BGSU women’s soccer (6-5-3, 3-3-2 MAC) looks to rebound in their home finale against Eastern Michigan (5-6-4, 1-3-4 MAC) after a tough loss six days ago in Mount Pleasant that caused a landslide in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings for the Falcons, dropping them from a firm spot in fourth place to a three-way tie for fifth with only three games remaining in regular season play.
With the tie that will leave either Bowling Green, Toledo or Kent State out of the MAC tournament, if the Falcons end up as that team, it will mark the first time they missed the tournament since 2016.
With back-to-back matchups against the two bottom teams in the MAC, EMU and Akron, who have one combined conference win between the two of them, victories in both would give the Falcons a good chance heading into the Halloween finale in Kent.
BGSU will battle the EMU Eagles on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
Scouting the Past
Eastern Michigan women’s soccer has been a sight for sore eyes since their 6-3 COVID season that marked the only winning season for the program in the last nine, and former Eagle head coach Scott Hall left first-year head coach Taylor Clarke with a rebuilding project that has just got underway in 2024.
Clarke’s current win total of five is one less than the total from 2021-2023 combined despite their 1-3-4 MAC record, and the team started 4-0 with wins over Oakland, UIC, Youngstown State and Purdue Fort Wayne.
However, the team has been weak in road performances throughout the year, as they’ve gone winless on the road in MAC play, and their lone away victory of the season came on Aug. 22 against the aforementioned UIC Flames.
The Eagles will wrap up the season with the same two as the Falcons, but in a different order, as they will head back to Michigan to take on Kent State on Sunday, Oct. 24, before the season finale at Akron on Halloween afternoon.
In a common theme that we see in this section of the preview, BG has dominated the last five or six years of the MAC matchup, this time featuring wins in six of the last seven and an undefeated record dating all the way back to a double-overtime loss in 2017 in Ypsilanti.
BGSU’s 4-1-2 record at home puts them at an advantage against an Eagle team that struggles on the road, and under the circumstances that the Falcons are in, a win will be at the top of their itinerary.
Falcons to Watch
BGSU Captains
There is a chance that the senior or fifth-year members of the BSGU women’s soccer team will be playing their final match at Cochrane Stadium, and defender Isabelle Gilmore and midfielder Lexi Czerwien are among the six members of the squad that will be leaving the team at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Joining Gilmore and Czerwien will be senior defenders Jaden Frigerio and Taylor Kenna, while graduate students Emilie Gardner and Ellie Pool will, unfortunately, be watching from the sidelines due to injuries that kept them out of the 2024 season.
The lights will be shining on the two captains, Gilmore and Czerwien, who help pave the path of success that the program has seen through the years that they have been with the team, and their departure will be a somber one for all Falcon fans.
Look for the seniors to pave the way in a game that will make them want to end the season off on a good note as the Falcons take on the Eagles for the last time with the two captains on the pitch.
Eagle to Watch
The Eastern Michigan offense will look to get going after only three goals scored in their last seven games, and the Eagle points leader will be the key to getting those goals that will be much needed for them on Thursday night.
Sipsock was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team in 2023 after a 12-point season that included a goal in the Eagles’ 3-2 loss to Bowling Green. She’s not only followed it up with a 10-point season up to this point that doubles Maddie O’Farrell’s total in second place but she’s established herself as a leader of this young Eagle team.
Look for Sipsock to be a dangerous threat to a Falcon back line that has proved stout, especially against lesser opponents in Thursday night’s matchup.
