BGSU women’s soccer (7-1-5, 2-0-4 MAC) returns home on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. to take on Miami (OH) (7-5, 4-2 MAC) after a two-game road trip that featured back-to-back draws against their northern foes, Toledo and Eastern Michigan.
After a 7-1-5 start that is the best in program history and a 6-0-5 record since their only loss to Illinois on Aug. 17, the Falcons enter Sunday with 11 straight games without a loss, a mark that ties the longest in program history. With a win or a draw against the RedHawks, head coach Chris Fox could add yet another record to his already prestigious 2025 resume.
Bowling Green is unbeaten in nine straight matches against Miami, dating back to a 4-1 win in BG in 2017, and they won six in a row before their most recent match in Oxford that ended in a 1-1 draw in 2024 after field conditions forced the game to be moved to Hamilton Ross High School.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons are now the only team left in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) to be unbeaten in conference play after Western Michigan lost to Northern Illinois 1-0 on Thursday to snap their streak of 29 straight MAC matches without a loss.
Since their most recent home game, a 4-0 victory over Central Michigan, the Falcons have gone 0-2-0 with a 0-0 draw in Toledo on Thursday and a 1-1 draw with Eastern Michigan on Sunday. In the matchup with the Eagles, BG registered 14 shots to Eastern’s seven, breaking through with a game-tying goal by junior forward Lizzie Bultynck for her third of the season.
Bultynck is now second on the team with three goals on the season, trailing only junior Emma Stransky, who still maintains her position tied for second in the MAC with six on the year.
Sophomore goalkeeper Payton O’Malley has also maintained her spot at the top of the MAC goalkeeper rankings, a two-game week where she allowed one goal on eight shots on goal. The Pittsburgh native has eight goals allowed in 13 games played, giving her a goals against average of .621, which is best in the conference, on top of her .855 save percentage that leads the MAC as well.
Junior forward Ella Kane returned to the pitch last Sunday, seeing her first minutes since the matchup with Duquesne on Sept. 7. Kane has registered five points through only 481 minutes, and she will be looking for her first points against a MAC opponent this Sunday against Miami.
Bowling Green is currently tied with Ball State for fifth in the MAC with 10 conference points and 1.67 conference points per game, and with conference play halfway done, the final six matches in the season will be crucial with so many teams still in the hunt for a conference tournament spot.
After the match with the RedHawks, BG will travel west to take on Northern Illinois on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. EST before returning home to take on Ball State on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
Scouting Miami (OH)
The RedHawks enter Sunday’s match with the Falcons on a heater, as head coach Courtney Sirmans has overseen three straight 1-0 victories over Eastern Michigan, Akron, and Toledo.
Miami saw three different RedHawks score across the three matches, while junior goalkeeper Dominque Popa registered three straight shutouts, doubling her season total to six. Popa is the only Miami (OH) player to earn a MAC Player of the Week award in 2025, earning Goalkeeper of the Week only a fortnight ago.
Junior forward Katie O’Malley has led the squad with 10 points on the season, most recently scoring the game-winner against Toledo for her third of the year.
Redshirt sophomore Sophia Penegor joins Popa as the only member of the RedHawk squad to play every minute of the 2025 season after sitting out her sophomore season. The Dublin, Ohio native has added two goals to a dominant season at the forefront of the Miami back line alongside veteran defender Juliann Kidd, who is having a dominant season of her own.
The RedHawk defense has gotten well into form as conference play has gone on, registering three straight shutouts after giving up three goals in back-to-back matches against Western Michigan and Buffalo. After their matchup with BG on Sunday, Miami will return home to take on UMass on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.
