BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Sophomore Payton O'Malley made seven saves, including a spectacular second-half stop, as the Bowling Green University women's soccer team battled the University of Cincinnati to a scoreless draw on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 31) at Cochrane Stadium.

For O'Malley and the Falcons (3-1-1), the clean sheet was the second of the season. BGSU has a team goals-against average of just 0.60 through five matches this season to date.

O'Malley's total of seven stops tied her career high.

Both goalkeepers came up with a big save on Sunday. For UC (2-2-2), Camryn Miller made a nifty diving stop on a shot by Falcon junior Emma Stransky less than five minutes into the match.

Early in the second half, O'Malley made a diving stop of a shot by the Bearcats' Coley Sidloski, tipping the ball wide of the left post.

The Bearcats had a 12-6 lead in shot attempts, but BGSU had a slim 5-4 edge in corner kicks.

NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons are 3-1-1 through five matches. That marks BGSU's best start to a season since BGSU was 4-1-0 after five games in the spring of 2021 (after the fall season had been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• BGSU's start this season is the best by a Falcon team in the fall since the 2002 squad also went 3-1-1 in the opening five matches.

B!G PLAYS, ETC.
• The Falcons were on the front foot in the early stages of the match, and BGSU had by far the best chance of the opening half. Junior Christine Erdman stole a UC pass in the Bearcats' defensive end of the field, sliding the ball ahead to classmate Emma Stransky. Stransky played the ball to sophomore Alexis Tsaprailis, then quickly broke into the penalty area and received a return pass.
• Stransky, on the left side of the 18-yard box, fired a shot that was headed toward the lower-right corner of the net. UC goalkeeper Camryn Miller, however, was able to get a hand on the ball, and a defender cleared the ball out of the area.
• Early in the second half, the Bearcats threatened at the north end of the field. A left-side cross by Emma Gioffre found Claire Rea, who laid the ball off for Coley Sidloski. Sidloski hit a hard turnaround shot toward the left side of the goal, but BGSU 'keeper Payton O'Malley made a headlong dive and tipped the ball wide of the left post.
• As mentioned, O'Malley's save total tied her career best. She also had seven stops against Northern Illinois last season (Oct. 5, 2024).
• O'Malley has a goals-against average of 0.60 this season, and a GAA of 1.22 in 14 career matches.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons play a pair of Pittsburgh-area foes during the final week of non-conference action. BGSU heads to Western Pennsylvania for a Thursday (Sept. 4) matchup with Robert Morris. That contest will begin at 4:00 p.m. at North Athletic Complex.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to Cochrane Stadium for a Sunday (Sept. 7) meeting vs. Duquesne. First touch is set for 1:00 p.m., and admission is free.

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.