BGSU women’s soccer (3-2-0) will round out the final game of non-conference play on Thursday, Sept. 12 against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (1-5-1) at Cochrane Stadium.
The Falcons bounced back last weekend against Cleveland State with a 2-0 win after suffering back-to-back losses earlier in the road trip.
Going into Thursday night, the Falcons currently sit 10th in the Mid-American Conference standings, but with the start of MAC play just around the corner, that can change with just a blow of a whistle.
WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH?
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Henry Kosko will have the call for the match streaming on the WBGU-PBS Youtube channel. Click the link below to watch the game:
Scouting the Past
Oakland has had a rough start to the 2024 season, only scoring one win against Illinois State and a draw with North Dakota, while losing the five other matches.
The Golden Grizzlies have taken all five of their losses against MAC opponents, most recently taking a 1-0 loss to Toledo on Sept. 8.
The main struggle has been offensive production for Oakland early on, as they have only managed two goals while allowing nine through the first seven games of the season.
Oakland has been seeking their Horizon League championship since 2015, and a winning season in their first year under new head coach Devin Zvosec, who was the former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at James Madison University.
BGSU is 2-0 against Horizon League opponents this season, with a 3-1 win over Detroit Mercy in the home opener and a 2-0 win over Cleveland State last Sunday.
With the win over the Vikings, the Falcons extended their winning streak against Horizon League opponents to seven games, and they will look to improve to eight on Thursday against Oakland.
BGSU is also looking to extend its win streak against the Golden Grizzlies to four games, after winning in 2021, 2018, and 2017 before a 2-1 loss in 2016.
Falcons to Watch
After a career day in Cleveland where Stransky captured a goal and an assist to lift Bowling Green to a 2-0 win over the Vikings, she will be looking forward to Sunday when she will have the chance to score another goal against another Horizon League opponent.
After becoming the seventh Falcon to score in the 2024 season, Stransky will be looking to take the next step and become one of the offensive leaders of the BGSU squad with an offense that is looking to get hot against a struggling Golden Grizzly offense.
Stransky has been working on a great connection between midfielders in the past two games, and she’s received some great chances. A reiteration will be lethal within the confines of Cochrane Stadium where the Falcons have scored five goals in two games this season.
The Willoughby Hills native only joins goalkeeper Madison Vukas as the lone two who have played every minute of the 2024 season, and it is for good reason.
With a possession-based system that aims to keep the ball as much as possible, a defensive-minded midfielder who can move the ball up the field is a primary necessity, and her 450 minutes prove how important her role is on both sides of the ball.
Butera has been vital in her role, making defensive plays and playing a role in getting the ball up the middle on the offensive attack has made her one of the key contributors to the early success that the Falcons have seen.
Golden Grizzlies to Watch
The Austrian sophomore goalkeeper has played 585 out of 630 minutes for Oakland in the back of the net, where she has become comfortable despite this only being her second year of college play.
As a freshman in 2023, Zangerl started 15 games and ended the season with 1.32 goals allowed per game, 53 saves, and a 4-4-5 record.
Zangerl has had a similar start to the 2024 year, posting a .727 save percentage compared to a .753 in 2024, as well as 1.38 average goals allowed and 24 total saves.
Oakland will need stellar goalkeeping if they want to keep the Falcons off the board, as they are likely to have trouble scoring with their offense that ranks last in the Horizon League.
The senior defender had an awesome 2023 season that saw her honored as a member of the All-Horizon League Second Team, and she is following it up with a great senior season.
The Singapore native has played 90 minutes in all but one contest to this point in the year and is a leader of a relatively young defensive and midfield core that features redshirt freshman Mia Tuka and promising young midfielder Thai Quallich.
A defense that can play with energy and confidence is the kryptonite to BGSU head coach Chris Fox’s system, and to be coordinated enough to be successful, leaders like Sazali will be key for Oakland’s success going forward.
