BGSU women’s soccer (7-1-4, 2-0-3 MAC) travels to Ypsilanti, Michigan, for a battle with the Eastern Michigan Eagles (4-5-2, 2-1-2 MAC) on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. as a part of the lone segment of back-to-back road Mid-American Conference (MAC) games on the Falcon schedule. 

After a 0-0 draw in the Battle of I-75 against Toledo on Thursday, the Falcons remain undefeated in conference play and tie themselves for third place in the MAC standings with nine points through five games. 

Eastern Michigan, a team that finished one place behind Bowling Green in 2024 while narrowly missing out on the MAC Tournament, has had a promising 2025 to this point with a 2-1-2 MAC record that includes victories over Toledo and Buffalo and, most recently, 1-1 draws to Ohio and Kent State. 

In last year’s matchup, the Eagles tied the finals in a 0-0 game at Cochrane Stadium, the first point they had earned against Bowling Green since 2019. The Falcons are 6-0-2 against EMU since 2017, outscoring the Eagles 18-5 in that span. 

Scouting Bowling Green 

The Falcons earned their fifth shutout of the season in a 0-0 draw with Toledo on Thursday night, maintaining a goal differential of 11 from 18 goals for and only seven allowed. 

The Falcons are undefeated on the road in 2025 with a 2-0-2 record that includes victories over Detroit Mercy and Robert Morris and draws with the Ohio Bobcats to open MAC play and the most recent draw with the Rockets. This undefeated record is a significant improvement in road matches compared to head coach Chris Fox’s first season as head coach of the BGSU squad, where they went 3-6-1 on the road in 10 matches and 2-3-1 in MAC play. 

The Falcons’ ball movement has led to 22 assists through their first 12 games, a mark that is second-best in the MAC, trailing only WMU, which has 24 going into Sunday. The individual assist ranking is littered with Bowling Green players, with four of the 10 spots being filled by junior Emme Butera, who leads the squad with four assists, defenders Gabby Lamparty and Haley Wolf, and grad student forward Ellie Pool, who all fit into the ranking with three assists each. 

The Falcon back line has maintained consistent performances throughout MAC play despite the absence of junior captain Taylor Green in the past two matches, shutting out both Central Michigan and Toledo and continuing their 12-game streak without giving up more than one goal in a match. Redshirt sophomore defender Christie Fransen has slotted into the starting center back position in place of Green, playing all 90 minutes against the Rockets, as well as playing a crucial role in the shutout of the Chippewas.  

After their matchup with the Eagles, the Falcons will take next week off before returning home to take on Miami (OH) on Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium. 

Scouting Eastern Michigan 

The Eagles enter Sunday afternoon with a 2-1-2 conference record through their opening five games, a mark that is good for fifth in the MAC standings. Second-year head coach Taylor Clarke boasts a 2025 defense that hasn’t allowed more than one goal through the beginning of conference play, but offensive struggles have plagued them, especially in non-conference play. 

Outside of multi-goal victories over Southern Indiana and Robert Morris, the Eagles failed to score in four of their six non-conference matches, which included a 4-0 season-opening loss to Cincinnati and a 2-0 loss to Loyola Chicago to close out non-conference play. 

Most recently in back-to-back 1-1 draws to Ohio and Kent State, the Eagles were substantially outshot by their opponents, giving up 31 shots and 21 shots on goal to the Golden Flashes while registering only three shots of their own despite the 1-1 score. In a 1-0 victory over Buffalo to open MAC play, the Eagles allowed 17 shots to the Bulls while shooting only four of their own, three of which were on goal, with one crossing the line, which was all they needed for an upset victory. 

Redshirt junior Ella Holland has been busy so far in 2025, making 5.27 saves per game with a save percentage of .829, which is good for third-best in the MAC. The Georgia native made 20 saves in the squad’s 1-1 draw with Kent State, a mark that set the record for most saves in a single game by an Eastern Michigan player in program history.  

Junior forward Olivia Sipsock has led the Eagles offensively with three goals and an assist on the year, including the game-winning goal against Buffalo in the MAC opener. 14 of the 22 EMU players who have received minutes in 2025 have earned at least a point on the season, and the squad ranks seventh in the MAC with 30 points on the season.  

EMU will remain in Ypsilanti after Sunday afternoon for a battle with the Ball State Cardinals on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 3 p.m.