COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 2025 MAC Women’s Soccer Championship continues today with a pair of semifinal matches at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
After receiving first round byes, No. 1 Western Michigan and No. 2 Miami will play their first postseason action of 2025 on Tuesday.
The RedHawks are set to face off against No. 6 Bowling Green at 1 p.m. ET before the regular-season champion Broncos hit the pitch at 4 p.m. ET against No. 4 Ball State.
Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Winners of both semifinal matches will meet in the 2025 MAC Women's Soccer Championship Final on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
The Falcons defeated the third-seeded Buffalo Bulls, 1-0, in double overtime on Saturday to advance as Isabella Mazzaferro found the back of the net in the 106th minute.
The Cardinals won a penalty kick shootout 5-4 over fifth-seeded Kent State to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals.
Below is a team-by-team preview ahead of Tuesday's postseason competition courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments.
GAME 3: 1 P.M. ET | SEMIFINALS | HISTORIC CREW STADIUM (COLUMBUS, OHIO)
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 6 Bowling Green
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Team-By-Team Previews
NO. 2 MIAMI REDHAWKS
Preview coming soon.
NO. 6 BOWLING GREEN FALCONS
The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team, after a double-overtime victory in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, now prepares for Tuesday's (Nov. 4) semifinals. Head coach Chris Fox and the Falcons, the tournament's number-six seed, face second-seeded Miami University in that semifinal-round matchup, with first touch set for 1:00 p.m. at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.
The winner of the BGSU-MU match will advance to Friday night's (Nov. 7) championship match to face either Ball State or Western Michigan. Friday's final starts at 7:30 p.m.
The Falcons enter the Miami match with an overall record of 10-2-8 (.700). BGSU is guaranteed to end the season with the fewest losses in school history, as well as one of the top-three winning percentages in program history (not counting the COVID-19 season). BGSU went 6-1-1 in the abbreviated Spring 2021 season, but the Falcons have never lost fewer than five matches in a full season prior to this fall. 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 18 matches heading into the league tourney semifinal matchup with Miami. 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.
The Falcons advanced to the semifinals by virtue of a 1-0, double-overtime win over Buffalo in Saturday's (Nov. 1) quarterfinal round. Junior Ella Kane made an impressive run into the penalty area and found classmate Isabella Mazzaferro for a one-time finish in the 107th minute.
The Falcons are now 22-9-8 all-time in MAC Tournament matches, including 12-2-1 in the quarterfinal round. Mazzaferro's goal was BGSU's fourth "Golden Goal" in a league tournament match in program history, and the first in 18 years.
GAME 4: 4 P.M. ET | SEMIFINALS | HISTORIC CREW STADIUM (COLUMBUS, OHIO)
No. 1 Western Michigan vs. No. 4 Ball State
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Team-By-Team Previews
NO. 1 WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS
Western Michigan will look to defend its MAC Tournament title, squaring off with Ball State in the semifinals on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. The teams will hit the field at 4 PM.
Western Michigan claimed the outright MAC Championship and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament with a 2-0 victory at Buffalo on Oct. 29. WMU is now the first team in MAC history to win three straight regular season titles.
Abby Smothers scored both goals in the win, while Reagan Sulaver made three saves in net to pick up her eighth shutout of the season.
The Broncos were well represented on the MAC postseason awards list, which was released by the league office on Oct. 31.
Drew Martin (Midfielder of the Year), Mira Pierre-Webster (Defensive Player of the Year), Lewis Robinson (Coach of the Year) and Reagan Sulaver (Freshman of the Year) all earned specialty awards.
Martin has 22 points on five goals and a MAC-leading 12 assists. Pierre-Webster and Sulaver spearheaded the best defense in the league, limiting opponents to just eight goals during MAC play. Robinson has guided the Brown and Gold to a 26-1-7 league record over the last three seasons.
Joining them on the All-MAC Teams were Abby Smothers (First Team), Madi Canada (Second Team), Avery Peters (Second Team) and Heidi Thomasma (Second Team).
Smothers cemented herself as one of the best players in program history, scoring twice against Buffalo to claim the program's career record for points.
Smothers has been with the program for just three seasons, totaling 73 points on 27 goals and 19 assists. She has 10 goals and five assists this season to lead the team with 25 points.
NO. 4 BALL STATE CARDINALS
The Ball State soccer team is in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament and faces No. 1 seed Western Michigan at 4 p.m., on Tuesday at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Links to the ESPN+ broadcast, live stats and tickets can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (10-6-3) topped No. 5 seed Kent State 5-4 in penalty kicks on Saturday in the opening round of the conference tourney. Joy Zeeman took what proved to be the game-winning shot before Kate Pallante made a save to clinch the win.
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.
