The Bowling Green women’s soccer program has been picked to win both the Mid-American Conference East
Division title and the league’s championship match this season.
The 2020-21 preseason poll, the result of voting by the conference’s 12 head coaches, was released by the
league office on Wednesday.
This season has returned to a pair of six-team divisions, with each team playing a total of 10
regular-season conference matches — two games each against the other five teams in the division.
The voting gave BG totals of 67 points and eight first-place votes to outdistance Buffalo in the
preseason poll. In the West Division, Ball State was picked to win.
The two divisional winners will meet in a championship match, and seven of the 12 MAC coaches have picked
the Falcons as the winner of that contest.
BG’s new head coach Jimmy Walker and his staff have a total of 16 letter-winners, including seven
starters, back from a 2019 team that won both the MAC regular-season and tournament titles for the
second consecutive season.
The 2019 Falcons went 14-6-3 overall, tying the school record for wins for the second-straight year. BGSU
was 10-1-0 in MAC regular-season play, tying the school record for conference wins, and the Falcons
became the first program in MAC history to win 10 league matches in back-to-back seasons.
Over the last three seasons, the Falcons are 41-18-7 overall, 26-6-1 in MAC regular-season matches and
32-7-3 in all games vs. conference foes.
The Falcons begin the regular season on Thursday at Akron, while the home opener is scheduled for Sunday
vs. Ohio.
MAC WOMEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
EAST DIVISION
1. Bowling Green – 67 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Buffalo – 61 (3)
3. Kent State – 41 (1)
4. Ohio – 39
5. Akron – 24
6. Miami – 20
WEST DIVISION
1. Ball State – 64 points (6 first-place votes)
2. Eastern Michigan – 58 (4)
3. Western Michigan – 52 (2)
4. Central Michigan – 39
5. Toledo – 26
6. Northern Illinois – 13
Predicted Champion: Bowling Green 7; Eastern Michigan 2; Ball State, Buffalo, Western Michigan 1 each.
