The Bowling Green Falcons (6-5-4, 3-3-3 MAC) take on the Akron Zips (5-7-4, 0-7-2 MAC) in a crucial late-season matchup.
After a 0-0 tie against Eastern Michigan for the Falcon’s final home game, the Orange and Brown travel to Akron to take on the Zips, hoping to get a win to help secure a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament.
The Falcons are currently in 7th place in the MAC with just two games remaining. So these final two games for Bowling Green are absolute must-win to have a chance at making the MAC tournament, considering how congested the conference is this season.
Fortunately for the Falcons, they have dominated against Akron recently. Bowling Green is currently on a five-game win streak against the Zips and is 9-1 in the last ten matchups. The last win for the Zips against BG was back in 2018.
However, this is head coach Chris Fox’s first matchup against Akron as the coach of the Orange and Brown. Fox and the Falcons have not gotten a win since October 5th, when they beat Northern Illinois 2-1.
Even though the Falcons have been dominant in the past against the Zips, it is no walk in the park since they have been struggling as of late. Bowling Green will have to limit mistakes and finish their chances for them to secure a win and to try to have a chance to make the MAC tournament.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Sophomore Forward #36 Emma Stransky
Emma has the second most points on the Falcons roster with eight. She has three goals on the season, along with two assists. Stransky also leads the team with shots on goal with 12 and total shots with 24.
Stransky is coming off a game where the Falcons had ten total shots, and she had three of those shots. She is itching to get the ball into the back of the net, and hopefully, she can continue the amount of shots to get a goal for the Falcons.
Fifth-year Midfielder #5 Lexi Czerwien
Czerwin has the most points on the Falcons roster, with a total of nine. She had four goals and one assist on the season. Czerwin, however, has not scored a point since the Falcon’s last win against Northern Illinois, where she scored her fourth goal of the season.
If the Falcons want a chance to make the tournament, then the offensive duo of Czerwien and Stransky must be very active against the Zips.
Senior Midfielder #4 Ella Hadley
Hadley leads the Zips in points on the season with five and is tied with two other Zips for leading goal scorer with two. She also leads the team with shots on goal with a total of eight.
Although the Zips have not been successful against the Falcons in the past, it will still be key to lock down one of their top offensive options. Hadley will look to slip through the cracks of the Falcon’s defense and try to score as much as she can.
Sophomore Midfielder #21 Anna Simmons
Simmons is only one of the five Zips that has played all 16 games this season. She also is second on the team for total shots. Simmons last season also led the Zips in total shots.
She is one of the Zips’ offensive sparkplugs. However, in the last game against Kent State, Simmons did not record either a shot on goal or a shot. That is something that the Falcons should look to continue to contain.
