What To Watch For: Falcons Face Fighting Illini Thursday Night

Thursday, September 9

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Illinois

Madi Wolfbauer & the Falcons will host Illinois on Thursday evening

Photo by: Marcus Ernst, OSU Athletics

September 07, 2021 | Women's Soccer

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BGSU meets a fourth Big Ten Opponent in five matches

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FALCONS vs. ILLINOIS – Thursday, September 9
7:00 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 returns home this week, facing yet another Big Ten Conference opponent. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the three-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, will take on the University of Illinois on Thursday evening (Sept. 9), with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's match will be streamed on YouTube, 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.

FUN FALCON FACTS
• Thursday's Illinois match wraps up a stretch in which the Falcons face four Big Ten schools in a five-game span. BGSU lost closely-contested matches at both Michigan and Ohio State, and the Falcons played Michigan State to a 1-1, double-overtime draw in East Lansing on Thursday (Sept. 2).

• 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.

• After playing four of the season's first five matches on the road, the Falcons now play four of the next five contests at home.

• The last time BGSU began the season with a 1-3-1 record came in 2018. The Falcons wound up finishing 14-5-3 overall. The next season, the Falcons were 2-2-1 through five matches and 2-3-1 after six contests, but BG ended the year with a 14-6-3 mark. Both the 2018 and '19 teams went 10-1-0 in MAC play and won both the conference regular-season and tournament titles.

• The Falcons are 1-0-0 at home and 0-3-1 on the road this season to date. BGSU has outscored opponents, 10-9, through five matches.

• Maya Dean scored her first collegiate goal, with just 1:26 left in regulation, at Michigan State. Dean becomes the 15th player on the current roster with at least one goal as a Falcon.

• BGSU opened the home portion of the schedule in style on Aug. 29, downing Oakland by a 6-0 count at Cochrane Stadium. BG's total of six goals was the highest of the Jimmy Walker Head-Coaching Era, and was the Falcons' highest offensive output since a 7-0 win on Oct. 24, 2019, at Northern Illinois.

• The Falcons' goal total was the highest at Cochrane Stadium since a 6-0 win over Youngstown State on Sept. 16, 2018.

• Heading into the Illinois game, BGSU has won five consecutive home matches, and the Falcons are unbeaten in the last eight contests (7-0-1) at Cochrane Stadium. BG has outscored the opponents by a 22-3 count in those eight matches.

• Returning All-MAC First-Team performers Madi Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox scored two goals apiece vs. the Grizzlies. Ruby Linton scored her first collegiate goal, and transfer Rylee Clark recorded her first goal as a Falcon.

• It marked the first time in nearly three years, and just the fourth time in program history, that at least two players scored two goals apiece in the same game.

• Cox and Wolfbauer are two of just eight players in school history to score two goals in a match on three or more occasions.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 20 total saves and a goals-against average of 1.88 entering the Illinois match.

• Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox lead the Falcons in scoring, with six points apiece. Wolfbauer has a team-high three goals, while Cox has scored twice and is tied for the team lead with two assists.

• 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.

• Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox each returned 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.

• 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.

• 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 52 points (20 goals, 12 assists) in 57 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 now tied for sixth in BGSU history in career goals scored. She has moved into a tie for 15th in BG annals in assists, and is ninth in career points. White is now tied for 17th in scoring, with 33 points in 36 career matches.

• Wolfbauer – a transfer from Illinois – has scored 16 points in just 13 matches at BGSU. In fact, those 16 points (on eight goals) have come in the last 10 games.

• Wolfbauer has played five home matches in her BGSU career, and has five goals and 10 points at Cochrane.

• Berg, in her first season as BGSU, had a miniscule 0.38 GAA. She earned four complete-match shutouts in her eight starts, and played at least 71 minutes of two other clean sheets. She enters the Illinois match with a career GAA of 0.95 in 1145 minutes played.

• Entering the Illinois match, BGSU is 48-22-9 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 35-15-8 overall, 25-3-0 in MAC regular-season action and 30-3-2 in all games vs. league opposition.

THE OPPONENT
• Illinois enters Thursday's match with a record of 2-3-0, having defeated Missouri and Illinois State and falling to North Carolina, Butler and Xavier. Hope Breslin has 10 points on five goals, while Julie Cili has 23 saves and a 2.23 goals-against average. The Fighting Illini went 6-5-1 in the spring under coach Janet Rayfield.

THE SERIES
• BGSU and Illinois are meeting for the first time in women's soccer.

UP NEXT
• Following the Illinois contest, the Falcons will wrap up the non-conference schedule on Thursday, Sept. 16, with a home matchup vs. Xavier. BGSU will meet the Musketeers in a 6:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #