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Thursday, September 16
Bowling Green, OH
6:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
#17 Xavier
Nikki Cox & the Falcons host nationally-ranked Xavier Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Photo by: Stephen Linsky, BGSU Athletics
What To Watch For: Nationally-Ranked Musketeers Come to Town
September 14, 2021 | Women's Soccer
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BGSU wraps up non-conference schedule vs. Xavier Thursday
FALCONS vs. #17 XAVIER – Thursday, September 16
6:00 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 wraps up the non-conference schedule this week, as a nationally-ranked opponent comes to Cochrane Stadium. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, will take on Xavier University on Thursday evening (Sept. 16), with first touch set for 6:00 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's match will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. Live stats will also be available.
• 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.
REMEMBERING LESLIE
• The BGSU women's soccer program will be honoring the memory of Leslie Dawley on Thursday night. On Nov. 5, 2002, Dawley collapsed during the Falcons' MAC Tournament match vs. Buffalo and later passed away.
• Dawley, a freshman on that 2002 team, was part of a BGSU women's soccer signing class that went on to capture the 2004 and '05 MAC Tournament titles. She was – and is – an important part of the program and was honored along with the rest of her class on Senior Day at Cochrane Field in 2005.
• Members of Leslie's family, as well as teammates from that 2002 BGSU team, are expected to be in attendance at Cochrane Stadium for Thursday night's match.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• Thursday's Xavier match wraps up a grueling non-conference schedule in which the Falcons have faced four Big Ten Conference schools (Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State) as well as one Atlantic Coast Conference member (Notre Dame). BGSU also faced Oakland, downing the Golden Grizzlies by a 6-0 count in the fall 2021 home opener.
• As strong as the first six opponents have been, none were ranked among the top-25 teams in the country at the time of their meeting with BGSU. Xavier, however, enters Thursday's contest ranked 17th in the nation in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll. The Musketeers are the top-ranked team in the USC's East Region, and XU is also ranked 28th in the land in the College Soccer News poll.
• The Falcons are coming off of a 5-1 home loss to Illinois at Cochrane Stadium last Thursday. Sophomore Lacee Bethea scored BG's lone goal in that match. Bethea found the back of the net in three of the Falcons' four contests vs. Big Ten foes this season.
• Prior to the Illinois match, the Falcons had beaten Oakland at home before playing Michigan State to a 1-1, double-overtime draw on the road. The tie at MSU was BGSU's first result achieved vs. a Big Ten opponent in nearly 13 years, since a 1-1 draw at Ohio State on Sept. 7, 2008.
• The Falcons are 1-1-0 at home and 0-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has been outscored, 14-11, through six matches.
• The loss to Illinois snapped a pair of home streaks, including a five-match winning streak and an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) at Cochrane. BG outscored the opponents by a 22-3 count in that eight-match unbeaten streak.
• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox are tied for the team scoring lead with seven points apiece. Wolfbauer has three goals to tie Bethea for the team lead in that department, while Cox has a pair of goals and a BG-leading three assists.
• Bethea is third on the team in scoring with six points, while six Falcons have two points apiece. That lengthy list includes Rylee Clark, Katie Cox, Maya Dean, Ruby Linton, Audrey Shea and Kennedy White.
• 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 goalkeeper Lili Berg played approximately 96% of the minutes between the posts.
• Berg made four saves in each of BGSU's first three matches this year, including a diving stop of a penalty-kick attempt against Michigan, and she had a career-high seven saves at Michigan State. Berg has 25 total saves and a goals-against average of 2.10 entering the Xavier match.
• 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 53 points (20 goals, 13 assists) in 58 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 14th in BG annals in assists, and is ninth in career points. White is tied for 17th in scoring, with 33 points in 36 career matches.
• Wolfbauer, a transfer from Illinois, has scored 17 points in just 14 matches at BGSU. In fact, those 17 points (on eight goals and an assist) all have come in the last 11 games.
• Wolfbauer has played six home matches in her BGSU career, and has five goals and 11 points at Cochrane.
• Entering the XU match, BGSU is 48-23-9 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 35-16-8 overall, 25-3-0 in MAC regular-season action and 30-3-2 in all games vs. league opposition.
THE OPPONENT
• Xavier enters Thursday's match with a perfect 7-0-0 record, and the Musketeers are ranked 17th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll. XU's seven wins all have come in regulation by either a 1-0 or 2-1 score. Chloe Netzel leads the team with three goals and seven points, and Emma Marcus has two goals and six points. Both players have two game-winning goals this year to date. Olivia Jenkins has played every second in goal and has three shutouts and a GAA of just 0.57.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Xavier, 3-2-0, in the all-time series, and the Musketeers have won the last three matchups. Most recently, XU captured a 2-1 decision in Cincinnati in August of 2019. The Musketeers got an overtime goal for a 1-0 win in September of 2018, the last time the teams met at Cochrane. Each team has scored six goals in the five games.
UP NEXT
• Following the Xavier contest, the Falcons will begin the Mid-American Conference schedule with a trip to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 23. That contest will begin at 4:00 p.m.
• Then, BGSU will play home games vs. Northern Illinois (Sunday, Sept. 26) and Ohio (Thursday, Sept. 30) to wrap up the September slate.
6:00 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 wraps up the non-conference schedule this week, as a nationally-ranked opponent comes to Cochrane Stadium. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, will take on Xavier University on Thursday evening (Sept. 16), with first touch set for 6:00 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's match will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. Live stats will also be available.
• 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.
REMEMBERING LESLIE• The BGSU women's soccer program will be honoring the memory of Leslie Dawley on Thursday night. On Nov. 5, 2002, Dawley collapsed during the Falcons' MAC Tournament match vs. Buffalo and later passed away.
• Dawley, a freshman on that 2002 team, was part of a BGSU women's soccer signing class that went on to capture the 2004 and '05 MAC Tournament titles. She was – and is – an important part of the program and was honored along with the rest of her class on Senior Day at Cochrane Field in 2005.
• Members of Leslie's family, as well as teammates from that 2002 BGSU team, are expected to be in attendance at Cochrane Stadium for Thursday night's match.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• Thursday's Xavier match wraps up a grueling non-conference schedule in which the Falcons have faced four Big Ten Conference schools (Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State) as well as one Atlantic Coast Conference member (Notre Dame). BGSU also faced Oakland, downing the Golden Grizzlies by a 6-0 count in the fall 2021 home opener.
• As strong as the first six opponents have been, none were ranked among the top-25 teams in the country at the time of their meeting with BGSU. Xavier, however, enters Thursday's contest ranked 17th in the nation in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll. The Musketeers are the top-ranked team in the USC's East Region, and XU is also ranked 28th in the land in the College Soccer News poll.
• The Falcons are coming off of a 5-1 home loss to Illinois at Cochrane Stadium last Thursday. Sophomore Lacee Bethea scored BG's lone goal in that match. Bethea found the back of the net in three of the Falcons' four contests vs. Big Ten foes this season.
• Prior to the Illinois match, the Falcons had beaten Oakland at home before playing Michigan State to a 1-1, double-overtime draw on the road. The tie at MSU was BGSU's first result achieved vs. a Big Ten opponent in nearly 13 years, since a 1-1 draw at Ohio State on Sept. 7, 2008.
• The Falcons are 1-1-0 at home and 0-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has been outscored, 14-11, through six matches.
• The loss to Illinois snapped a pair of home streaks, including a five-match winning streak and an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) at Cochrane. BG outscored the opponents by a 22-3 count in that eight-match unbeaten streak.
• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox are tied for the team scoring lead with seven points apiece. Wolfbauer has three goals to tie Bethea for the team lead in that department, while Cox has a pair of goals and a BG-leading three assists.
• Bethea is third on the team in scoring with six points, while six Falcons have two points apiece. That lengthy list includes Rylee Clark, Katie Cox, Maya Dean, Ruby Linton, Audrey Shea and Kennedy White.
• 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 goalkeeper Lili Berg played approximately 96% of the minutes between the posts.
• Berg made four saves in each of BGSU's first three matches this year, including a diving stop of a penalty-kick attempt against Michigan, and she had a career-high seven saves at Michigan State. Berg has 25 total saves and a goals-against average of 2.10 entering the Xavier match.
• 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 53 points (20 goals, 13 assists) in 58 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 14th in BG annals in assists, and is ninth in career points. White is tied for 17th in scoring, with 33 points in 36 career matches.
• Wolfbauer, a transfer from Illinois, has scored 17 points in just 14 matches at BGSU. In fact, those 17 points (on eight goals and an assist) all have come in the last 11 games.
• Wolfbauer has played six home matches in her BGSU career, and has five goals and 11 points at Cochrane.
• Entering the XU match, BGSU is 48-23-9 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 35-16-8 overall, 25-3-0 in MAC regular-season action and 30-3-2 in all games vs. league opposition.
THE OPPONENT
• Xavier enters Thursday's match with a perfect 7-0-0 record, and the Musketeers are ranked 17th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll. XU's seven wins all have come in regulation by either a 1-0 or 2-1 score. Chloe Netzel leads the team with three goals and seven points, and Emma Marcus has two goals and six points. Both players have two game-winning goals this year to date. Olivia Jenkins has played every second in goal and has three shutouts and a GAA of just 0.57.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Xavier, 3-2-0, in the all-time series, and the Musketeers have won the last three matchups. Most recently, XU captured a 2-1 decision in Cincinnati in August of 2019. The Musketeers got an overtime goal for a 1-0 win in September of 2018, the last time the teams met at Cochrane. Each team has scored six goals in the five games.
UP NEXT
• Following the Xavier contest, the Falcons will begin the Mid-American Conference schedule with a trip to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 23. That contest will begin at 4:00 p.m.
• Then, BGSU will play home games vs. Northern Illinois (Sunday, Sept. 26) and Ohio (Thursday, Sept. 30) to wrap up the September slate.
# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #
Players Mentioned
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