AKRON, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team got a pair of second-half goals to pick up a 2-0 win over the University of Akron Sunday afternoon (Oct. 27). The Mid-American Conference match took place at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Emma Stransky and Lexi Czerwien scored for the Falcons (7-5-4, 4-3-3 MAC), who moved into fourth place in the MAC standings. With one game left for each team in the regular season, only four points separate the fourth- through 10th-place teams in the conference (scroll down for updated MAC standings and the remaining schedule).

The Falcons kept a clean sheet for the sixth time this season and the second time in as many matches, allowing the Zips (5-8-4, 0-8-2 MAC) just two shots on goal in the 90 minutes of action.

Stransky, a native of nearby Copley, Ohio, put the Falcons on the board with just under an hour gone, scoring on a rebound after an Alaina Uncapher header hit the crossbar. Then, Czerwien capped a frenetic, four-shot Falcon flurry in the box, smashing home a rebound of her own shot from close range with just 2:42 remaining.

BGSU will enter the final day of the regular season looking to secure a home game in the MAC Tournament's first round. The top-six teams will qualify for the tourney, which begins next Sunday (Nov. 3) with a pair of first-round matches. The top-two teams in the final standings will get byes, while the third and fourth seeds each will host first-round games.

The Falcons outshot the Zips, 13-7, on Sunday, including a 10-5 lead in that category in the second half. Freshman Payton O'Malley made two saves en route to the shutout for the Orange and Brown. Two Akron goalkeepers combined to make two saves, while the Zips also were credited with a 'team save' on a shot just before Czerwien's clinching goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The first shot for either team came in the 12th minute, but an effort by the Zips from outside of the 18-yard box was blocked by senior Isabelle GIlmore.
• BGSU's first shot of the afternoon came in the 21st minute. A right-side pass into the box was deflected toward Alexis Tsaprailis, and her shot from just inside the 18-yard line was blocked.
• In the 32nd minute, the Zips looked to have a chance, as a pass found an Akron forward who looked to head into the box. But, Jaden Frigerio dispossessed the Zip, then won a throw-in for her team.
• The Falcons had a chance with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening half. Emily Hollar pounced on an errant UA pass and slid the ball toward Emma Stransky in the box. But, Stransky's shot went just wide of the right post.
• The Zips looked to make a counterattack, with Shani Sirota centering the ball from the right side. But Frigerio knocked the ball away before a UA striker could reach it.
• The hosts had the first good chance of the second half, as a BGSU clearing attempt was blocked. Morgan Pentz quickly fired a shot, but it rolled wide left.
• The Falcons began to assert their collective will just before the match reached the hour mark. In the 59th minute, Isabelle Gilmore played a long ball ahead to Brynn Gardner on the right side. Gardner's cross found Alaina Uncapher on the far side of the six-yard box. Uncapher headed the ball back into the center of the box. Stransky and Lexi Czerwien converged along with two defenders, and in the aftermath of the confluence a BG shot went just wide of the right post. But, Uncapher and Stransky would combine to put the Falcons on the scoreboard just one minute later.
• BGSU took the lead in the 60th minute. A cross by Frigerio from the right side found Uncapher, who, with a defender on her, headed the ball back the other way. Uncapher's shot hit the crossbar, but Stransky ran onto the rebound, chesting the ball down as she ran from right to left across the six-yard line, then quickly depositing it into the left side of the net, between Akron goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier and the goalpost. The goal by the native of nearby Copley put the Falcons on top.
• One minute later, Christine Erdman made a run on the left side of the field and played a diagonal ball into the box. Cuirinier knocked the ball away with a diving effort, just before Gardner and a UA defender reached the ball, but the UA 'keeper was injured and had to leave the match.
• Sara Bower replaced Curinier in net for the Zips, but it wouldn't have mattered what goalkeeper was in the match 30 seconds later, because very few 'keepers in the world would have had a chance to get near Emme Butera's blast. Michelle Hochstadt put a low cross into the box from the right side. The ball was knocked out of the penalty area by a defender, but Butera ran onto it and fired a laser from approximately 22 yards out. The line drive rang off the crossbar, and Uncapher's header was blocked before the Zips finally cleared the ball away. 
• After a Butera corner kick with approximately five minutes to go, the ball was in the UA end for quite some time. Frigerio fired a shot that was blocked, and Hochstadt stole a UA pass and hit a shot that was blocked out for another corner.
• BG doubled the lead with 2:42 to go, after a furious flurry. A Frigerio serve was headed by with Stransky and Czerwien. The ball found Gardner near the right post, and her quick shot was parried by Bower. Stransky ran onto the ball but went to the ground as she and a defender vied for the ball inside the six-yard line. Czerwien blocked the ball, and she and Emily Hollar both poked at it along with a host of Zips. Czerwien saw a shot blocked before ripping a left-footed shot that found the back of the net to provide the final margin.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will return to Northeast Ohio to end the regular season with a game at Kent State on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 31). That match will begin at 3:00 p.m. at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.

• The MAC Tournament begins next Sunday (Nov. 3), with a pair of first-round matches (the third seed hosting the sixth seed and the fourth seed hosting the fifth seed). The first- and second-place teams in the final standings will earn byes, and will join the two first-round survivors in the semifinal round. The semifinals will be hosted by regular-season champion Western Michigan on Thursday, Nov. 7, with the final set for Sunday, Nov. 10.

MAC STANDINGS & SCHEDULE
Team (Overall)               MAC   Pts. Remaining 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.   

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.