The Mid-American Conference (MAC) women’s soccer season has concluded, which means it’s time for the yearly All-MAC teams, the All-MAC Freshman Team, and the All-MAC First and Second Team.
Bowling Green was one of five teams to have four combined players throughout all three of the teams, while Western Michigan had the most of any team with six, including four players who earned All-MAC First Team honors.
Midfielder Lexi Czerwien was the lone Falcon to earn a spot on the All-MAC First team after her breakout season under a new system that put an emphasis on offensive production from midfielders, as she earned a team and career-high 11 points in 2024, coming from five goals and one assist.
The award comes in Czerwien’s final year of eligibility and ends her career on a good note, giving the first award of the kind of her five-year career.
Fellow midfielder Emme Butera earned a spot on the All-MAC Second Team in only her sophomore season in a year where she led the Falcons with 1,619 minutes while scoring two goals on top of three assists, good for seven points which is tied for third-most on the squad.
More notably, Butera was vital in a defensive midfield position that was the core of a possession-based offensive system. Butera’s knowledge of the game and the system earned her the privilege of taking set pieces throughout the season, scoring one goal from an Olimpico in BG’s match against Kent State and taking free kicks from all over the pitch in 2024.
Two Freshman earned spots on the All-MAC Freshman team, starting with defender Haley Wolf, who led BG freshman by reaching the 1000-minute mark in 2024 at a defender position where she worked nicely on the right and left sides in combination with Isabelle Gilmore and Taylor Green. Wolf contributed to a back line that earned six shutouts in 2024.
Finally, freshman goalkeeper Payton O’Malley earned a spot on the All-MAC Freshman Team after taking over for junior goalkeeper Madison Vukas, who missed the last half of the 2024 season due to injury. O’Malley started nine games, starting with the match against Miami (OH) on Sept. 29, earning a .650 save percentage on 1.56 average goals allowed and a 2-4-3 record in 810 minutes.
The Falcons’ four total awards equal the amount they earned in 2023 when two Falcons earned spots on both the All-MAC First Team and the All-MAC Freshman Team, none of which earned another award in 2024.
