The BG women’s soccer team returns to Cochrane Field this weekend for their final two home matches of the regular season.
The Falcons will face Ball State Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. Senior Day for the Falcons will be Sunday, Oct. 27 as they host Miami at 1 p.m.
Ball State has an overall record of 9-4-3 and a Mid-American Conference record of 4-2-2. BSU is 4-3-1 on the road as they come to Bowling Green on Friday. Ball State holds a 9-3-3 overall advantage in the series with the Falcons. The Cardinals have won the last two meetings against BG, including a 1-0 overtime win in the final minute of the second overtime in their last meeting.
Five of the last seven meetings between the two teams have gone into double overtime. The Cardinals returned 12 letterwinners, including four starters, from a 2012 team that finished 8-7-5 overall and 5-3-3 in MAC play.
Sophomore Haley Parkinson said Ball State should be a good matchup for BG. She said the Falcons are looking to stay disciplined and create scoring opportunities in the attack to get a good result.
Miami sits at 8-6-2 overall and 5-1-2 in MAC play heading into their match Friday versus Central Michigan. Miami is on a seven-game unbeaten streak and has posted five-straight shutouts.
Miami’s Kelsey Dinges was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week last week, scoring three of the RedHawks’ four goals last weekend. The RedHawks are 4-3-1 both at home and on the road this season.
BG trails Miami 11-7-1 in the overall series, with the RedHawks going unbeaten in the last four meetings. MU won the matchup last fall 3-1 in Oxford.
Miami welcomes back 14 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from a 2012 team that went 20-3-1 overall, 10-0-1 in the MAC, and won a match in the NCAA Championships.
Co-captain and redshirt senior Jenny Fowler said they key to containing the RedHawks is to stay disciplined on defense in the back field. She added they will also try to keep Dinges from attacking and creating scoring opportunities.
Head Coach Lindsay Basalyga said that although Senior Day is approaching, the team is not in a position to overlook Friday’s match against Ball State.
“Senior Day is definitely a special day to honor the players that have shown a commitment to the program through their career, but we certainly can’t look past Ball State because they are a very good team,” Basalyga said.
The list of seniors to be recognized Sunday includes Jenny Fowler, Alyssa Carmack, Madeline Wideman, Kaitlyn Tobin, Ivi Casagrande, Kailey Paszko and Amanda Nelson.
