The BGSU women’s soccer team hopes to continue their three-game winning streak at home this weekend. The squad will face Mid-American Conference opponents Kent State and Buffalo today and Sunday respectively.
Cochrane Field has been good to the Falcons as of late. Last Friday the team topped Ohio for the first time in the history of the program with a score of 2-0. Sunday the squad bested Akron 1-0.
University Coach Andy Richards has stressed the importance of performing consistently after the squad split games the past four weekends. Richards was pleased with the positive turnaround.
“It’s a big boost. To get any MAC win is important. It’s kind of rare in our conference to get two in one weekend. To achieve that is very positive for us,” he said.
The Falcons enter this weekend’s matches with an overall record of 8-6-0 (4-2-0 MAC). Their wins last weekend put them over the .500 mark for the first time this season, but with the high number of talented teams in the MAC, the Falcons will have to continue to play consistently well to maintain their winning record.
“There’s so much parity [in the MAC]. If you can achieve a level of consistency, you’ll do well. If you can’t, you can slip up against anyone,” Richards said.
Kent State, like the Falcons, went 2-0 in last weekend’s conference action, beating both Northern Illinois and Western Michigan with scores of 1-0. They are 6-6-2 overall (3-2-1 MAC).
Kimberly Dimitroff, Catharine Marosszeky and Ashley Bohinc will likely spark the offense as they lead the team in scoring with four goals each.
Anchoring the defense are keepers Kristen Nelson and Alicia Fernandez, who have started seven games each.
Richards and the Falcons know they can’t take the Golden Flashes lightly.
“These MAC games are incredibly competitive. We know they’re a very talented team. We know they’re going to come in determined to ruin things for us. They’ll be dangerous,” Richards said.
Richards expects Buffalo to be equally competitive, noting records are not always an accurate reflection of talent. Buffalo is 4-8-1 overall and 2-4-0 in the MAC.
“They still have some games to play and some wins to get,” he said of Buffalo.
The Bulls are coming off a 2-0 loss to Western Michigan and a 3-2 win over Northern Illinois. Natalia Crofut leads the team offensively with three goals and two assists. Keeper Anna-Lesa Calvert enters this weekend with a .776 save percentage.
Richards has focused this week on making sure his team is fully recovered from the grind of previous matches. He hopes watching film of their opponents along with practicing will help them maximize their strengths and take advantage of the opposition’s flaws.
“We’ve tried to take it a little easier on them this week. We’re at the stage in the season where some players are a little sore. We want to make sure we’re healthy and fresh,” he said.
Today’s match will kickoff at Cochrane Field at 4 p.m. Sunday’s match begins at noon and will also bring the added excitement of Senior Day, where nine Falcon seniors will be recognized.
