on the team in scoring with four goals and nine points, while Katie Cox had seven points, including three goals. Cox, the younger sister of Nikki Cox, has scored the game-winning goal in each of the last three games in which she has seen action. She has five career goals, and four have proven to be the GWG.
• 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 scored 46 points (18 goals, 10 assists) in 51 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.
• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 goals-against average. She earned four complete-match shutouts in her eight starts, and played at least 71 minutes of two other clean sheets.Â
• Entering the Notre Dame match, BGSU is 47-19-8 overall, 31-7-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 38-8-3 in all games vs. conference foes since the start of the 2017 season.
• Since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 34-12-7 overall, 25-3-0 in MAC regular-season action and 30-3-2 in all games vs. league opposition.
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUWSoccer), Instagram (bgsuwsoccer) and Facebook (bgsuwsoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
THE OPPONENTSÂ
• Notre Dame won a pair of scrimmages vs. Big Ten opposition, defeating Ohio State (3-2) and Illinois (4-0). The Fighting Irish finished the 2020-21 campaign with an overall record of 6-7-0 and an Atlantic Coast Conference mark of 4-5-0. The nine ACC matches were played in the fall of 2020, with the four non-league tilts coming in March and April of 2021.
• Michigan went 5-3-3 in the spring of 2021, with all 11 contests coming against Big Ten competition. The Wolverines, who received votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, open the regular season at Butler on Thursday night before hosting the Falcons three days later.
• Former Falcon Tiffany Hansen is an assistant coach at U-M. Hansen, a goalkeeper, played two seasons (2006-07) for the Falcons before spending three seasons on the BGSU coaching staff under Andy Richards.
THE SERIES
• BGSU will be meeting Notre Dame for the first time.
• The Falcons trail Michigan, 3-0-0, in that series, with all three prior meetings taking place in Ann Arbor. The most recent matchup saw the Wolverines post a 2-1, come-from-behind win in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Championships (Nov. 15, 2019).
UP NEXT
• Following the Michigan match, the Falcons will travel to Ohio State on Thursday, Aug. 26.
• The home opener is set for three days later – Sunday, Aug. 29 – when Oakland comes to town for a 2:00 p.m. contest at Cochrane Stadium.
# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #
7:00 p.m. | Alumni Stadium | Notre Dame, Ind.
• Video/Web Stream: ACC Network Extra ($$) •
• Live Stats: UND.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •
FALCONS at RV MICHIGAN – Sunday, August 22
7:00 p.m. | U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Video/Web Stream: Big Ten Network+ ($$) •
• Live Stats: MGoBlue.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the 2021 regular season with a pair of road matches this week. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, face the University of Notre Dame on Thursday evening (Aug. 19), with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
• Then, on Sunday night (Aug. 22), the Orange and Brown will venture to Ann Arbor to face the University of Michigan. That match is also scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start, at U-M Soccer Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's Notre Dame match is scheduled to be streamed via ACC Network Extra (ACCNX). Sunday's Michigan contest will be available via Big Ten Network Plus (BTN+).
• Live stats for both matches will be available, and twitter updates will be available at @BGSUwsoc.
• 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.
FUN FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons return 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 goalkeeper Lili Berg played approximately 96% of the minutes between the posts.
• Berg and the Falcons tied for first in the entire nation in shutout percentage (.750) last season, recording six shutouts in eight matches. BG earned the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season.
• BGSU was a perfect 4-0-0 at home last season, outscoring opponents, 10-1, at Cochrane Stadium. The Orange and Brown went 2-1-0 in true road matches and 0-0-1 in neutral-site contests.
• That neutral-site match came in the NCAA Championships, where BGSU battled Ole Miss to a scoreless draw before the Rebels advanced via penalty kicks.
• 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 picked 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 and Madi Wolfbauer each return after being named to both the All-MAC First Team and the USC All-Region First Team. Wolfbauer led the Falcons in scoring with five goals and 10 points in last year's eight matches.
• Cox is just the third player in program history to be named to the all-region first team on two occasions.
• Berg, Jasmijn Dijsselhof and Audrey Shea each were named to the All-MAC Second Team last season. Berg and Kennedy White each landed on the USC All-Region Second Team.
• White was second on the team in scoring with four goals and nine points, while Katie Cox had seven points, including three goals. Cox, the younger sister of Nikki Cox, has scored the game-winning goal in each of the last three games in which she has seen action. She has five career goals, and four have proven to be the GWG.
• 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 scored 46 points (18 goals, 10 assists) in 51 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.
• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 goals-against average. She earned four complete-match shutouts in her eight starts, and played at least 71 minutes of two other clean sheets.Â
• Entering the Notre Dame match, BGSU is 47-19-8 overall, 31-7-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 38-8-3 in all games vs. conference foes since the start of the 2017 season.
• Since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 34-12-7 overall, 25-3-0 in MAC regular-season action and 30-3-2 in all games vs. league opposition.
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUWSoccer), Instagram (bgsuwsoccer) and Facebook (bgsuwsoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
THE OPPONENTSÂ
• Notre Dame won a pair of scrimmages vs. Big Ten opposition, defeating Ohio State (3-2) and Illinois (4-0). The Fighting Irish finished the 2020-21 campaign with an overall record of 6-7-0 and an Atlantic Coast Conference mark of 4-5-0. The nine ACC matches were played in the fall of 2020, with the four non-league tilts coming in March and April of 2021.
• Michigan went 5-3-3 in the spring of 2021, with all 11 contests coming against Big Ten competition. The Wolverines, who received votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, open the regular season at Butler on Thursday night before hosting the Falcons three days later.
• Former Falcon Tiffany Hansen is an assistant coach at U-M. Hansen, a goalkeeper, played two seasons (2006-07) for the Falcons before spending three seasons on the BGSU coaching staff under Andy Richards.
THE SERIES
• BGSU will be meeting Notre Dame for the first time.
• The Falcons trail Michigan, 3-0-0, in that series, with all three prior meetings taking place in Ann Arbor. The most recent matchup saw the Wolverines post a 2-1, come-from-behind win in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Championships (Nov. 15, 2019).
UP NEXT
• Following the Michigan match, the Falcons will travel to Ohio State on Thursday, Aug. 26.
• The home opener is set for three days later – Sunday, Aug. 29 – when Oakland comes to town for a 2:00 p.m. contest at Cochrane Stadium.
# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #
Players Mentioned
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