BGSU Battles Bulls to Scoreless Stalemate Sunday

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team had an impressive defensive performance on the road Sunday afternoon (Oct. 15), as the Falcons battled the University at Buffalo to a scoreless draw. The Mid-American Conference matchup was held inside UB Stadium.

The Falcons (7-5-2, 5-1-2 MAC) outshot the defending MAC champions by a 12-8 count, and BGSU's Lili Berg and Madison Vukas combined for their sixth shutout of the season, and their fifth in eight MAC matches. Berg and Vukas combined to make five saves on the afternoon.

But, Rebecca Winslow made five stops for the Bulls (6-3-6, 3-2-3 MAC) to earn a clean sheet of her own.

The result, combined with other outcomes around the MAC on Sunday, leaves the Falcons in third place in the 12-team league. BGSU is just one point behind co-leaders Ball State and Western Michigan.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After a foul on the Falcons 25 yards away from goal, a hard free kick by UB's Kaylin Ricci sailed over the crossbar.
• Nice ball movement by BGSU gave the Falcons their first scoring chance of the contest. Emma Stransky slid a pass to the onrushing Christie Fransen, who knocked a right-side cross into the box. Brynn Gardner got a touch on the ball with a defender closely marking her, but her shot in the ninth minute went wide.
• Stransky tracked back for the Falcons to win the ball near midfield, and the freshman took a return pass from Brynn Gardner on the left side of the field. As she headed into the penalty area and looked to cut toward goal, Stransky went to the ground. But, despite the pleas for a penalty from the BGSU bench, play continued.
• After a turnover by the Falcons, the Bulls looked to quickly counter. But, Emilie Gardner stepped in front of a UB forward to shield her away from a potential through ball, which instead rolled to goalkeeper Lili Berg in the 24th minute.
• Just under a minute later, Berg made the save on a hard shot by Sarah Woods. That shot, which came with almost exactly 25 minutes gone, was the first shot on goal of the day for either team.
• Soon after checking into the match, Lacee Bethea stole the ball near midfield and found Brynn Gardner, who in turn slid a pass to Maya Dean. Dean hit a hard shot on frame, but UB 'keeper Rebecca Winslow made the stop in the 33rd minute.
• Bethea again found Brynn Gardner with 10 minutes left in the half, but a lunging UB defender was able to block Gardner's shot just inside the penalty area on the right side.
• The Bulls took a free kick from 40 yards out, and as the ball sailed toward the penalty area, the whistle blew, a foul was called on the Falcons inside the 18, and a penalty kick was awarded to the Bulls. But, after a very brief conversation with his assistant referee, the center ref ruled that no foul had been committed, and the Falcons instead had a goal kick.
• In the second half, the Bulls controlled the bulk of the possession in the first 10 minutes, and UB looked to have taken the lead when a long free kick was trundled across the line by Eva Blatz. But, the assistant referee's flag was raised, as Blatz was offside on the play.
• Lizzie Bultynck very nearly gave BGSU the lead in the 58th minute. She took a Brynn Gardner pass, took a touch in traffic and hit a left-footed shot that forced Winslow into an impressive diving save, as the UB 'keeper tipped the ball just wide of the left post.
• Just over a minute later, a Brynn Gardner cross was helped along by a Dean backheel. But, Winslow was able to pounce on the ball just before Bethea could arrive.
• UB quickly came the other way, with Katie Krohn hitting a hard shot. But, Madison Vukas parried the ball wide of the post, and the Falcons quickly cleared the ensuing corner kick.
• Moments later, after a foul and yellow card on the Bulls, the ball bounced around the penalty area for a few tantalizing seconds. But, BGSU was unable to get a shot off and Winslow finally was able to grab the ball in between two BGSU players.
• In the 67th minute, Katie Cox worked a nifty give-and-go with Brynn Gardner. Cox slid a right-side cross into the enter of the box, but a redirection by Emme Butera was off target and went wide of the far post.
• Butera blocked a UB clearing attempt moments later, and Pool slid a pass to the onrushing Dean, but Dean's shot from distance sailed high.
• After a lengthy stretch where BGSU controlled the match, the Bulls made several forays into the Falcons' end of the field. Leah Wengender put a ball down the middle, but Vukas came racing off of her line to dive on the shot/pass and end that threat with approximately 19 minutes to go.
• Dean sent Brynn Gardner down the left side, and the sophomore sent a pass to Pool in the box. Pool's dangerous-looking shot was blocked, and a follow try by Gardner went just wide of the far post in the 78th minute.
• Vukas made a save on Woods with 5:40 to go.
• Brynn Gardner put Stransky into the box on the right side, and Stransky won a corner kick. BG had back-to-back corner kicks, but the Bulls were able to defend both.
• With under a minute to go, a long throw-in by Taylor Green found Brynn Gardner near the top of the box. Gardner hit a low shot, but Winslow went to the ground to make the save.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Falcons, as mentioned, had a 12-8 lead in total shot attempts, with each team putting five shots on goal. Lili Berg had one first-half save, while Madison Vukas made four second-half stops for the Orange and Brown.
• Rebecca Winslow made four saves for the Bulls, as each team put five shots on goal.
• The Falcons and Bulls battled to a scoreless draw for the second-straight meeting. BGSU and UB finished in a nil-nil deadlock last October at Cochrane Stadium (Oct. 16, 2022).
• The Falcons had three freshmen in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Christie Fransen, Taylor Green and Emma Stransky all were in the Starting XI at Buffalo.

AROUND THE MAC – SUNDAY'S RESULTS
Bowling Green 0, at Buffalo 0
Akron 0, at Central Michigan 0
Northern Illinois 2, at Kent State 1
Western Michigan 3, at Eastern Michigan 0
Ohio 2, at Ball State 2
at Miami 2, Toledo 1

UPDATED MAC STANDINGS
School (Overall)     MAC   Pts.
1. Ball State (7-5-3) 5-0-3   18
    Western Mich. (9-3-3) 5-0-3   18
3. Bowling Green (7-5-2) 5-1-2   17
4. Kent State (8-5-2) 5-3-0   15
5. Toledo (7-6-2) 4-3-1   13
   Northern Ill. (6-6-3) 4-3-1   13
7. Buffalo (6-3-6) 3-2-3   12
8. Ohio (4-6-5) 2-3-3   9
9. Central Mich. (2-5-6) 1-4-3   6
   Miami (5-10-1) 2-6-0   6
11. Eastern Mich. (1-9-6) 1-5-2   5
12. Akron (2-12-1) 0-7-1   1
• Top six teams qualify for MAC Tournament
• Teams earn 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return home for a Thursday (Oct. 19) matchup with Central Michigan, with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• Then, the Brown and Orange will return to the road next weekend, taking on Ball State next Sunday (Oct. 22) in Muncie.

REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 19 – CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 22 – at Ball State, 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 26 – NORTHERN ILLINOIS, 3:00 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_WSoccer), Instagram (bgsu_wsoccer) and Facebook (bgsuwsoc) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.

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Maya Dean

Brynn Gardner

Lizzie Bultynck

Ellie Pool

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Lili Berg

Lacee Bethea

Lizzie Bultynck

Emme Butera

Katie Cox

Maya Dean

Christie Fransen

Brynn Gardner

Emilie Gardner

Taylor Green

Emma Stransky

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