BGSU women’s soccer (9-2-8, 4-1-7 MAC) took care of business after they arrived in Amherst, Massachusetts, for the regular season finale against the UMass Minutewomen, winning by a final score of 3-1 and fully securing their spot in the 2025 MAC Tournament.
The Falcons entered the finale, with Eastern Michigan in the sixth position of the MAC standings, but with the Eagles’ 2-0 loss to Central Michigan, the Falcons took back the sixth place position rightfully as their own.
The victory was the first in program history in the first-ever meeting against the UMass Minutewomen, and the 3-1 result maintains a season total of 12 goals allowed, which is the lowest in program history. The squad was also one of two programs in NCAA Division I to not allow more than one goal in all of their 2025 regular season, joining the nationally-ranked UCLA Bruins.
The Falcons started hot, with Emma Stransky scoring goal number one right in front of the UMass goal off a pass from midfielder Minah Syam, putting the Falcons up 1-0 and into the MAC Tournament temporarily.
After UMass and Bowling Green went back and forth in the remaining parts of a slow-paced first half, junior Emme Butera earned a yellow card, but it wouldn’t amount to much, as the score would remain 1-0 going into the second half. The Falcons led the offensive charge throughout the first half, earning seven shots to UMass’ two.
BG was on the attack early on in the second half and broke through for goal number two that bounced off a UMass player and in, but was credited to junior defender Gabby Lamparty for her fourth goal of the season.
After more persistent pressure was put on by the Falcon offense, they completed the trifecta of goals when junior forward Lexi White scored her second goal of the season, assisted by her former high school teammate Audrey Oliver, who earned her first assist of the year and the second of her career.
The Minutewomen would rebound with a goal from junior forward Caroline Dickson late in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough, as the Falcons would earn the victory by a final score of 3-1.
The Falcons put up an impressive offensive performance against the struggling UMass squad, putting up 16 shots and seven shots on goal forward and earning nine corner kicks. Grad student Ellie Pool led the squad with five shots on the day despite not finding the back of the net, and eight different players saw shots in the match.
With the win, Bowling Green secures their spot in the MAC Tournament for the ninth consecutive season, and it will head to Columbus, Ohio, for the quarterfinal round of the neutral site tournament on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. in a rematch with the Buffalo Bulls (12-4-2, 8-3-1 MAC) at Historic Crew Stadium.
