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Sunday, September 14
Bowling Green, Ohio
1 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
6-1-1, 1-0-0
2
vs
1
Kent State
2-3-3, 0-1-0
1
2
F
Kent St.
0
1
1
Bowling Green
1
1
2
Emma Stransky celebrates her first goal of the KSU match. She would score again in the second half of Sunday's win.
Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics
Stransky Strikes Twice; Falcons Stop Flashes, 2-1, in MAC opener
September 14, 2025 | Women's Soccer
BGSU moves to school record-tying 6-1-1 on the year
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Junior Emma Stransky scored a pair of go-ahead goals on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 14), lifting the Bowling Green University women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Kent State University. The match, the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, was held at a sun-drenched Cochrane Stadium.
With the win, the Falcons (6-1-1, 1-0-0 MAC) have tied the best start to a season in program history. The 2025 campaign marks BGSU's 29th season as a varsity program.
Stransky scored her first goal of the day in the 36th minute, heading home a diagonal ball off the boot of Ellie Pool, and the Falcons took that 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The Golden Flashes (2-3-3, 0-1-1 MAC), however, came out fast in the second half and tied the game five minutes into the period, as Kelsey Salopek scored on a header off of a Samantha Miller corner kick.
But, Stransky and the Falcons retook the lead just under nine minutes later. After Stransky was fouled in the offensive end of the pitch, Emme Butera played a free kick into the box. The ball sailed toward the far side of the six-yard box at the scoreboard end of the stadium, where Gabby Lamparty saved it from going out of play with a diving header along the end line.
Lamparty nodded the ball back across the goalmouth, and Taylor Green lunged and got a touch on the ball before Stransky slotted it past KSU goalkeeper Leah Shaffer.
The Flashes applied pressure over the remaining 31-plus minutes, but 'keeper Payton O'Malley and the Falcons would not allow the visitors to find the tying goal. O'Malley made five saves in the win, including a diving stop on a shot through traffic by Addy Cusick with two minutes left in the contest.
BGSU also had a 'team save' in the win, as Regan Reilly blocked a KSU effort away from the goal line in the second half.
Shaffer made one save for the Golden Flashes.
NOTE OF THE DAY
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are now 6-1-1 on the season. That ties the 2025 team for the best start in program history.
• BGSU went 6-1-1 in the spring of 2021, ending that abbreviated season with a trip to the NCAA Championships. That team ended the season with that 6-1-1 mark.
• Regardless of BGSU's result in the next match, the Falcons will post the best nine-game start to a season in program history. Currently, that mark is shared by the 2016 and 2017 teams, which each started 6-3-0.
• The 2025 season is the 29th in the history of the program, which began in 1997.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons will open the road portion of the Mid-American Conference action on Thursday (Sept. 18), heading to Athens to take on Ohio University. That match is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start at Chessa Field.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will end the month of September with home contests vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 21) and Central Michigan (Sept. 28) on back-to-back Sundays. Each match will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free to all BGSU home soccer action.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_WSoccer) and Instagram (bgsu_wsoccer), as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
With the win, the Falcons (6-1-1, 1-0-0 MAC) have tied the best start to a season in program history. The 2025 campaign marks BGSU's 29th season as a varsity program.
Stransky scored her first goal of the day in the 36th minute, heading home a diagonal ball off the boot of Ellie Pool, and the Falcons took that 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The Golden Flashes (2-3-3, 0-1-1 MAC), however, came out fast in the second half and tied the game five minutes into the period, as Kelsey Salopek scored on a header off of a Samantha Miller corner kick.
But, Stransky and the Falcons retook the lead just under nine minutes later. After Stransky was fouled in the offensive end of the pitch, Emme Butera played a free kick into the box. The ball sailed toward the far side of the six-yard box at the scoreboard end of the stadium, where Gabby Lamparty saved it from going out of play with a diving header along the end line.
Lamparty nodded the ball back across the goalmouth, and Taylor Green lunged and got a touch on the ball before Stransky slotted it past KSU goalkeeper Leah Shaffer.
The Flashes applied pressure over the remaining 31-plus minutes, but 'keeper Payton O'Malley and the Falcons would not allow the visitors to find the tying goal. O'Malley made five saves in the win, including a diving stop on a shot through traffic by Addy Cusick with two minutes left in the contest.
BGSU also had a 'team save' in the win, as Regan Reilly blocked a KSU effort away from the goal line in the second half.
Shaffer made one save for the Golden Flashes.
NOTE OF THE DAY
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are now 6-1-1 on the season. That ties the 2025 team for the best start in program history.
• BGSU went 6-1-1 in the spring of 2021, ending that abbreviated season with a trip to the NCAA Championships. That team ended the season with that 6-1-1 mark.
• Regardless of BGSU's result in the next match, the Falcons will post the best nine-game start to a season in program history. Currently, that mark is shared by the 2016 and 2017 teams, which each started 6-3-0.
• The 2025 season is the 29th in the history of the program, which began in 1997.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons will open the road portion of the Mid-American Conference action on Thursday (Sept. 18), heading to Athens to take on Ohio University. That match is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start at Chessa Field.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will end the month of September with home contests vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 21) and Central Michigan (Sept. 28) on back-to-back Sundays. Each match will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free to all BGSU home soccer action.
FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on the women's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSU_WSoccer) and Instagram (bgsu_wsoccer), as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
Team Stats
KSU
BGSU
Goals
1
2
Shots
16
7
Shots on Goal
7
3
Saves
1
5
Corners
9
4
Fouls
17
14
Scoring Plays
Emma Stransky (5)
Assisted By: Haley Wolf , Ellie Pool
GOAL by BGSU Stransky, Emma Assist by Wolf, Haley and Pool, Ellie.
35:40
Kelsey Salopek (2)
Assisted By: Samantha Miller
GOAL by KSU Salopek, Kelsey Assist by Miller, Samantha.
50:00
Emma Stransky (5)
Assisted By: Taylor Green , Gabby Lamparty
GOAL by BGSU Stransky, Emma Assist by Green, Taylor and Lamparty, Gabby.
58:54
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's SoccerD
/ Women's SoccerD
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerF
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