Roll Along You BG Road Warriors: Falcons Top Miami, 3-2, in Oxford

Thursday, October 5

Oxford, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

6-4-1, 4-0-1

Miami (OH)

4-8-1, 1-4-0

Bowling Green

Miami (OH)

Katie Cox scored what proved to be the winning goal Thursday night at Miami

Photo by: Kemery Aichele, BGSU Athletics

Roll Along You BG Road Warriors: Falcons Top Miami, 3-2, in Oxford

October 05, 2023 | Women's Soccer

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BGSU scores three first-half goals to remain atop the MAC

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

OXFORD, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team found success on the road yet again in Mid-American Conference play on Thursday night (Oct. 5), as the Falcons picked up a 3-2 win at Miami University.

Lexi Czerwien, Ellie Pool and Katie Cox all scored first-half goals for the Falcons (6-4-1, 4-0-1 MAC), who remain in first-place in the 12-team league.

All five of the game's goals came in the first half at a rainy Bobby Kramig Field. After Czerwien opened the scoring in the sixth minute, the hosts tied the score with just under 20 minutes gone.

Pool and Cox found the back of the net just over three minutes apart, and the Falcons' lead was 3-1 in the 34th minute. But, the RedHawks (4-8-1, 1-4-0 MAC) cut that lead in half with under four minutes to go before the intermission.

The scoreless second half featured just six total shot attempts.

Czerwien's goal was the second of her collegiate career, and her second in as many games. She scored her first goal in Sunday's (Oct. 1) win at Ohio.

Brynn Gardner had a pair of assists on Thursday night, sliding passes through the MU defense to both Czerwien and Pool. Cox scored a 'postage stamp' goal, blasting a free kick into the upper-right-hand corner of the net.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU has won five-straight MAC road matches dating to late last October. In those five games, the Falcons have averaged 3.2 goals per contest.
• The Falcons now have a record of 27-6-2 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BG is 24-3-1 in league road contests since the beginning of 2018, having outscored the opponents by a 74-17 count. In those 28 matches, BGSU has scored at least two goals 23 times, and at least three goals on 14 occasions.
• BG is now 21-2-1 in the last 24 MAC road contests, dating to late in the 2018 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GOALS, HIGHLIGHTS, ETC.
• Lexi Czerwien gave the Falcons the lead in the sixth minute. BGSU won the ball deep in the Falcons' defensive end, and Brynn Gardner received a pass on the left side of the pitch. Gardner took the ball over midfield, angled toward the center of the field and hit a perfectly-weighted through ball into the box. Czerwien raced past a Miami defender and knocked the ball past MU goalkeeper Dominique Popa to put the Falcons on the board.
• But, Miami evened the score in the 20th minute. The RedHawks won a corner kick, and after back-to-back shots were blocked near the six-yard line, Morhea Hoefen knocked the rebound home to make it a 1-1 game at the 19:25 mark.
• Less than two minutes later, MU's Haley Anspach made several moves as she headed downfield before hitting a curving shot on frame. Madison Vukas made a diving save, and BG eventually cleared the ball out of the box.
• The buildup of BGSU's second goal again included a long run by Brynn Gardner. The sophomore stole a Miami throw-in deep in the Falcons' defensive end of the field, headed upfield and played a through ball to Ellie Pool. Pool took the pass on the left side of the penalty area and hit a one-timer over Popa and into the far side of the net at the 30:38 mark.
• Two minutes later, Pool found Brynn Gardner with a pass at the top of the 18. Gardner took a touch and fired a shot that just missed finding the upper near corner of the goal.
• In the 34th minute, Czerwien was fouled as she was about to steal an errant Miami pass. Katie Cox took the ensuing free kick and blasted a 'postage stamp' goal into the upper right hand corner for a 3-1 BG lead at the 33:53 mark.
• The RedHawks made it a one-goal game once again, as Taylor Hamlett headed home a Camber Hayes corner kick with 3:49 left before halftime.
• The hosts won a corner kick in the 70th minute, and off of that kick, back-to-back MU shots were blocked, including an effor from just inside the six-yard line. Just over a minute later, Lili Berg made a save on Anspach after another MU corner, as she parried a point-blank shot off of the post.
• BGSU won back-to-back corner kicks in the 78th minute. Czerwien redirected a cross on frame after the second corner during that stretch, but Popa went to the ground to smother the shot.
• Miami had a slim 4-2 lead in second-half shot attempts, but Berg and the Falcons were able to keep MU from netting the equalizer.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Miami had advantages of 15-8 in total shot attempts, 7-5 in shots on goal and 9-4 in corner kicks. Dominique Popa made two saves for the home side, while Madison Vukas stopped four first-half shots and Lili Berg saved the only shot she faced in the second half for the Falcons.
• Entering Thursday's game, the Falcons had not scored more than two goals in a match this season. But, BGSU found the back of the net three times in the first half alone vs. Miami.
• Miami's first goal of the match broke shutout streaks of 206:37 for Vukas and 386:37 for the Falcons as a team. The team total is the seventh-longest such streak in school history.
• Prior to Thursday night, BGSU had not allowed a goal since Sept. 10, against nationally-ranked Notre Dame.
• Lexi Czerwien scored her first collegiate goal in Sunday's win at Ohio, and now has found the back of the net in back-to-back games. She opened the scoring against both the Bobcats and the RedHawks.
• Ellie Pool's goal was her third of the season, her fifth as a Falcon and the 13th in her collegiate career. The Toledo transfer now has 33 career points.
• Katie Cox scored her second goal of the season and the ninth of her career. Five of those nine goals have been game-winning markers.
• Brynn Gardner had the first two-assist game of her career. The sophomore now has nine career assists.
• Freshman Christie Fransen made her first collegiate start on Thursday night. Fransen missed the Falcons' first eight matches due to injury, before making her debut (and picking up an assist on the game's only goal) last Thursday against Akron. She also saw action Sunday at Ohio, coming off of the bench against both the Zips and Bobcats.
• Fransen becomes the 18th player on the Falcons to have made at least one start this season to date.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will be back home on Sunday (Oct. 8), taking on Eastern Michigan University in a 1:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium. It will be Kick-Out Cancer Day at Cochrane.

• The Orange and Brown will remain at home, facing Kent State next Thursday (Oct. 12) in a 7:00 p.m. start. Beginning with Sunday's EMU match, four of the Falcons' final six regular-season matches are at home.

REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE
Sunday, Oct. 8 – EASTERN MICHIGAN, 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12 – KENT STATE, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 15 – at Buffalo, 1:00 p.m.
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.