Falcons Hit the Road, Play Two States this Weekend

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team hits the road for a pair of non-conference contests vs. regional foes this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Andy Richards head to East Lansing, Mich., for a Friday (Sept. 9) match against Michigan State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at MSU's DeMartin Stadium.

LIVE STATS: BGSU-MSU   |   BGSU-YSU
LIVE VIDEO: BGSU-YSU
OTHER LINKS: BGSU Cume Stats   |   2011 Media Guide   |   Career Stats of Current Falcons

Then, the Brown and Orange will face a Horizon League opponent for the fourth time in as many weekends, squaring off against Youngstown State University on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 11). That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

FALCONS at MICHIGAN STATE
Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 • 2:30 p.m.
VENUE: DeMartin Stadium; East Lansing, Mich.
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 1-4-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• MSU: 4-1-0 (9-6-4, 3-4-3 Big Ten Conference in 2010)
SERIES*: MSU leads, 12-1-2     |     STREAK: MSU - 3
LAST MEETING: MSU 2, at BGSU 0 (Sept. 17, 2010)
LAST MEETING IN EAST LANSING: at MSU 4, BGSU 0 (Aug. 30, 2009)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 103-112-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• MSU: Tom Saxton (Michigan State, '83), 203-164-38 in 21st year at MSU and overall
LIVE STATS: Available at MSUSpartans.com or right here at BGSUFalcons.com

FALCONS at YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
VENUE: Stambaugh Stadium; Youngstown, Ohio
RECORDS (heading into Friday's matches):
• BGSU: 1-4-0 (4-12-4, 2-6-3 MAC in 2010)
• YSU: 3-2-1 (3-13-1, 1-6-1 Horizon League in 2010) – YSU plays at Kent State on Friday
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 5-0-0
LAST MEETING: at BGSU 2, YSU 0 (Sept. 13, 2009)
LAST MEETING IN YOUNGSTOWN: BGSU 3, at YSU 0 (Sept. 23, 2007)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Andy Richards (Sheffield City Polytechnic [England], '89), 103-112-26 in 12th year at BGSU and overall; 55-55-15 in MAC matches
• YSU: Will Lemke (UW-LaCrosse, '96), 10-25-5 in third year at YSU; 94-80-12 in 10th year overall
LIVE STREAMING: Available through the Horizon League Network (link at BGSUFalcons.com)
LIVE STATS: Available at YSUsports.com or right here at BGSUFalcons.com
* Note: Series information can be found on pages 47-49 of the 2011 BGSU online media guide, which is available in both PDF and flip interactive formats here at BGSUFalcons.com

LIVE STREAMING (also titled, YES, WE KNOW WE'VE PROMISED THIS BEFORE...)
Sunday's match at Youngstown State is scheduled to be video streamed online via the Horizon League network. A link to the video feed will be available at BGSUFalcons.com, both on the front page of the site and on the women's soccer schedule page.

LIVE STATISTICS
Again in 2011, all BGSU home women's soccer matches, and most away contests, will have live statistics available on the web. If you can't make it to the field, simply log on to BGSUFalcons.com at game time. The live stats links can be found on the front page of the site (in the 'schedule' section) or by clicking on the women's soccer schedule and choosing the corresponding match.

ON THE HORIZON...
The Youngstown State match will be the Falcons' fourth against a Horizon League team in as many weekends. In all, BGSU plays five HL foes this fall, taking on Loyola (Ill.), Detroit, Cleveland State, YSU and Valparaiso.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons will enter the weekend with a record of 1-4-0 on the season. BGSU split last weekend's two matches, picking up a 1-0 victory at Cleveland State on Friday (Sept. 2) before dropping a 2-1 decision in overtime to Niagara at Cochrane Field on Sunday (Sept. 4).

Four players have scored one goal apiece for the Falcons this season to date. Junior Sarah VonderBrink leads the team with three points, on a goal and an assist. Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro, sophomore Ashley Miller and freshman Kaylee Draper each have two points on the year.

Senior Megan Amann and sophomore Madeline Wideman each have one assist this fall to date. Amann's assist came on VonderBrink's winning goal at CSU, while Wideman assisted on Zuccaro's goal in Sunday's Niagara match.

Redshirt junior Becca Ison has played the entirety of all five matches in goal this season. Ison has a MAC-leading total of 36 saves, a goals-against average of 2.16 and one shutout. Ison made a career-high 11 stops in the Illinois State game on Aug. 21, and she had eight saves against both Detroit (Aug. 28) and Niagara.

Two players, Ison and sophomore Alyssa Carmack, have played every second of all five matches this fall, while Zuccaro has played 456 of the 458-plus minutes. Draper has been on the field for 452 minutes, while redshirt freshman Kylie Briem has played 445. Those five players each have started all five matches, as have Amann and redshirt sophomore Jenny Fowler.

Head coach Andy Richards and his staff, assistants Kellie Evans and Jimmy Walker, welcomed back a total of 17 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. BGSU's returning players combined for nearly 67 percent of the team's goals and almost 73% of the assists a year ago. Four of the Falcons' top-five scorers return from the 2010 campaign, including Zuccaro, who led the team in scoring. Zuccaro had one-third of the team's goals, with eight, and also led the Brown and Orange with six assists. Her total of 22 points was the highest by a BGSU player since the 2005 season.

LAST WEEKEND
The Falcons broke into the win column with a 1-0 victory at Cleveland State on Friday night (Sept. 2). Junior Sarah VonderBrink scored midway through the first half, off of a cross by senior Megan Amann, and that goal held up as the winner. Redshirt junior Becca Ison made six saves in goal to earn the first complete-match shutout of her collegiate career.

On Sunday (Sept. 4), the Falcons lost to Niagara, 2-1 in overtime, at Cochrane Field. Senior captain Alyssa Zuccaro headed home a free kick by sophomore Madeline Wideman in the first half, but the Purple Eagles tied the score in the second stanza, then scored on a corner kick eight-and-a-half minutes into the OT period. Ison had eight saves for the home team.

YOU CAN'T SPELL 'GOALZ' WITHOUT 'Z'
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro's goal in Sunday's Niagara match was the 16th of her BGSU career. She is now tied for seventh on the school's career list for goals. Zuccaro is deadlocked with Britt Anderson (2002-05) on that chart.

A FEW MORE NOTES ABOUT ALYSSA ZUCCARO
• Senior Alyssa Zuccaro now has a career total of 42 points, ranking her ninth on that BGSU list.

• Zuccaro took a total of nine shot attempts against Niagara. That is the highest total by a BGSU player in nearly seven years, since Kristy Coppes fired nine shots against Buffalo on Oct. 17, 2004. Coppes holds the school record with 11 shot attempts in a 2002 match against Western Michigan.

• Zuccaro led the Falcons in goals (eight), assists (six) and points (22) last season. Her 2010 goal and point totals were the highest by a BGSU player since 2005 (Samantha Meister, eight goals and 22 points).

• Last year, through five matches, Zuccaro had three points on a goal and an assist. In fact, she had three points after eight matches, before scoring 19 points over the final 12 games.

• During that stretch, 'Z' scored 15 points in a four-match span, a school record. She had a then career-high five points in the Indiana State game (Sept. 19), then topped that total with six points on a hat trick vs. Buffalo (Sept. 24). Zuccaro assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Kent State (Sept. 26), and had a three-point match at Eastern Michigan.

• With her performances in the Indiana State and Buffalo games, Zuccaro became the first Falcon to score five goals over a two-game span in over six years.

• In her Falcon career, Zuccaro has 24 points (nine goals, six assists) in home matches and 18 points (seven goals, four assists) in away contests.

VONDY HAS SCORED SOME BIG GOALS
• Junior Sarah VonderBrink's goal vs. Cleveland State was the fourth of her career. Three of those have been game-winning goals. VonderBrink, who leads the 2011 Falcons with three points, now has 12 career points on the four goals and four assists.

• VonderBrink has scored the game-winning goal in each of the Falcons' last two meetings with Cleveland State. Last season, 'Vondy' scored with just 6:26 left in the second half as BGSU posted a 2-1 win over the Vikings at Cochrane Field (Sept. 12, 2011).

• Not only has VonderBrink scored the winning goal in each of the last two CSU matches, she also has recorded the winner in each of the Falcons' last two road victories. VonderBrink scored the decisive goal in a 3-2 win at Indiana State last Sept. 19.

AMANN ASSISTS AGAIN
• Senior Megan Amann had the primary assist on VonderBrink's goals in each of the last two CSU games. Amann now has a career total of 19 assists, moving her into sole possession of fourth place on the BGSU career list.

• Amann now has 29 career points in her BGSU tenure. She is tied for 12th place on that school list.

• The Falcons have a record of 15-1-4 in matches in which Amann scores a point, and BGSU is 7-33-7 in contests when Amann is held scoreless during her three-plus seasons.

A CLEAN SHEET FOR ISON
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Becca Ison recorded her first collegiate win, and also had the first complete-match shutout of her career, in Friday's match at Cleveland State. Ison had started only one match at BGSU prior to the 2011 season.

CAREER NUMBERS FOR ISON
• Redshirt junior 'keeper Becca Ison has played all 458:28 in goal this season, and now has a total of 36 saves. She entered the 2011 campaign with career totals of 18 saves and just over 306 minutes played.

FALCON COACH ANDY RICHARDS
BGSU head coach Andy Richards, now in his 12th season at the helm, has proven himself to be one of the most successful mentors in MAC women's soccer history. He has guided the Falcons to an overall record of 103-112-26, and a record of 55-55-15 in MAC regular-season play. Richards picked up the 100th victory of his collegiate head-coaching career in the Falcons' 3-2 win at Indiana State last season (Sept. 19).

Richards' teams perennially play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the MAC. In his first decade-plus in BG, he has led the Falcons to the MAC Tournament on eight occasions, with the team advancing to the semifinals seven times. BGSU is 10-5-5 in MAC Tournament matches during his tenure, and no coach has more trips to the league tourney title game than Richards' five. Two of those appearances – in 2004 and 2005 – resulted in MAC Tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Championships. Richards and the Falcons also won the '05 regular-season crown.

A native of Warwick, England, Richards earned his Bachelor of Education degree from Sheffield City Polytechnic in 1989. He received his Master of Education degree from Oregon State in 1997.

RICHARDS IS IN THE TOP-FOUR
Falcon head coach Andy Richards is one of the winningest mentors in MAC women's soccer history. Currently, Richards ranks fourth on the conference's all-time wins list.
OVERALL WINS BY MAC COACHES
(since the MAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 1997 – totals through games of Wednesday, Sept. 7)
147 -- Bobby Kramig, Miami (1997-present)
125 -- Scott Hall, EMU (1999-present)
106 -- Brad Evans, Toledo (2001-present)
103 -- Andy Richards, BGSU (2000-present)
95 -- Stacy Strauss, Ohio (2000-present)
91 -- Jean-A. Tassy, Buffalo (1998-2007) *
89 -- Mike Haines, WMU (1998-2008)
82 -- Rob Marinaro, Kent State (2001-present)
70 -- Ron Rainey, Ball State (1999-2005)
* Tassy had 113 total wins at UB from 1995-2007, but the Bulls did not join the MAC until the 1998 season

THE OPPONENTS
Michigan State will enter Friday's match with a record of 4-1-0 on the season. The Spartans suffered a 3-2 loss to Milwaukee in the season opener, but have reeled off four shutout wins since that time, including a 5-0 victory at Akron on Sunday (Sept. 4). The Spartans' other wins have come against DePaul, Duquesne and Oakland. Senior GK Jill Flietstra has been named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week in each of the last two weeks, and has a school-record 23 career shutouts. This year, Flietstra has a GAA of just 0.60. Offensively, three-time All-American Laura Heyboer has 15 points on six goals and three assists, while Olivia Stander has five goals for 10 points. Head coach Tom Saxton has 10 seniors on this year's team. Last year, the Spartans went 9-6-4 overall and 3-4-3 in Big Ten play. The school's athletics web site is MSUSpartans.com.

Youngstown State will take a 3-2-1 record into Friday's match at Kent State. The Penguins have matched the win total for all of last season. YSU suffered a 1-0 loss to Canisius on Sunday (Sept. 4), snapping a three-match win streak, the first such streak in program history. Those wins came over VMU, Robert Morris and Ursuline. Jade Flory leads the 'Guins with five goals and 11 points. In goal, Ali Viola has 22 saves, a 3-1-1 record and a GAA of just 0.47. A year ago, YSU went 3-13-1 overall and 1-6-1 in Horizon League play. Head coach Will Lemke welcomed back 17 letterwinners, including 10 starters, from that team. The school's athletics web site is www.YSUsports.com.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Michigan State, 12-1-2, in the all-time series between the teams. MSU is BGSU's most common non-conference opponent, with a regular-season meeting in each of the Falcons' first 14 years as a program, plus a matchup in the 2005 NCAA Championships. Last year, the Spartans picked up a 2-0 win at Cochrane Field (Sept. 17, 2010). State also posted a shutout win in the team's last meeting in East Lansing, 4-0 two years ago (Aug. 30, 2009). BGSU's lone win in series history was a 3-2 overtime victory at Cochrane in the 1999 season.
THE BGSU-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
(MSU leads, 12-1-2)
Oct. 29, 1997 -- Michigan State 2, at BGSU 1
Oct. 21, 1998 -- at Michigan State 5, BGSU 1
Aug. 27, 1999 -- at BGSU 3, Michigan State 2 (OT)
Oct. 29, 2000 -- Michigan State 1, at BGSU 0
Sept. 2, 2001 -- BGSU 1, at Michigan State 1 (2-OT)
Sept. 1, 2002 -- Michigan State 4, at BGSU 0
Oct. 15, 2003 -- at Michigan State 3, BGSU 2
Sept. 3, 2004 -- Michigan State 3, at BGSU 0
Sept. 9, 2005 -- at Michigan State 1, BGSU 0
Nov. 11, 2005 -- Michigan State 4, BGSU 0 #
Sept. 15, 2006 -- Michigan State 2, at BGSU 1
Sept. 21, 2007 -- BGSU 1, at Michigan State 1 (2-OT)
Aug. 31, 2008 -- Michigan State 3, at BGSU 0
Aug. 30, 2009 -- at Michigan State 4, BGSU 0
Sept. 17, 2010 -- Michigan State 2, at BGSU 0
# NCAA Champ's 1st Rd.; Notre Dame, Ind.

The Falcons lead Youngstown State, 5-0-0, in that series, with four wins coming at Cochrane Field. The only prior match in Youngstown came four years ago, and was a 3-0 victory for the Falcons (Sept. 23, 2007). The teams' last matchup was two Septembers ago (Sept. 13, 2009), as the Falcons posted a 2-0 win at Cochrane. BGSU has scored 23 goals and allowed only three in the five series meetings.
THE BGSU-YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
(BGSU leads, 5-0-0)
Nov. 2, 1997 -- at BGSU 7, Youngstown State 2
Oct. 3, 2001 -- at BGSU 10, Youngstown State 1
Sept. 8, 2006 -- at BGSU 1, Youngstown State 0
Sept. 23, 2007 -- BGSU 3, at Youngstown State 0
Sept. 13, 2009 -- at BGSU 2, Youngstown State 0

EXTRA TIME (A FEW FINAL FALCON NOTES)
The Falcons' victory at Cleveland State ended a number of streaks ... the win over the Vikings snapped a six-match losing streak, a 12-match winless streak, a four-game road losing streak and a seven-game road winless stretch • Sophomore Madeline Wideman's assist on BGSU's goal vs. Niagara was the sixth of her career ... Wideman now has 12 career points, tying her for third among current Falcons • Junior Sarah VonderBrink also has 12 points in her BGSU career after scoring the winning goal vs. Cleveland State last weekend • The overtime game vs. Niagara was the first for the Falcons in 2011 ... BGSU now has an all-time record of 18-17-30 in OT matches, including a 9-13-13 record at Cochrane Field, a 7-2-15 mark in road games and a 2-2-2 ledger in neutral-site overtime contests • BG now leads the series with Cleveland State by a 4-0-0 margin ... the Falcons have scored 14 goals and allowed just two in the four meetings.

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN EAST
The Falcons have been picked to finish fifth in the MAC's East Division standings in 2011, according to the preseason coaches poll. The 2011 season marks the second year that a divisional format has been utilized for MAC women's soccer. Last year, the Brown and Orange tied for fourth in the East.

THE 2011 CAPTAIN
Senior Alyssa Zuccaro is the captain of the 2011 women's soccer Falcons.

UP NEXT
After the Youngstown State match, the Falcons will close the non-conference portion of the schedule with a pair of home dates. BGSU will face IPFW on Friday, Sept. 16, with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Then, the Brown and Orange will welcome Valparaiso to town on Sunday, Sept. 18, for a 1:00 p.m. match at Cochrane Field.

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