COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 2025 MAC Women’s Soccer Championship begins today with a pair of quarterfinal matches at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Postseason action kicks off at 1 p.m. ET between No. 3 Buffalo and No. 6 Bowling Green before No. 4 Ball State and No. 5 Kent State wraps up Saturday’s competition at 4 p.m. ET.
Both matches will be broadcast ive on ESPN+.
The winner of the Bulls and Falcons will move on to Tuesday’s semifinals to face the second-seeded Miami RedHawks, while top-seeded Western Michigan will square off against either the Cardinals or Golden Flashes.
Below is a team-by-team preview ahead of Saturday’s postseason competition courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments.
GAME 1: 1 P.M. ET | QUARTERFINALS | HISTORIC CREW STADIUM (COLUMBUS, OHIO)
No. 3 Buffalo vs. No. 6 Bowling Green
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Team-By-Team Previews
NO. 3 BUFFALO BULLS
After securing the three-seed in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament, the University at Buffalo women's soccer team will take on No. 6 Bowling Green in the first quarterfinal match of the day on Saturday at 1pm at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
It is the 34th meeting between Buffalo and Bowling Green with the Falcons owning an 18-10-5 advantage. The Bulls and Falcons have played to a draw in four straight contests, most recently a scoreless affair at UB Stadium on October 23.
The Bulls are balanced offensively, with 30 goals scored off the feet of 12 different players, led by Guerber who leads the team in goals (7) and points (19) and junior midfielder Laiken Kiser who has notched five goals. Thompson leads the Bulls between the pipes, compiling an 12-4-2 overall record. She ranks in the top three in the MAC and in the top 30 nationally in goals against average (.68) and shutouts (8) while ranking fourth in the league in save percentage (.813) across 18 contests.
As a team, the Bulls rank second in the MAC and 19th in the nation in goals against average (.67) while also ranking in the top 35 nationally in shutout percentage (.500). Offensively, the Bulls lead the league in shots per game (13.5) and shots on goal (7.1) per game while ranking second in the MAC in points (86), goals (30) and scoring offense (1.67) and rank third in assists (26) and corner kicks per game (5.0).
NO. 6 BOWLING GREEN FALCONS
The Falcons enter the MAC Tournament with an overall record of 9-2-8 (.684), which is tied for the second-best record through 19 matches in program history. The 2018 team began the year at 13-4-2 (.737), while the 2005 (13-6-0) and 2019 (12-5-2) teams each also had a .684 winning percentage through 19 matches. The 2025 season is the 29th in the history of the program, which began in 1997.
Head coach Chris Fox and Company have lost just one of the last 17 matches heading into the league tourney quarterfinal matchup with Buffalo. BG put together a school-record 13-match unbeaten streak between 1-0 home losses to Illinois (Aug. 17) and Ball State (Oct. 19).
The Falcons went 4-1-7 in MAC play, with the wins coming against Kent State (2-1), Central Michigan (4-0), Northern Illinois (1-0) and Massachusetts (3-1). BGSU, as mentioned, lost to BSU, and the Falcons tied everyone else. The Falcons played to 1-1 draws against Ohio, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami and Akron, and BG battled to scoreless stalemates at both Toledo and Buffalo. Overall, BG went 5-2-4 in home games and 4-0-4 in road contests during the regular season.
Junior Emma Stransky leads the Falcons in scoring, with eight goals and 17 points on the year. She has scored four game-winning goals this season to date. BGSU has scored the first goal of a match seven times this season, and Stransky has been the goal-scorer on six of those seven occasions.
Junior defender Gabby Lamparty has nine points to rank second on the team, while sixth-year collegian Ellie Pool has eight points and juniors Lizzie Bultynck and Emme Butera seven apiece. Butera leads the Falcons with five assists, while Pool has four.
Sophomore Payton O'Malley has started all 19 matches in goal, and has 63 saves, a goals-against average of 0.64 and a save percentage of .840. She currently ranks second in the MAC in both GAA and save pct.
A total of 26 different players have seen action this season, with 21 Falcons having made at least one start. Three players – Butera, Lamparty and O'Malley – each have started all 19 games.
GAME 2: 4 P.M. ET | QUARTERFINALS | HISTORIC CREW STADIUM (COLUMBUS, OHIO)
No. 4 Ball State vs. No. 5 Kent State
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NO. 4 BALL STATE CARDINALS
The Ball State soccer team opens the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a matchup against No. 5 seed Kent State at 4 p.m., on Saturday at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The No. 4 seed Cardinals toppled Northern Illinois 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb to notch their tenth win of the season. Ball State scored a pair of early goals from Addie Chester and Izzy Ross to end the regular season on a high note.
With Wednesday's 2-1 decision at Northern Illinois, the Ball State soccer team reached 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2019.
That season's Cardinals went 15-5 and posted a 9-2 record in the Mid-American Conference.
Senior Addie Chester was voted the MAC Forward of the Year, First Team All-MAC and Offensive Player of the Week on Friday after tallying a goal and an assist in Wednesday's win at Northern Illinois to increase her season totals to 11 goals and 27 points.
The Muncie, Ind., native has now taken home four Offensive Player of the Week honors this season and was voted First Team All-Conference for a second time after doing so in 2024.
Jordyn Klaasen and Lexi Watkins joined Chester with postseason recognitions as the defender and midfielder earned spots on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
Both had game-winning goals for their first career scores this season, as Watkins' helped beat UMass 1-0 on Sept. 14, and Klaasen's took down Eastern Michigan 1-0 on Oct. 9.
NO. 5 KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
The Kent State Soccer team heads to Columbus to face fourth-seeded Ball State in the Mid-American Conference Quarterfinals at Historic Crew Stadium on Saturday for their 12th trip to the conference tournament in 15 seasons. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
The Kent State Soccer team finished up their regular season on the road on Wednesday with a tough 1-0 loss to Miami University.
Both teams went through a scoreless half, but the Red Hawks got on the board first in the 59th-minute as Shae Taylor put one in the back of the net from the middle of the field to give Miami the lead where they would hold it for the rest of the contest.
Miami led the shooting category over the Flashes by a count of 10-3 overall and 4-1 in shots-on-target. Both teams were even in corner kicks in the matchup with five each. Junior goalkeeper Leah Shaffer finished the game with three saves for the Blue and Gold.
Sunday's contest will be the 30th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and the Golden Flashes as the series is currently at a deadlock at 13-3-3. Kent State defeated Ball State on the road earlier this season on September 21st for their first conference victory of the season.
