Falcons Host Michigan State as 2022 Season Begins

Thursday, August 18

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Michigan State

Jasmijn Dijsselhof v Michigan - August 6, 2022

Jasmijn Dijsselhof and the Falcons host Michigan State Thursday evening

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

August 17, 2022 | Women's Soccer

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Spartans come to town for Thursday-night matchup at Cochrane

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU vs. MICHIGAN STATE – Thursday, August 18
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: BCSN2 • BCSN Now App • ESPN+ •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

FIRST TOUCH
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins the 2022 regular season with a pair of home matches. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the four-time defending Mid-American Conference champions, host Michigan State University on Thursday evening (Aug. 18). First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free.

POSTGAME FIREWORKS
• There will be a fireworks display following Thursday night's game. The fireworks will be visible to the northeast (over the cross country course directly north of Doyt L. Perry Stadium) and can be easily seen from the Cochrane Stadium grandstand and auxiliary bleachers.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's match will be televised on BCSN2 in the Toledo area, and also will be streamed via the BCSN Now app as well as ESPN+.

• Live stats will be available, as well as periodic Twitter updates (@BGSUwsoc).

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2022 matches can be found on the web at 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 15 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last season's club. The 2021 team went 11-7-3 overall and 8-2-1 in the MAC, and BGSU won both the conference regular-season and tournament titles.

• In 2021, BGSU achieved a feat that will be very difficult to repeat. The Falcons advanced to the NCAA Championships twice in the same calendar year. BG went 6-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 in the MAC in the spring, outscoring opponents, 17-3.

• Then, in the fall, the Orange and Brown allowed just six goals in 13 total matches against MAC opposition, with nine shutouts in those 13 contests. BGSU outscored MAC foes, 17-2, over the final month of play (Oct. 7 to Nov. 7, spanning seven regular-season and the two MAC Tournament matches).

• BGSU loses eight letterwinners from last year's club, including the 2021 MAC Offensive Player of the Year in Madi Wolfbauer and three-time All-MAC First-Team selection Nikki Cox. That duo combined for 16 goals last fall, while Cox had a team-leading eight assists.

• The returning Falcons combined to score 17 of the team's 35 goals and register 16 of the club's 33 assists last fall. In goal, Lili Berg returns after playing nearly 97 percent (1,900 of 1,962) of the total minutes last season.

• Berg has been named to the All-MAC Second Team in each of her first two seasons with the Falcons. Audrey Shea returns to anchor the defense after earning All-MAC First-Team accolades in 2021.

• Lacee Bethea is the top returning scorer for the Falcons, after recording seven goals and 15 points last season. She was named the MAC Tournament MVP, while Shea joined her on the MAC All-Tournament Team.

• Shea had 10 points, including four goals, last season. Kennedy White totalled six points in 2021, with Katie Cox and Jasmijn Dijsselhof scoring five points apiece.

• The team's 11 newcomers include a trio of NCAA Division-I transfers in Lexi Czerwien (Xavier Univ.), Ellie Pool (Univ. of Toledo) and Madison Vukas (Univ. of Pittsburgh). XU went a perfect 7-0-0 in matches in which Czerwien saw action last season, while Pool led the Rockets with seven goals and 17 points and was named to the All-MAC Second Team.

• The Falcons have an overall record of 17-8-4 since Walker took the helm, and BGSU is 16-3-1 against MAC teams in that time. Since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, BGSU is 45-19-10 overall, 33-5-1 in MAC regular-season action and 40-5-3 in all games vs. league opposition.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State is coming off a highly-successful 2021 campaign. The Spartans, picked to finish 13th in the Big Ten Conference last season, earned a number-four seed for the conference tournament. MSU went 10-4-3 overall and 5-4-1 in the league in head coach Jeff Hosler's first season, outscoring opponents by a 26-12 count in those 17 matches. Zivana Labovic is the team's top returning scorer, with four goals and 10 points last fall, while Lauren Kozal played every second between the posts and was named the Big Ten's Goalkeeper of the Year. Kozal had 75 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.68.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Michigan State, 17-1-3, in the all-time series. The Falcons battled the Spartans to a 1-1 draw last season (Sept. 2, 2021), as Maya Dean scored the tying goal with just 1:26 remaining in regulation. Lili Berg made seven saves on the night. BGSU's lone series win was a 3-2 OT decision in August of 1999 at Cochrane.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will remain at home to face Cincinnati next Thursday (Aug. 25), in a 5:00 p.m. start at Cochrane.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will hit the road for the first time, facing nationally-ranked Tennessee on Wednesday night, Aug. 31.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• 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.