BGSU at KENT STATE
Thursday, Oct. 31 | 3:00 p.m.
Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium | Kent, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: BoxCast
Live Stats: KentStateSports.com

• There is a lot on the line as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team enters the final day of the regular season. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons make a second-straight trip to Northeast Ohio, facing Kent State University on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 31). First touch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's KSU match will be streamed via the BoxCast streaming platform. Live stats, as well as periodic Twitter/X updates (@BGSU_Wsoccer), as always, will also be available.

• 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.

MAC STANDINGS & SCENARIOS
Team (Overall)                W-L-T  Pts.   Thursday's Match
 1. Western Mich. (10-1-6) *  7-0-3   24    v Northern Ill. 
 2. Buffalo (10-1-6) *        5-1-4   19    at Central Mich.
 3. Ohio (10-3-4) *           5-2-3   18    at Miami        
 4. Bowling Green (7-5-4)     4-3-3   15    at Kent State   
 5. Kent State (7-6-3)        4-4-2   14    v BGSU          
 6. Northern Ill. (9-4-5)     3-3-4   13    at Western Mich.
    Miami (7-4-6)             3-3-4   13    v Ohio          
 8. Central Mich. (5-8-4)     3-4-3   12    v Buffalo       
    Toledo (6-7-4)            3-4-3   12    v Ball State    
10. Eastern Mich. (6-6-5)     2-3-5   11    at Akron        
11. Ball State (7-8-2) #      2-6-2    8    at Toledo       
12. Akron (5-8-4) #           0-8-2    2    v Eastern Mich. 
Teams earn 3 pts. for a win, 1 for a tie                    
* Clinched tournament berth                                 
# eliminated from tourney contention                        

• Entering the final day of the regular season, BGSU sits in fourth place in the MAC standings. Three teams – Western Michigan, Buffalo and Ohio – have clinched tourney berths, with no fewer than seven teams battling for the final three spots.

• BGSU is one point ahead of Thursday's opponent, fifth-place Kent State. Six teams will qualify for the MAC Tournament, with the top-two seeds earning first-round byes. The Falcons' scenarios are as follows...
>>> IF BGSU BEATS KENT STATE...
• The Falcons would clinch the fourth seed for the tournament and would host a first-round match on Sunday (Nov. 3).
• BGSU could tie for third place if Ohio loses to Miami, but the Bobcats would win the tiebreaker and the Falcons would remain the number-four seed.

>>> IF BGSU TIES KENT STATE...
• The Falcons would clinch a MAC Tournament berth, and would very likely clinch the fourth seed. BGSU would remain one point ahead of Kent State.
• If Northern Illinois (at Western Michigan) or Miami (vs. Ohio) won on Thursday, the Huskies and/or RedHawks would tie the Falcons for the fourth spot with 16 points apiece.
• But, BGSU would win a tiebreaker with NIU by virtue of a win in the teams' head-to-head meeting. The Falcons and Miami tied in their meeting, but BG would likely win the second tiebreaker – goal differential in all conference matches. BGSU enters Thursday with a goal differential of -2, while Miami is at -6. The RedHawks would need to beat Ohio by at least four goals to win the tiebreaker.
• In the event of a three-way tie with MU and NIU, BGSU would win the tiebreaker by virtue of a better head-to-head record in all meetings between the teams (BGSU 1-0-1, MU 0-0-2, NIU 0-1-1).

>>> IF BGSU LOSES TO KENT STATE...
• The Falcons would not host a first-round match, as BGSU could be no higher than the fifth seed.
• If both NIU and Miami were to win their games, the Huskies and RedHawks each would leapfrog the Falcons in the standings and drop BGSU to seventh.
• Additionally, both Central Michigan and Toledo could tie BG in the standings with a win on Thursday (CMU hosts Buffalo, while UT hosts Ball State). BGSU beat UT in the teams' regular-season meeting, but the Falcons lost to CMU.
• CMU would win a three-way tie with the Falcons and Rockets (CMU 1-0-1 in head-to-head meetings, BGSU 1-1-0, UT 0-1-1).

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the KSU match with an overall record of 7-5-4, and BGSU is 4-3-3 in MAC play, good for fourth place in the 12-team league. The Falcons kept a pair of clean sheets last week, with a scoreless draw vs. Eastern Michigan on Thursday (Oct. 24) and a 2-0 win at Akron three days later.

• BGSU's conference wins have come against UT and Northern Illinois at home and Ball State and UA on the road. The Falcons' league losses have been to Ohio, Western Michigan and CMU, and BG battled both Miami and Buffalo to 1-1 draws and played EMU to a scoreless stalemate.

• 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, before closing the non-league slate with a scoreless draw vs. Oakland.

• The Falcons are 4-1-3 at home and 3-4-1 on the road this season to date. In MAC play, BGSU is 2-1-2 at Cochrane Stadium and 2-2-1 away from home.

• Seven different players have recorded at least one goal this season. Lexi Czerwien leads the way with five goals and 11 points this fall. Two of her goals have been game winners.

• Sophomore Emma Stransky is second on the team with 10 points, including four goals. She leads the club with three GWG this season. Stransky and Czerwien scored the Falcons' goals at Akron.

• Junior Brynn Gardner has seven points on two goals and three assists this season to date, while redshirt soph Emily Hollar has six points on three goals. Another redshirt sophomore, Alaina Uncapher, has six points on two goals and two assists, while true soph Emme Butera has recorded a goal and three assists. 

• Freshman Lauren Mahoney has two goals, while Michelle Hochstadt also has four points, on a team-leading four assists.

• In goal, Madison Vukas has started nine 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 now has started seven matches. She has 23 saves and a 1.29 GAA to date. O'Malley and the BGSU back line kept clean sheets in each of last week's two games.

• Butera is the lone Falcon who has played all 1,440 minutes this fall, while backs Isabelle Gilmore and Taylor Green have been on the field for 1,428 and 1,425 minutes, respectively. The only time Gilmore and Green have come off of the field was during the Findlay match on Aug. 22.

• In MAC games, Czerwien has BG-best totals of four goals and nine points, while Stransky and Hollar have seven and four points, respectively.

• 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.

• 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 20 of those 22 have made at least one start in 2024.

• Six Falcons – Butera, Czerwien, Gardner, Gilmore, Green and Stransky – each have started all 16 matches, while Hochstadt has made 12 starts and Vukas and Christine Erdman nine apiece.

THE OPPONENT
• Kent State is 7-6-3 on the season, and the Golden Flashes are 4-4-2 in MAC action. KSU is in fifth place in the MAC, just one point behind the Falcons. The Flashes, 2-1-1 in the last four matches, split a pair of 1-0 decisions last week, beating Akron but losing to Eastern Michigan. KSU is 5-2-0 at home and 2-4-3 on the road this season to date. Alisa Arthur paces the club with seven goals and 15 points, while seven other players have two goals apiece. Heidi Marshall has started every match in goal, and has 45 saves, five shutouts and a GAA of 1.43. Head coach Rob Marinaro, in his 24th year at the helm of the Golden Flashes, welcomed back seven starters from last year's team. That 2023 club went 12-7-2 overall and 7-4-0 in MAC regular-season play, advancing to the championship match of the league tourney.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Kent State, 18-9-5, in the all-time series, but KSU has won the last two meetings. The Flashes topped BGSU, 2-0, last fall at Cochrane (Oct. 12, 2023), and KSU also won the last matchup in Northeast Ohio, with a 1-0 victory two years ago (Oct. 13, 2022). BGSU's last series win was a 3-0 triumph in the MAC Tournament final at Cochrane three seasons ago (Nov. 7, 2021). Overall, the Falcons are 9-3-5 at home and 9-6-0 on the road against KSU over the years.

UP NEXT
• The KSU game ends the regular-season schedule for the Falcons, who hope to see the season continue in the first round of the MAC Tournament. That first round will be held on Sunday (Nov. 3), with the third seed hosting the sixth seed and the fourth seed hosting the fifth seed.

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.