BGSU women’s soccer (7-5-4, 4-3-3 MAC) will be riding the witch’s broom of momentum after a bounce-back 2-0 victory over the Akron Zips (5-8-4, 0-8-2 MAC), but they will head into the haunting Dix Stadium for a crucial matchup with the Kent State Golden Flashes (7-6-3, 4-4-2 MAC) on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m.
As of pregame, the Falcons hold the fourth seed in the Mid-American Conference standings, meaning that they would host one of the two matches in Sunday’s MAC tournament quarterfinal, and while a win would surely secure that spot, a draw has the chance to do the same if other results go their way.
Kent State would jump the Falcons with a victory on Halloween afternoon, and if either Northern Illinois beats Western Michigan or Miami (OH) beats Ohio, then the Falcons would be at risk of falling to the sixth seed, or even to seventh and out of the playoff altogether.
Games like these are what all athletes dream of, and the question is who will howl the loudest when the full moon sets on All Hallows’ Eve and the MAC tournament spots are set in stone.
Scouting the Past
The Golden Flashes will be hungry for their third MAC tournament appearance in four years after reaching the championship game in both of those attempts, only to lose to BG in 2021 and Ohio in the most rendition of the competition by a score of 2-1.
Kent State has only one MAC championship to its name, which came in 2016 when they reached a MAC-best 8-1-2 conference record and beat NIU in a home MAC championship game.
Back-to-back wins give Kent State the recent advantage against the Falcons, but as it is with so many MAC teams, BG went on a seven-game win streak against the program spanning from 2017 to the 3-0 MAC championship victory in 2021.
Golden Flash head coach Rob Marinaro is in the midst of his 24th season as head coach of the program, a tenure that features three MAC regular season championships, three MAC East Division championships, and one MAC championship. Marinaro has a 212-172 all-time record with the team and an 8-15-4 record against the Falcons.
The 2024 season has been a rollercoaster ride for Kent State, starting with back-to-back wins in MAC play followed by four games without a victory, then a stretch where they have gone 2-1-1 in the last four.
The Golden Flashes have shined at home, featuring a 5-2 record that includes wins over Central Michigan and Ball State, but also sees losses to Western Michigan and Miami (OH).
Similarly, the Falcons are 4-1-3 at home yet hold a 3-4-1 record on the road, which doesn’t feature a victory over a team ranked above 11th in the MAC standings.
Despite the recent win over the struggling Akron Zips, the Falcons have been struggling, going the prior four games without a victory and going winless in the last three road matchups prior to Sunday’s matchup.
Kent State’s statistics don’t necessarily support their fifth-place MAC standing, as they rank 10th out of 12 teams in goals allowed and seventh with only 24 goals allowed in 16 games.
BG’s defense sits in the middle of the pack with 17 goals allowed, good for sixth best, while their 19 goals fail to back up their impressive possession numbers at ninth best in the MAC.
Falcon to Watch
With a goal in an Akron victory that saw a dominant performance from the entire BG midfield and offensive unit, Czerwien has positioned herself as the offensive statistical leader of the Falcon team with five goals on the year.
Czerwien has been the leader of what is a relatively young Falcon core, and her veteran presence has been huge in not only teaching the young players the ways of the college game but also showing them what it takes to produce at such a high level.
Look for Czerwien to be an offensive leader in what is the biggest game of BG’s season, because they are going to need one if they are going to break through against the Golden Flashes.
Golden Flash to Watch
The senior midfielder out of Miamisburg, Ohio has been one of the best players in the MAC since she stepped foot on a Division I soccer field in 2021 when she earned MAC All-Freshman Team honors, and she is poised to follow up her First Team All-MAC Selection in 2023 with a duplicate award in 2024.
Arthur doubles any other Kent State player in points with 15 compared to Siena Stambolich, who sits in second place with seven, and her 51 averages of 3.19 shots per game are good for third in the conference.
Watch out for a dangerous offense to rival many that have given BG challenges on the road this season and watch for Arthur to lead a hungry Kent State team in the Halloween battle for the age on Thursday afternoon.
