Falcons Blank RedHawks, 1-0, Thursday Night

Thursday, October 20

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

6-5-4, 4-2-3

Miami (OH)

7-4-5, 3-2-4

Miami (OH)

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

October 20, 2022 | Women's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-MU Stats Photo Gallery

BGSU moves past Miami into fourth place in the MAC

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – A 20th-minute goal by Maya Dean, coupled with heroic defending by the Bowling Green State University back line, resulted in a 1-0 win for the Falcons over Miami University on Thursday night (Oct. 20). The Mid-American Conference match took place at Cochrane Stadium.

With the win, the Falcons (6-5-4, 4-2-3 MAC) move past the RedHawks into fourth place in the conference standings with two matches remaining in the regular season.

Miami (7-4-5, 3-2-4 MAC) entered Thursday's BGSU match having lost just once in the previous 11 contests.

The lone goal of the night came after Mackenzie Reuber put a free kick into the box for the Falcons. The ball was deflected by a Miami defender in the penalty area, and Dean quickly pounced on it, lunging and putting a quick shot over MU goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari and just under the crossbar.

Lili Berg had four saves en route to her fourth shutout in the last five matches. Included among that save total were back-to-back stops in the final minute of the first half, including a world-class save on the second one. After Berg went to the ground to stop a shot by MU's Makanna Morrison, the rebound fell to Mercedes Schroer in the center of the six-yard box. Somehow, Berg not only stopped Schroer's point-blank shot, but the Falcon 'keeper also quickly grabbed the ball to prevent another rebound.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU has allowed just one goal over the past five matches. Lili Berg and the Falcons now have recorded seven shutouts this season, including four in the last five games.

QUOTING COACH JIMMY WALKER
"Over the course of a season, we've had some games where we've maybe been the better team but haven't come away with a result. But tonight we were able to grind out a result. Sometimes you've got to win ugly to win games, and we did that tonight. It wasn't our best performance, but we found a way to win."

"Hats off to Miami; they are a really good team, and they were really good tonight. They really challenged us, but we were able to grind out a result."

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC RACE
• Following Thursday's action around the MAC, the Falcons sit in fourth place in the conference standings. Buffalo remains in first place with 21 points, followed by Ball State (18 points), Kent State (16) and BGSU (15). Western Michigan (14) currently sits in fifth place, while Miami and Ohio (13 points apiece) are tied for sixth and Northern Illinois (11) is eighth.
• Teams earn three points for a win and one for a tie.
• The top six teams in the final conference standings will qualify for the MAC Tournament. The first- and second-place teams in the final standings will earn first-round byes in the league tourney.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Miami had a 15-11 advantage in total shot attempts on the night, and the RedHawks had a slim 4-3 lead in shots on goal. BGSU had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
• Six of Miami's shot attempts came in the final four minutes of the first half.
• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 10-1, over the last five games.
• Lili Berg recorded her sixth complete-match shutout of the season. Berg has been part of 23 shutouts in her 44 career matches.
• Berg lowered her goals-against averages to 0.98 this season, 0.78 in MAC play in 2022 and 0.90 in her career.
• Maya Dean scored her third goal – and her second game-winning goal – of the season. She now has 11 points this fall, and has four goals and 16 points in her BGSU career.
• All 11 of Dean's points this season have come in MAC play. In fact, all 11 have come in the last seven matches.
• Dean has been directly involved in the scoring of eight of BGSU's last 11 goals.
• Mackenzie Reuber is the Falcons' active career leader in assists, with 10, and she now has 14 career points.
• Six of Reuber's career assists have come on a game-winning goal.
• BGSU now has an overall record of 64-31-15 since the start of the 2017 season. And, since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 51-24-14.
• Since the start of 2017, BGSU is now 44-11-5 in MAC regular-season matches and 53-12-7 in all matches (regular-season and tournament) vs. MAC foes.

Gallery: (10-20-2022) WSOC v Miami 102022 - Allen & Hiser

UP NEXT
• The Falcons hit the road for the final two regular-season matches, beginning Sunday (Oct. 23). BGSU will travel to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan, with first touch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Scicluna Field.
• Then, BGSU ends the regular season with a match at Northern Illinois next Thursday (Oct. 27). That contest begins at 1:00 p.m. locally (2:00 p.m. ET) in DeKalb.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• 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.