Falcons Strike Early in 2-0 Win Over Loyola Chicago

Sunday, August 27

Bowling Green, Ohio

1 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-2-0, 0-0-0

Loyola Chicago

1-3-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Loyola Chicago	0	0	0
Bowling Green	2	0	2

Goal celebration - Katie Cox - Aug 27 2023 v Loyola Chicago

Photo by: Nathan Kubala, BGSU Athletics

August 27, 2023 | Women's Soccer

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Brynn Gardner, Katie Cox score first-half goals & BGSU pitches a home-opening shutout

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team took early control of Sunday afternoon's (Aug. 27) game at Cochrane Stadium, scoring two first-half goals and picking up a 2-0 win over Loyola University Chicago.

Brynn Gardner and Katie Cox scored for the Falcons (1-2-0), who dominated the opening 45 minutes of the match. The Ramblers (1-3-0) enjoyed a little more possession in the second half, but could not cut into the BGSU lead.

Madison Vukas and Lili Berg shared the shutout in net, with each goalkeeper playing 45 minutes. Vukas made one save in the opening half, while Berg had four stops in the second.

NOTE OF THE DAY: HOME COOKIN'
• The Falcons are now 40-9-8 in home games since the start of the 2017 season. Since Jimmy Walker took the helm of the Falcons in 2020, the Falcons have a record of 15-5-5 inside Cochrane Stadium.

QUOTING COACH WALKER
"The first half was as good as I've seen us play since I've been here. We were deadly in front of goal, we moved the ball well, we kept possession really well ... it was a really good performance. We dropped the standard a little bit in the second half, but overall it was a great performance against a really, really good Loyola team."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons took the lead with under eight minutes gone in the opening half. Rylee Clark stepped up to take a pass on the left side of the field, sliding the ball ahead to Lacee Bethea near the corner of the 17-yard box. Bethea played a diagonal ball toward the near post. It bounced once before the charging Brynn Gardner headed it down and quickly hit a low shot past Loyola goalkeeper Naya Lipkens.
• In the 25th minute of the match, the Falcons doubled the lead. A Maya Dean shot was blocked out for a corner kick, and Ellie Pool took the ensuing kick. The ball glanced off of the head of a Loyola, and Katie Cox met it at the 18-yard line. Cox struck the ball off of the short-hop and uncorked a blast that found the upper right corner.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Both teams were credited with 11 total shot attempts, with BGSU holding a narrow 6-5 edge in shots on goal.
• The Falcons had a decisive 11-1 advantage in corner kicks, BG actually won an additional corner in the late stages of the first half, but the final seconds ticked off the clock before the Falcons could line up for the kick.
• A total of 20 players saw action for the Falcons in Sunday's win. The nine players who came off the bench included seven freshmen, with one of those frosh, Taylor Green, making her collegiate debut after missing the first two matches due to injury.
• BGSU played the final few minutes of the first half with all seven of those freshmen on the field at the same time.
• Madison Vukas picked up the first win of her collegiate career. Vukas, a transfer from Pittsburgh, played in two matches off the bench for the Panthers in 2021 before sitting out the 2022 season at BG. She and Lili Berg have split time in each of the Falcons' first three matches of the season.
• Transfers Rylee Clark and Ellie Pool each picked up their first assist as a Falcon. Clark, who played the 2020-21 season at Wright State before transferring to BGSU, had one assist during her lone season with the Raiders.
• Pool, a transfer from Toledo, had a total of six assists during her two seasons with the Rockets. She now has five career points as a Falcons and 27 points over her entire career.
• Lacee Bethea picked up her sixth career assist. She now has a total of 24 points as a Falcon.
• Katie Cox scored the eighth goal of her BG career in Sunday's win, and how has 21 career points.
• Brynn Gardner also has 21 career points, coming in 22 career games. Gardner scored her seventh goal, and her second game-winning goal, as a Falcon.
• BGSU now has an overall record of 68-33-16 since the start of the 2017 season. And, since the beginning of the 2018 campaign, the Falcons are 55-26-15.
• Since the start of the 2017 season, the Falcons are 58-1-3 when scoring at least two goals in a match.
• BGSU is undefeated in the last 34 home matches (33-0-1) when scoring at least two goals.

What a strike by Katie Cox for our second goal today!#AyZiggy | 🟠⚽️🟤 pic.twitter.com/PIqYsQp5vL
— BGSU Women's Soccer (@BGSU_WSoccer) August 27, 2023

UP NEXT
• BGSU hits the road for the next two contests, beginning with a Thursday (Aug. 31) matchup against Detroit Mercy. First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Motor City.

• Then, the Falcons will open the month of September with a pair of games vs. nationally-ranked opponents on back-to-back Sundays, heading to Pittsburgh (Sept. 3) before hosting Notre Dame (Sept. 10). The Pitt contest begins at 4:00 p.m., with the home match vs. the Fighting Irish set for a 1:00 p.m. start.

Gallery: (8-27-2023) 082723 WSOC v Loyola - Nathan Kubala

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• 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.