The BGSU women’s soccer team (4-1-1) welcomes the Duquesne Dukes (4-1-0) to Cochrane Stadium for a Sunday matchup at 1 p.m. The final non-conference match for Bowling Green before MAC play starts.
The Falcons enter this game off a 2-1 win in Pennsylvania against Robert Morris University. Not having lost a game since a 1-0 loss to Illinois back on Aug. 17.
Duquesne is coming off a 4-1 win over the Cleveland State Vikings. Their only loss of the season was at West Virginia, where they lost 6-0.
This is the third all-time meeting between the two teams. The series is tied 1-1, with the last meeting going to Duquesne, who won the match 2-0 in 2024.
Scouting Duquesne
Duquesne sits second in the A-10 conference so far this season, only one game behind Rhode Island.
The Duquesne offense is a very formidable foe; they have put up three or more goals in all but one of their matches this season. Led by senior forward Maya Matesa, who has eight goals through five games this season.
Junior goalkeeper Ali Hughes is getting her first taste of Division I soccer after not playing for the Dukes in her freshman and sophomore years. Adding two clean sheet games already this season is a great start, but the goalkeeper has given up six goals through five games.
In the official A-10 preseason poll, Duquesne was predicted to finish tenth out of the fourteen teams. They have gotten out to a hot start and look to prove that prediction wrong with the strong play that they have shown this season.
Scouting Bowling Green
The orange and brown have the second-best goals against stat. In six games, they have only allowed four goals. For the Falcons, the defense has been the strength of the team; no team they have played against this season has put up more than one goal against the Falcons.
A strong defense for the Falcons is anchored by junior defender and captain Taylor Green, who has not taken a break from the action, playing all 90 minutes in every game this season.
Ella Kane and Issabella Mazzaferro led the Falcons’ offense with two goals apiece. Kane has started all but one game this season and is the focal point of the offense, while Mazzaferro has provided a much-needed offensive spark off the bench.
Head coach Chris Fox enters his second year with the Falcons and looks to build off a 2024 season where they ended conference play 4-4-3.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Payton O’Malley – Goalkeeper #1, Bowling Green
O’Malley has kept the back of the net clean this season with only four conceded. The sophomore had seven saves in a 0-0 game against the Cincinnati Bearcats and only allowed one goal against Illinois. Facing the power four teams and holding them to one goal is certainly a positive sign for the Falcons.
Ella Kane – #13, Bowling Green
The Falcons will certainly be looking to score early against a Duquesne defense that has allowed plenty of goals early in the season. For that to happen, Kane will need to take an aggressive stance early in the game and look to score from the opening kickoff.
By far the most dangerous offensive player for Duquesne, Matesa will look for any opening to score a goal. Only being shut out of one game this season, every game that Matesa has started, she has scored a goal, scoring seven goals in the first three games this season.
Lindsay Krafchick – #8, Duquesne
The senior has started 10-plus games since she first stepped onto campus as a freshman. Having a player with that much experience be a part of the backline can be irreplaceable for any team. She is not just a defender, as when given the opportunity, she will put a shot on goal, and in her four years, she has scored two goals, both being game winners.
