BGSU at WESTERN MICHIGAN
Thursday, Oct. 10 | 4:00 p.m.
WMU Soccer Complex | Kalamazoo, Mich.
Video/Web Stream: Bronco All-Access
Live Stats: WMUBroncos.com BGSU vs. BUFFALO
Sunday, Oct. 13 | 1:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV/YouTube
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com

• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, currently tied for second place in the Mid-American Conference standings, faces the other two teams at the top of the table this week. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons head to Kalamazoo for a Thursday (Oct. 10) match against league-leading Western Michigan University. First touch is set for 4:00 p.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return home for a Sunday (Oct. 13) meeting with the University at Buffalo. That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's WMU match will be streamed via Bronco All-Access. Sunday's Buffalo bout will be streamed on YouTube, and produced by WBGU-TV. Live stats and periodic Twitter updates (@BGSU_Wsoccer) will also be available during the match.

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2024 matches can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com (on the women's soccer schedule page and in the right column on the main page) on match day.

TOUGH CROWD!
• As mentioned, the Falcons are facing the other two teams ranked in the top-three of the MAC standings this week. Currently, Western Michigan sits at the top of the table with 11 points, while BGSU and Buffalo are tied for second with 10 points apiece.

• The teams have only two losses combined this season (and UB's loss came to WMU). The Broncos are 6-1-5 overall and 3-0-2 in the MAC, while the Bulls are 8-1-3 and 3-1-1, respectively.

• They are the top-ranked MAC clubs in the RPI, as WMU is ranked 47th and Buffalo 58th heading into this week's games.

CZERWIEN NAMED MAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK
• On Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 8), Lexi Czerwien was named the MAC's Offensive Player of the Week, earning that honor for the first time in her BGSU career.

• Czerwien was involved in the scoring of both BGSU goals in the Falcons' lone match last week, a 2-1 win over Northern Illinois Saturday (Oct. 5). Czerwien had an assist on Emma Stransky's goal that opened the scoring late in the first half, then scored what proved to be the game-winning goal early in the second period.

• Saturday's game was the first three-point contest of Czerwien's career.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the WMU match with an overall record of 6-3-2, and BGSU is 3-1-1 in MAC play. BGSU opened league action with a 2-0 win at Ball State (Sept. 19), then posted a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory against Toledo in the conference home opener (Sept. 22).

• In week two of the MAC schedule, the Falcons fell to visiting Ohio (Sept. 26) before battling Miami to a 1-1 draw (Sept. 29). The latter match was moved to Ross H.S. in Hamilton, Ohio, after the RedHawks' home field was deemed unplayable.

• Last week, BGSU picked up a 2-1 win over NIU at Cochrane.

• BGSU had opened the regular-season schedule with home wins over Detroit Mercy and Findlay, outscoring those foes by a combined 6-1. The Falcons went on the road and suffered losses to Duquesne and Loyola Chicago, but then picked up a road victory at Cleveland State, 2-0 (Sept. 8).

• Four days later (Sept. 12), BGSU closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule by playing to a scoreless draw with Oakland.

• BGSU's balanced scoring has seen seven different players register at least one goal. Lexi Czerwien leads the way with four goals and nine points this fall. Czerwien, who is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals, has found the back of the net in three of the last four games.

• Sophomore Emma Stransky is second on the team in both goals, with three, and points, with seven. Like Czerwien, Stransky has two GWG on the year.

• Three Falcons have five points apiece, as Alaina Uncapher has two goals and an assist, while Emme Butera and Brynn Gardner each have a goal and three assists. 

• Emily Hollar and Lauren Mahoney have two goals apiece, and Michelle Hochstadt has three assists to tie Butera and Gardner for the team lead.

• In goal, Madison Vukas has started nine of the Falcons' 11 matches, and has 33 saves, a goals-against average of 0.89 and four clean sheets. She made a career-high nine saves in the Ohio game.

• Freshman Payton O'Malley made her collegiate debut in the Miami match, and made three saves in that 1-1 draw. She followed that up with a seven-save performance against Northern Illinois.

• Butera is the lone Falcon who has played all 990 minutes this fall, while backs Isabelle Gilmore and Taylor Green have been on the field for 978 and 975 minutes, respectively. The only time Gilmore and Green have come off of the field was during the Findlay match on Aug. 22.

• The Falcons returned 17 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last season's club. The 2023 team went 10-6-2, and BGSU finished in second place in the MAC with a league ledger of 8-1-2.
 
• Chris Fox is in his first season at the BGSU helm after two highly-successful seasons leading Morehead State, with one of his former MSU players, Kate Larbes, joining him on the Falcon coaching staff.

• The Falcons lost seven letterwinners from last year's squad, but the returning players combined to score 19 of the team's 26 goals last season.

• Brynn Gardner led the 2023 team in goals (six) and points (16), while Ellie Pool had 13 points, including a BG-best five assists. Stransky had nine points in her freshman campaign to rank among the top-five scorers on the '23 squad.

• Vukas played in all 18 matches in goal a year ago, as she split time with the graduated Lili.Berg – each 'keeper played 45 minutes in each game. Vukas ended the season with a goals-against average of 1.11.

• In MAC matches in '23, Brynn Gardner finished with 14 points, while Pool had 10 and Czerwien five.

• Vukas had a GAA of just 0.55 in MAC games, and led the entire conference in saves percentage in MAC matches (.889). She and Berg combined to post seven shutouts last fall, with six coming against league foes.

• A total of 24 different players saw action in at least one match last season, with 18 players starting at least once. This season, a total of 22 Falcons have played, and 19 of those 22 have made at least one start in 2024.

• Six Falcons – Butera, Czerwien, Gardner, Gilmore, Green and Stransky – each have started all 11 matches, while Hochstadt has made 10 starts and Vukas and Christine Erdman nine apiece.

#MACTION
• The Falcons have certainly enjoyed more than their fair share of success in MAC play over the last decade. BG finished with a record of 8-1-2 in the league in 2023, good for second place. The Falcons won four-straight regular-season and tournament titles from 2018-21, before finishing third in the MAC in 2022 and second in '23.

• Since the start of the 2018 season, the Falcons have a record of 50-9-7 in MAC regular-season matches, good for a winning percentage of .811. BGSU has 10 more wins than any other team during that span, and 10 of the other 11 programs have at least twice the amount of losses as the Falcons in that time. The list can be found by clicking the link to the PDF version of these very notes, near the top of this very page.

SUCCESSFUL AT HOME
• After the win over NIU, BGSU has a record of 48-12-9 at home since the start of the 2017 season. The Falcons are 37-7-6 against MAC teams at Cochrane in that time, having outscored the opposition, 94-37, in those 50 games.

SUCCESSFUL ON THE ROAD
• Heading into Thursday's WMU match, the Falcons have a record of 29-6-4 on the road against MAC opponents since the start of the 2017 season. BGSU is 26-3-3 in league road contests since the beginning of 2018, having outscored the opponents by a 79-19 count. In those 32 matches, BGSU has scored at least two goals 25 times, and at least three goals on 14 occasions.

• BGSU is 23-2-3 in the last 28 MAC road contests, dating to late in the 2018 season.

PRETTY DARN SUCCESSFUL AGAINST THE MAC, NO MATTER THE SITE
• As mentioned, 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. Then, in the fall of 2021, BG captured the MAC's regular-season title, then shut out both Buffalo and Kent State in the league tournament to head back to the national tourney yet again.

• Entering the WMU match, the Falcons are 32-7-8 in the last 47 games vs. MAC opponents, having outscored the foes by an 89-33 count in that span.

• BGSU is 83-40-20 overall since the start of 2017. The Falcons are 56-13-8 in MAC regular-season matches and 66-15-11 in all games vs. MAC foes in that time. Since the beginning of 2018, BG is 70-33-19 overall, 50-9-7 in MAC regular-season action and 58-10-10 in all games vs. league opposition. Another handy list can be found in the PDF.

THE OPPONENTS
• Western Michigan is 6-1-5 overall, and the Broncos sit atop the MAC with a 3-0-2 conference mark. WMU is unbeaten in the last eight matches, and the team's lone loss came to Creighton (coached by former BG bench boss Jimmy.Walker) back on Aug. 29. Jen Blitchok leads the team with 11 goals and 24 points, while Abby Werthman has 17 points on five goals and a Bronco-best seven assists. Lauren Boafo has played in nine matches in goal and has 21 saves, four complete-match shutouts and a GAA of just 0.59. Head coach Lewis Robinson's club was picked to win the MAC in 2024 after going 12-4-3 overall and winning the league regular-season title with an 8-0-3 conference mark in 2023.

• Buffalo is 8-1-3 on the season, and the Bulls take a 3-1-1 MAC record into a Thursday home game vs. Toledo. UB has allowed only four goals all season, including just one in five MAC matches to date. The eight total wins include a 2-1 road victory against then No. 7 Pittsburgh. Jasmine Guerber leads the Bulls in scoring, with four goals and nine points. Lexie Thompson has played every second between the posts and has 46 saves, eight clean sheets and a miniscule 0.33 GAA. Head coach Shawn Burke welcomed back nine starters from a 2023 team that went 7-5-6 overall and 4-4-3 in the league.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Western Michigan, 17-11-3, in the all-time series, but BGSU is unbeaten in the last six meetings. Last year, the clubs battled to a scoreless draw at Cochrane Stadium (Sept. 24, 2003). The teams' last meeting in Kalamazoo also resulted in a tie, this one a 2-2 draw two years ago (Sept. 25, 2022). BGSU is 6-6-2 at home, 3-11-1 on the road and 2-0-0 at neutral sites vs. WMU through the years.

• The Falcons lead Buffalo, 18-10-3, in that series, and the teams have played to scoreless stalemates in each of the last two seasons, including two years ago at Cochrane (Oct. 16, 2022) and last fall in Western New York (Oct. 15, 2023). Since the beginning of time, BGSU is 13-5-1 at home, 4-5-2 on the road and 1-0-0 at neutral sites vs. the Bulls.

UP NEXT
• Following the UB match, the Falcons will return to the road to face Central Michigan on Friday, Oct. 18, in a 7:00 p.m. start.

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.