Falcons Kick Off MAC Play with Thursday's Battle of I-75

Thursday, September 22

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

September 21, 2022 | Women's Soccer, The Battle Of I-75

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BGSU welcomes the Rockets to town before facing WMU Sunday

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU vs. TOLEDO – Thursday, Sept. 22
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: BCSN • BCSN Now App • ESPN+ •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

BGSU at WESTERN MICHIGAN – Sunday, Sept. 25
1:00 p.m. | WMU Soccer Complex | Kalamazoo, Mich.
• Video/Web Stream: Bronco All-Access •
• Live Stats: WMUBroncos.com | Twitter: @bgsuwsoc •

FIRST TOUCH
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team begins Mid-American Conference play by renewing the Battle of I-75 this week. Head coach Jimmy Walker and the Falcons, the four-time defending MAC champions, face the University of Toledo on Thursday night (Sept. 22). First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to Kalamazoo for a Sunday (Sept. 25) matchup with Western Michigan University. That contest begins at 1:00 p.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex.

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

• Sunday's WMU contest will be streamed via Bronco All-Access. Live stats, as well as periodic Twitter updates (@BGSUwsoc), will be available for both matches.

• 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.

In the Nest: Fifth-Year Falcons Miller, Reuber Continue to Cultivate Championship Culture with @bgsuwsoc #AyZiggy | ⚽🟠⚽🟤⚽https://t.co/yKMZYhWS0R
— BGSU Athletics (@BGathletics) September 22, 2022

FUN FALCON FACTS
• BGSU enters the Toledo match with a record of 2-3-1. The Falcons saw a two-match winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss at Xavier on Friday night (Sept. 16). Lili Berg made a career-high 10 saves vs. the Musketeers, including eight in the first half alone.

• The Falcons have several Division-I transfers on the 2022 roster, and for the second-straight game, one of those transfers will face her former team. On Friday, Lexi Czerwien started and played all 90 minutes vs. Xavier. This week, Ellie Pool will play in her second Battle of I-75, but her first such match as a Falcon. Last year, Pool played 92 minutes at Cochrane Stadium in BGSU's 1-0 overtime win over the Rockets.

• The 2022 Falcons posted a pair of shutout wins prior to the loss at Xavier. After a 1-0 victory vs. Detroit Mercy at Cochrane (Sept. 4), the Falcons headed to Valparaiso and came away with a 3-0 win one week later (Sept. 11).

• Kennedy White scored three goals in those two wins. Her first-half goal proved to be the winner against UDM on Senior Day at Cochrane.

• Then, at Valpo, White had a pair of goals, scoring roughly five minutes into each half, while Katie Cox capped the scoring with a second-half penalty kick.

• The Valpo contest marked the first two-goal match of White's BGSU career. It was also the first multiple-goal contest by a Falcon since Madi Wolfbauer scored twice in a 3-1 win over Miami last Oct. 10.

• White now has career totals of 18 goals and 43 points. She has moved into a tie for 11th on the BGSU career goals list, and she is 15th in career points.

• White now has seven game-winning goals in her BGSU career.

• Fifth-year Falcon Mackenzie Reuber assisted on White's first goal at Valpo. She now has eight career assists, including five game-winning assists, and leads all active Falcons in both categories.

• Berg made one save to keep a clean sheet at Valpo. Berg and Kasey Hartmann had combined for the shutout vs. UDM, as each played 45 minutes.

• The Falcons opened the season with a 2-0 loss to Michigan State at Cochrane Stadium (Aug. 18), then battled Cincinnati to a 1-1 draw at Cochrane one week later (Aug. 25). Berg had a total of 10 saves in those two contests.

• BGSU dropped a 4-0 decision at Tennessee, as the teams battled through 50 scoreless minutes before the Lady Vols got on the scoreboard. Berg made four stops on the night, while Hartmann played the final 17-plus minutes in goal.

• White leads the Falcons with three goals and six points on the young season, while freshman Brynn Gardner has three points on a goal and an assist. Gardner scored her first collegiate goal in the 71st minute of the UC match, then had the lone assist on White's goal against UDM.

• Gardner's goal vs. UC was set up by Lacee Bethea, who also had an assist on White's second goal at Valpo. Bethea is the lone Falcon with two assists in 2022.

• In August, it was announced that head coach Jimmy Walker had signed a multi-year contract extension. His contract now runs through the end of the 2025 season.

• BGSU has been picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference this season, according to the preseason coaches poll. The Falcons also were picked to place second last fall, but wound up winning both the regular-season and tournament titles.

• A total of 23 players have seen action for the Falcons this season, with no fewer than 19 of them having played in at least four of the six matches to date.

• One of those 23, Alexis Miller, returned to the pitch vs. UDM, for the first time in almost a year and a half. She missed the final five games of the spring 2021 campaign along with the entire fall '21 season due to injury. In her first action since March 14, 2021, Miller played 34 minutes and hit the crossbar with a shot.

• The Falcons returned 14 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last season's club. The 2021 team went 11-7-3 overall and 8-2-1 in the MAC, and – as we have mentioned – BGSU won both the league 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. BGSU went 6-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 in the MAC in the spring, outscoring opponents, 17-3.

• Then, in the fall, the Falcons 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 lost nine 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, and 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 returned 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.

• 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.

• Kennedy White totaled six points in the fall of 2021, with Katie Cox and Jasmijn Dijsselhof scoring five points apiece.

• The team's 11 newcomers included 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.

• Entering the Toledo match, the Falcons have an overall record of 19-11-5 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 47-22-11 overall, 33-5-1 in MAC regular-season action and 40-5-3 in all games vs. league opposition.

SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
• The Falcons went a perfect 4-0-0 at Cochrane Stadium in the spring of 2021, with all four wins coming against MAC foes. BGSU outscored the opponents, 10-1, in those four matches. And, BGSU was 6-3-2 at home last fall, including a 5-2-1 mark against MAC opposition.

• BGSU enters the Toledo tilt with a record of 36-8-6 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 28-4-3 against MAC teams at Cochrane Stadium in that time. In those 35 contests vs. conference competition, BGSU has outscored the opposition, 71-23.

SUCCESSFUL ON THE ROAD
• The Falcons have a record of 20-5-1 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 17-2-0 in league road contests since the beginning of 2018, having outscored the opponents, 50-10, in those 19 games.

• The Falcons have scored at least two goals in 15 of those 19 matches, and BG has put at least three goals on the board in 11 of the 19 road contests.

• BGSU went a perfect 5-0-0 on the road in MAC matches last fall, outscoring the foes by an 11-2 count. The Falcons are 14-1-0 in the last 15 MAC road contests, dating to late in the 2018 season.

SPECTACULARLY SUCCESSFUL AGAINST THE MAC
• The Falcons have enjoyed great success against MAC competition in recent years. BGSU advanced to the MAC Tournament final in 2017 before falling in OT, then won both the regular-season and tourney titles in both 2018 and '19.

• In 2020 (actually 2020-21), the Falcons went 5-1-0 in MAC regular-season action, then defeated Ball State in the MAC Championship to advance to the NCAAs for the third-straight season. And, BG captured the MAC's regular-season title last fall, before blanking both Buffalo and Kent State in the league tournament.

• Entering Thursday's conference opener vs. the Rockets, the Falcons are 14-2-1 in the last 17 contests vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by a 35-7 count in that span.

• The Falcons have a 60-29-12 overall record since the beginning of the 2017 season. BGSU is 39-9-2 in MAC regular-season matches and 48-10-4 in all games vs. conference foes in that time. Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 47-22-11 overall, 33-5-1 in MAC regular-season action and 40-5-3 in all games vs. league opposition.

THE FALCONS SINCE 2017
Year    Overall     MAC   All MAC*   Home   Away Neutral
2017   13-7-1    6-4-1   8-5-1 7-2-0   6-4-1 0-1-0
2018 14-5-3   10-1-0 12-1-1   10-1-2   4-4-0 0-0-1
2019 14-6-3   10-1-0   12-1-1 8-1-1   6-5-2 0-0-0
2020(-21   6-1-1 5-1-0   6-1-0 4-0-0   2-1-0 0-0-1
2021   11-7-3 8-2-1   10-2-1 6-3-2   5-4-1 0-0-0
2022    2-3-1    0-0-0   0-0-0 1-1-1   1-2-0 0-0-0

TOTALS    60-29-12 39-9-2   48-10-4   36-8-6   24-20-4   0-1-2
SINCE '18  47-22-11 33-5-1   40-5-3   29-6-6   18-16-3   0-0-2
* All matches (regular-season & tournament) vs. MAC schools

THE OPPONENTS
• Toledo has an overall record of 1-4-2 heading into Thursday's MAC opener. The Rockets are looking to snap a three-match losing streak, with the last two setbacks coming at the hands of Michigan and Arizona State. UT's win was a 3-0 decision at Indiana State on Aug. 28. Western Michigan transfer Morgan Otteson leads the Rockets with four goals and eight points on the year. In goal, Karson Hill has started four matches and has 35 saves and a 4.11 goals-against average. She made 16 stops at ASU on Sunday night. Head coach T.J. Buchholz welcomed back 24 players from a 2021 Rocket team that went 10-6-4 overall and 5-4-2 in MAC play.

• Western Michigan takes an overall record of 0-4-3 into a Thursday match at Northern Illinois. The Broncos' difficult schedule has included road matches vs. Butler, Notre Dame, Arkansas and Marquette. WMU has earned draws vs. Detroit Mercy, Cincinnati and Oakland. Reagan Wisser leads the team with three goals and six points, while Hannah Sargent has started six matches in goal and has 32 saves and a 1.90 GAA for first-year coach Lewis Robinson. Last year, the Broncos sent 6-12-0 overall and 4-7-0 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Toledo, 15-10-4, in the all-time series, but the Falcons have won the last three meetings, including a 1-0 overtime win last season (Oct. 28, 2021) at Cochrane. Lili Berg made six stops to earn the clean sheet. Prior to BG's three-match series winning streak, the Rockets had captured 11 consecutive meetings. BGSU is 3-7-3 in home games, 7-7-0 in road meetings and 0-1-1 in neutral-site confrontations with UT.

• The Falcons trail Western Michigan, 17-10-1, in that series, but BGSU has captured the last three matches. Kennedy White has scored the game-winning goal in each of the last two meetings, a 1-0 win three years ago (Oct. 27, 2019) and a 2-0 triumph last fall (Sept. 23, 2021). Lili Berg made two saves in last year's win. Both of those meetings took place at the WMU Soccer Complex. BGSU is 5-6-1 at home, 3-11-0 on the road and 2-0-0 in neutral-site matchups with Western.

UP NEXT
• Following the WMU match, BGSU will prepare for a contest at Central Michigan on Thursday, Sept. 29. That match will begin at 7:00 p.m.

• Then, the Falcons will begin the October portion of the schedule with a home match vs. Ball State (Sunday, Oct. 2). That contest begins at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

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.