BGSU vs. EASTERN MICHIGAN
Thursday, Oct. 24 | 7:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: BCSN/ESPN+
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com BGSU at AKRON
Sunday, Oct. 27 | 1:00 p.m.
FirstEnergy Stadium | Akron, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoZips.com

• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team plays a pair of important matches this week, as the Mid-American Conference schedule begins to wind down. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons close the home portion of the regular-season schedule on Thursday night (Oct. 24), facing Eastern Michigan at Cochrane Stadium. First touch is set for 7:00 p.m., and admission is free.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will make the first of back-to-back trips to Northeast Ohio Sunday afternoon (Oct. 27), taking on the University of Akron. That match is set for a 1:00 p.m. start at FirstEnergy Stadium.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's EMU match will be televised on BCSN in the Toledo area, and also will be streamed via the BCSN Now app as well as ESPN+. Sunday's UA contest will be streamed via ESPN+ as well. Live stats, as well as periodic Twitter 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.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons enter the EMU match with an overall record of 6-5-3, and BGSU is 3-3-2 in MAC play. BG currently sits in a three-way tie for fifth place in the 12-team league. The Falcons are deadlocked with Toledo and Kent State, one point behind fourth-place Central Michigan.

• A total of six teams will qualify for the conference tournament.

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

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

• BGSU's balanced scoring has seen seven different players register at least one goal. Lexi Czerwien leads the way with four goals and nine points this fall. Czerwien is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals.

• Sophomore Emma Stransky is second on the team with eight points, and like Czerwien, has two GWG on the year. Junior Brynn Gardner has seven points on two goals and three assists this season to date.

• Redshirt soph Emily Hollar has three goals to tie Stransky for second on the team in that category, and she is fourth on the club with six points. Two Falcons have five points apiece, as Alaina Uncapher has two goals and an assist, while 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 of the Falcons' 14 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 five matches. She has 20 saves and a 1.80 GAA to date. O'Malley had a seven-save performance against NIU and made six stops against UB.

• Butera is the lone Falcon who has played all 1,260 minutes this fall, while backs Isabelle Gilmore and Taylor Green have been on the field for 1,248 and 1,245 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 three goals and seven points, while Stransky and Hollar have five 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 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 14 matches, while Hochstadt has made 12 starts and Vukas and Christine Erdman nine apiece.

THE OPPONENTS
• Eastern Michigan is 5-6-4 on the season, and the Eagles are 1-3-4 in MAC action.  Eastern has gotten a result in four of the last six league matches, going 1-2-3 in that time. That includes a 1-1 draw with MAC-leading Western Michigan. EMU is 4-0-3 at home and 1-6-1 on the road this season to date. Olivia Sipsock has team-best totals of four goals and 10 points, while Ella Holland has played every second of every match in goal, and has 64 saves, six shutouts and a GAA of just 0.93. Head coach Taylor Clarke, a former BGSU assistant coach, is in his first season in Ypsilanti. A total of 27 letterwinners returned from a 2023 club that went 1-12-6 overall and 1-8-2 in the MAC.

• Akron is 5-6-4 overall, and the Zips are 0-6-2 in the MAC, heading into a Thursday match at Kent State. UA had back-to-back draws, vs. Miami and NIU, before falling by a 2-0 score to WMU last weekend. Ella Hadley has five points to lead a balanced UA attack, and she is one of three Zips with two goals on the year. In goal, Penelope Cuirinier has played in 13 of UA's 15 matches this season to date, and has 38 saves, two complete-match shutouts and a GAA of just 0.83. Sara Bower has seen action in eight matches and has 36 saves and a 1.11 GAA. The duo has combined on four clean sheets. Head coach Jen Simonetti welcomed back nine starters from a 2023 squad that finished 3-14-1 overall and 1-9-1 in MAC play.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Eastern Michigan are tied, 15-15-2, in the all-time series, but BGSU has won the last three meetings. The Falcons are unbeaten (6-0-1) in the last seven matchups, since a 2-1 overtime win by the Eagles seven years ago (Oct. 5, 2017). Last season, the Falcons picked up a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over EMU at Cochrane Stadium, with Brynn Gardner scoring the winning goal with just 2:01 remaining in the second half. Overall, the Falcons are 7-7-1 at home and 8-8-1 on the road against EMU over the years.

• BGSU leads Akron, 16-6-1, in that series, but the Falcons have won the last five meetings. Last season, BG picked up a 1-0 victory at Cochrane Stadium on a 79th-minute goal by Emma Stransky (Sept. 28, 2023). The last matchup at FirstEnergy Stadium saw the Orange and Brown come away with a 4-0 victory two years ago (Oct. 6, 2022). UA's last series win came in 2018, and was the Falcons' only loss to a MAC team that entire season (1-0; Oct. 18, 2018). BGSU is 8-2-1 at home and 8-4-0 on the road against the Zips through the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the Akron game, the Falcons will end the regular-season schedule with a second-straight match in Northeast Ohio. BGSU will meet Kent State on Thursday, Oct. 31, in a 3:00 p.m. start at Zoeller Field at Dix Stadium.

• The top-six teams in the final regular-season standings will advance to the MAC Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal-round matches at campus sites on Sunday, Nov. 3.

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.