BGSU vs. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Saturday, Oct. 5 | 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 returns to Cochrane Stadium for a rare Saturday Mid-American Conference game. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons face Northern Illinois University this weekend (Oct. 5), in a 1:00 p.m. start. Admission is free.
 

Adopt a Dog Day! BGSU Athletics & Wood County are partnering to give some deserving dogs a home. Several 🐶 up for adoption will be at Saturday's game. (Dogs in attendance subject to change). There will also be a book of more animals available to adopt. Come out & Meet the pups! pic.twitter.com/ZZYa3f1VWN

— BGSU Women's Soccer (@BGSU_WSoccer) October 3, 2024

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Saturday's NIU match 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.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the NIU match with an overall record of 5-3-2, and BGSU is 2-1-1 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).

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

• 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, with no Falcon recording more than three. Lexi Czerwien, who scored the Falcons' goal against Miami, leads the way with three goals and six points.

• No fewer than four Falcons have five points apiece. Emma Stransky and Alaina Uncapher each have two goals and an assist this season, 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' 10 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.

• Butera is the lone Falcon who has played all 900 minutes this fall, while backs Isabelle Gilmore and Taylor Green have been on the field for 888 and 885 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. Assistant coaches Kerry Edwards and Kate Larbes round out the coaching staff.

• 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 10 matches, while Hochstadt, Vukas and Christine Erdman have made nine starts apiece.

• Three Falcons each made their first collegiate start in the Miami matchup. That trio included Mahoney, O'Malley and Kaley Simqu.

• BGSU is 82-40-20 overall since the start of 2017. The Falcons are 55-13-8 in MAC regular-season matches and 65-15-11 in all games vs. MAC foes in that time. Since the beginning of 2018, BG is 69-33-19 overall, 49-9-7 in MAC regular-season action and 57-10-10 in all games vs. league opposition.

BG (BRYNN GARDNER) MOVING UP THE BG LISTS
• Brynn Gardner, just a junior, has already made her mark in the BGSU record books. Entering Saturday's Northern Illinois match, Gardner has career totals of 13 goals, 14 assists and 40 points.

• Gardner is currently tied for 14th in career assists at BGSU, and she ranks 16th in both goals and points on those career charts.

• Gardner is averaging nearly a point per game in her career, as she has scored those 40 points in 46 matches with the Falcons.

THE OPPONENT
• Northern Illinois enters Saturday's match with an overall record of 6-3-3 on the year, and the Huskies are 0-2-2 in the MAC. NIU went 6-1-1 in non-conference play, with the only loss coming at Notre Dame. After opening the MAC schedule with draws vs. Miami and Ohio, the Huskies dropped matches to Central Michigan and Buffalo last week. Tyra King has 16 points on six goals and four assists, and leads the team in all three categories. Kelsi McLaughlin has 11 points, including four goals. Ary Purifoy has started 11 of the Huskies' 12 matches between the posts, and has 36 saves, four complete-match shutouts and a 1.11 GAA. Head coach Michael O'Neill and the Huskies were picked to finish seventh in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll. Last season, NIU went 8-8-3 overall and 6-4-1 in MAC play, finishing fifth in the league.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Northern Illinois, 13-11-3, in the all-time series, and BGSU has won the last two meetings. Last year, Emma Stransky's goal late in the first half lifted the Orange and Brown to a 1-0 win at Cochrane in the final game of the regular season (Oct. 26, 2023). NIU's last series victory came in Bowling Green, as the Huskies posted a 2-1 win three years ago (Sept. 26, 2021). BGSU is 6-7-1 at home, 7-3-2 on the road and 0-1-0 at neutral sites vs. NIU through the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the NIU match, the Falcons will return to the road to face preseason MAC favorite Western Michigan next Thursday (Oct. 10). First touch is set for 4:00 p.m. in Kalamazoo.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to Cochrane on Sunday, Oct. 13, to meet Buffalo in a 1:00 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.