Falcons Set For NCAA Tournament
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, after winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament title, now heads to the NCAA Championships. Head coach Matt Fannon and the Falcons, the MAC regular-season champions as well as the tourney winners, will travel to University Park, Pa., to face 14th-ranked Penn State University in first-round action. BGSU will meet the Nittany Lions on Friday (Nov. 6), with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
TICKETS
• Ticket sales at Jeffrey Field are cash only, but fans can purchase tickets for the match prior to Friday by visiting the ticket office at the Bryce Jordan Center, today through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Note: Jeffrey Field has a no-bag policy.)
THE FALCONS AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Falcons have qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time in program history. BGSU also advanced to the national tournament in 2004 and 2005. The '04 team was seeded eighth for the MAC Tournament, but outscored opponents by an 8-2 aggregate en route to three upset wins. That club lost to Ohio State, 2-0, in NCAA first-round action in Columbus.
• The 2005 club was the only team in school history to win both the MAC regular-season and tournament crowns prior to this year. The '05 squad did not allow a goal in MAC Tournament play, but twice went to penalty kicks after scoreless draws, and twice advanced past their opponent.
• The Falcons were sent to South Bend, Ind., to face Michigan State in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. In a match that was much, much closer than the score indicated, BG fell, 4-0. The Falcons outshot the Spartans, 8-1, in a scoreless first half, and even after MSU took the lead via an own goal early in the second half, it was a one-goal game until less than 20 minutes remained in the contest.
MAC TOURNAMENT WRAPUP – HOW THEY GOT HERE
• The Falcons got valuable contributions from a host of players en route to the MAC Tournament title. In the quarterfinal round (Oct. 28), redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox scored twice, and the Falcons withstood a lengthy weather delay and a spirited Eastern Michigan comeback bid for a 2-1 win.
• In the semifinals, senior Jennifer Reyes scored her first goal of the season midway through the second half, and junior Kathleen Duwveand the BG back line kept Ohio off the scoreboard in a 1-0 victory over the Bobcats (Nov. 2).
• The championship match saw Ball State battle through 110 minutes of wild twists and turns. Junior Maureen Kennedy scored on a penalty kick to give the Falcons the lead at halftime, but the Cardinals equalized early in the second half. The match went to PKs, and BG fell behind, 3-1, but battled back. Duwve made a save in the fifth round, when a BSU goal would have ended the match, and senior Morgan Abbitt made her PK to tie things up and force a sixth round. After the Cards' next PK went wide, redshirt senior Elisa Baeron stepped up and buried her kick to give the Falcons the title.
• Baeron was named the MAC Tournament MVP, while Cox, Reyes and sophomore Nikhita Jacob joined her on the MAC All-Tournament Team. Complete recaps of each of the three MAC Tournament matches can be found later in these notes.
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons have an overall record of 14-4-3, and BGSU finished the regular season with a 10-1-0 record in conference play. The Falcons won the 2018 MAC regular-season title, the second league regular-season crown in program history, and BGSU captured the MAC Tournament title for the third time ever.
• BGSU's total of 14 wins this year ties the school record, and – regardless of the outcome at Penn State – the 2018 team will finish the season with the fewest losses and the highest winning percentage in program history.
• BG won nine-straight games before a 1-0 loss at Akron (Oct. 18), but the Falcons bounced back with a 5-0 win at Buffalo (Oct. 21), then returned home and topped Toledo (Oct. 25) and Eastern Michigan (Oct. 28) by identical 2-1 scores, with the latter match coming in the league tourney quarterfinals. The Falcons downed Ohio, 1-0, in the semifinals (Nov. 2) before advancing past Ball State via penalty kicks in the championship on Sunday (Nov. 4).
• The Falcons went 10-1-2 at home this season, and BG is 4-3 on the road and 0-0-1 in neutral-site matches this season to date. BGSU has outscored opponents, 42-13, including 31-7 in the 14 total contests against conference competition this fall.
• BGSU has scored two or more goals in a match on 12 occasions this season, including 10 times in the 14 matches vs. MAC foes. The Falcons have allowed as many as two goals only once, in a 2-0 loss at then-No. 15 Northwestern.
• Following that Northwestern match on Sept. 9, BGSU never trailed at any point in any game until Akron scored with just 1:41 left in that Oct. 18 contest. The Falcons had gone a total of 1008:19 – nearly 17 hours of match time – without finding themselves behind on the scoreboard. BG did trail for over half of the UT match before rallying to win.
• Senior Erica Hubert and junior Chelsee Washington have paced the BG attack. Hubert, who exploded for an eight-point match at Buffalo (with a hat trick and a pair of assists), has BGSU-leading totals of 12 goals, a school record-tying 10 assists and 34 points. Washington has nine goals, nine helpers and 27 points, and the junior has scored a team-leading four game-winning goals. She was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Sept. 25.
• Junior Maureen Kennedy and redshirt sophomore Nikki Cox have 20 and 18 points, respectively. Cox has eight goals to rank third on the team, including both BG markers in the league tourney quarterfinal vs. EMU. Cox had all three goals in the two matches vs. the Eagles, and has three game-winning goals this season.
• Kennedy also has three GWG this season. She had a goal and an assist in the Toledo match, and had another assist in the Ohio rematch, her 10th of the year, before converting a first-half PK in the championship match vs. Ball State. Kennedy is tied with Hubert for the team assists lead, and also has a share of the school single-season record.
• Additionally, Kennedy is one-third of a veteran back line (along with seniors Morgan Abbitt and Alexis Fricke) that has helped BG to nine shutouts this year, including seven clean sheets in 14 matches vs. MAC opponents.
• Junior Kathleen Duwve has started all 21 matches in goal this season, and has 78 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.63. She has posted six complete-match shutouts and has combined on three others.
• In MAC games only, Hubert led the league in goals (8), assists (7) and points (23), while Washington finished second in goals (7) and points (19). Kennedy was second in the entire conference in assists, and also was ranked among the top 10 in points.
• Duwve's GAA in MAC action was just 0.49. She allowed only five goals in 927-plus minutes, and had a saves pct. of .878 in conference clashes this season. She led/leads the MAC in GAA and saves pct., both overall and in league games only.
• Not surprisingly, the Falcons led the entire league in a veritable plethora of categories during conference play, including goals, assists, points, shots, shot percentage, fewest goals allowed, shutouts and GAA.
• Head coach Matt Fannon and his staff – assistant coaches Cian McDonald, Dan Ball and Erin Kielmeyer – welcomed back 18 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team. BGSU finished the 2017 season with an overall record of 13-7-1, and the Falcons placed second in the MAC's East Division.
• The Falcons are 16-5-1 in MAC regular-season matches and 20-6-2 in all games vs. conference foes since Fannon assumed the helm prior to the 2017 season.
HOME IS WHERE THE RECORDS ARE (BROKEN)
• The 2018 Falcons broke the school records for most home wins in a season and most consecutive victories at home.
• BGSU went 10-1-2 at Cochrane Stadium this fall, including two wins and a tie in the MAC Tournament. The old record for home wins in a season was held by the 2008 team, which went 8-1-1. Three previous BG teams, including last year's club, posted seven wins at home.
• And, BG won nine-straight matches at Cochrane, breaking the mark of seven set by that 2008 team. That streak was snapped in the league tourney title game, but the Falcons will take an 11-match home unbeaten streak into the 2019 season.
FALCONS LAND SCHOOL-RECORD FIVE ON ALL-MAC TEAM
• The Falcons had a record-setting regular season, and when the conference handed out awards, numerous Falcons earned individual honors for their team's success. A school-record five BGSU players were named to the All-MAC First Team, and the Falcons garnered three of the league's four specialty awards.
• Matt Fannon was named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time in as many seasons, while senior Erica Hubert was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and junior Maureen Kennedy took home MAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors. Hubert, Kennedy, senior Morgan Abbitt and juniors Chelsee Washington and Kathleen Duwve all were named to the all-league first team.
• Additionally, first-year Falcon Sarah Allen made the MAC's All-Freshman Team.
• BGSU's total of five first-team selections shatters the program's previous records. The Falcons' previous best was three first-team members and four total all-league selections, and both of those records were set last season.
• The Falcons have five All-MAC First-Team members in 2018, after having a total of 10 in the first 21 years of the program. BGSU has had eight All-MAC First-Team recipients in Fannon's two years at the helm, after having seven in the first two decades of women's soccer.
• Hubert is the second player to win MAC Offensive P-O-Y honors in program history, and the second in as many years. Skylar Fleakcaptured that award last season. Kennedy is BG's first-ever Defensive P-O-Y award winner.
• Fannon, as mentioned, earns the league coach-of-the-year honor for the second consecutive season. Prior to last year, BG's only MAC C-O-Y award winner was Andy Richards in 2005. Samantha Meister was named the MAC Player of the Year in that '05 season, as that Falcon team captured the regular-season and tournament crowns.
• Hubert was named to the All-MAC First Team for the second-straight year, after earning All-MAC Second-Team honors in 2016. She joins Meister as the only two-time all-league first-team performer in school history.
• Abbitt, Duwve, Kennedy and Washington all earn all-conference honors for the first time.
MAC CHAMPS! FALCONS CAPTURE CONFERENCE REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
• With a 5-0 win at Buffalo on Oct. 21, the Falcons clinched the second regular-season championship in the 22-year history of the program. The 2005 team was the only previous BG club to capture a regular-season title.
• BGSU's 2-1 win over Toledo (Oct. 25) was the Falcons' 10th MAC victory this year, a new school record. The '05 club went 9-2-0 in league play. This year's BG team also finished with the highest MAC winning percentage in school history, and the 2018 Falcons tied for the third-best winning pct. in MAC history.
A FEW MORE FASCINATING FALCON FUTBOL FACTS
• The league tourney semifinal-round win vs. Ohio was the Falcons' 27th victory since Matt Fannon was named head coach prior to the 2017 season. BGSU has an overall record of 27-11-4 in that time.
• BGSU's total of 27 overall wins since Fannon's arrival includes 16 MAC regular-season victories. During the previous eight seasons (2009-16), BG won a total of 15 MAC regular-season matches. The Falcons were 15-61-12 in MAC play in that eight-year stretch, but BG is 16-5-1 in the league over the last two years.
• That Ohio contest marked just the second time since Fannon assumed the helm that BG won a match despite scoring fewer than two goals. In the Fannon Era, BGSU is a perfect 25-0-0 when scoring at least two goals, and the Falcons are now 2-11-4 when being held to fewer than two goals.
• The Falcons had a record of 10-1-2 at home this season, and BGSU is 15-1-2 at Cochrane Stadium in the last 18 matches. In that time, the Falcons have outscored the opponents, 43-12, at Cochrane.
• In 14 total games vs. MAC teams this fall, BGSU scored a goal in under eight minutes five times. And, the Falcons took the lead with under 15 minutes elapsed in no fewer than seven of those matchups.
• On the year, BGSU is now 13-0-2 when scoring first, and the Falcons are 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first.
THE OPPONENTS
• Penn State is 15-5-1 overall, and the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Conference regular-season title with a 9-2-0 league mark. PSU, 14th in the nation in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 24th consecutive year. The Nittany Lions blanked Michigan and Illinois in the league tournament, before seeing Minnesota advance via PKs in the championship match. Three players – Frankie Tagliaferri, Kerry Abello and Kristin Schnurr – have seven goals apiece this season, and Tagliaferri and Abello have 19 points each. No fewer than six players have at least 12 points this fall to date. In goal, Amanda Dennis has played in every match and has eight complete-match shutouts and a GAA of just 0.54. Coach Erica Dambach welcomed back 16 letterwinners from the 2017 club that went 15-5-4 overall and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Penn State are meeting for the first time.
DOWN THE ROAD...
• The BGSU-Penn State survivor will face either UNC Greensboro or South Carolina in the NCAA Championships second round. Second- and third-round action will take place from Nov. 16-18.
