SETTING THE SCENE / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The non-conference schedule rolls along for the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team this week. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons hit the road for the first time in regular-season play in 2025, heading to the Motor City for a Thursday (Aug. 28) matchup against the University of Detroit Mercy. That match will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Titan Field.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to Cochrane Stadium this weekend, hosting the University of Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 31). First touch is set for 1:00 p.m., and admission is free.

WHERE TO WATCH
• Thursday's UDM match will be streamed on ESPN+.

• Sunday's Cincinnati contest will be streamed on YouTube, and produced by WBGU-TV.

STATS & SOCIAL MEDIA
• Links to live stats (as well as to any available audio/video) for all 2025 matches can always be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com – both on the women's soccer schedule page and in the right column on the main page – on match day.
 
THE STARTING XI
I – The Falcons are off to a 2-1-0 start to the season, with all three games decided by a single goal. Head coach Chris Fox and Company defeated Oakland in the season opener (Aug. 14) before falling to Illinois three days later (Aug. 17). Both games finished with 1-0 scores.

II – The Orange and Brown moved to 2-1 with a 2-1 win over Cleveland State on Thursday (Aug. 21), in the team's lone match last week.

III –  A pair of transfers combined for the winning goal vs. Oakland. Junior Ella Kane got on the end of a nifty cross from classmate Isabella Mazzaferro, knocking the ball home at the far post early in the second half.

IV – Kane had an assist on the first goal of the CSU match, and now has a team-high three points on the young season. Junior Emma Stransky, the Falcons' top returning scorer from a year ago, scored in that match, as did junior Gabby Lamparty. Lamparty, a defender, had a game-high five shot attempts against the Vikings.

V – Another junior, Michelle Hochstadt, assisted on Lamparty's goal with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Hochstadt led the Falcons with five assists a year ago.

VI – In goal, sophomore Payton O'Malley has allowed just two goals in BG's first three games, and has a GAA of just 0.67 and a save percentage of .867. O'Malley entered the week ranked second in the Mid-American Conference in save pct. and third in GAA.

VII – BGSU finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 7-7-4 and a MAC ledger of 4-4-3. The Falcons finished in sixth place in the 12-team conference. BG went 4-1-3 at home and 3-6-1 on the road in 2024.

VIII – Fox and his staff – first-year assistant coaches Steven Samuel and Kyle Pettican – have a total of 20 returning student-athletes. That group includes seven starters from a year ago. Six of the top-nine scorers from '24 returned.

IX – Detroit Mercy is 1-3-0, having played a very difficult schedule to date. The Titans defeated Valparaiso, 2-1, in the season opener, before falling to Michigan, Louisville and Kentucky. Abbey Lodato has scored both of the team's goals this season to date, while Eva Hill and Chantelle Symes each have started two games between the posts. The Falcons and Titans are tied, 8-8-0, in the all-time series, but BGSU has won the last five meetings, including a 3-1 victory last season (Aug. 15, 2024), as Lauren Mahoney scored two goals in her collegiate debut. BG is 3-5-0 in games played in Detroit.

X – Cincinnati is 1-2-1 heading into a Thursday home game vs. Central Michigan. The Bearcats have defeated Eastern Michigan, tied Toledo and lost to Notre Dame and Xavier. Maddie Swingle has two goals and four points, while Camryn Miller has started all four games in goal and has 17 saves, one clean sheet and a 2.00 GAA. UC leads the Falcons, 4-1-1, in the series. The last meeting was a 1-0 Bearcat victory in Cincinnati in 2023. The previous year, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw at Cochrane.

XI – BGSU is 50-13-11 in home games since the start of the 2017 season.

here are 11 home matches on the 2025 schedule. BGSU has not played as many as 11 home games since the 2021 campaign, but two of those contests came in the MAC Tournament. The last time the Falcons played 11 regular-season matches at home was in 2016.

The 2025 and 2026 MAC Women's Soccer Championships each will take place at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. This will mark the first time in conference history that the event will be held at a neutral site.

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), and on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.