Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green Men's Rugby Team (9-1, 6-0 MAC) will enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and face the No. 2 Seed Louisville (7-2, 5-1 MAC) in a home MAC final on Saturday, November 16th at 1 pm on the Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field. The Falcon's will go into their 43rd MAC Final since 1982 with expectations to win their 42nd MAC Final.

"This win earlier in the year means nothing, they're going to come back if it was a motivating factor for them," said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. "I'm sure they're going to be trying to use that as much as they possibly can. We're going to have to be ready for them right from the start."

The last time these two teams faced in the MAC Tournament was the 2023 MAC Final. It ended with a 47-17 win for Louisville, giving them their second consecutive MAC Title. The Cardinals have proved themselves to be a dangerous team. They play with emotion and come into the game looking for their third consecutive MAC Title and get revenge for the last minute loss against BG in the regular season. The Falcons cannot come out flat footed. They need to be focused and keep their heads cool for the full 80 minutes if they want to reclaim the MAC Title.

"It's a final we've seen before, nothing new. We were in the same position last year and weren't able to get the job done," said Captain Joey Apel. "This year we will, as simple as that."

Last Time on the Field

The Falcons started the game by receiving the ball. However, the Bearcats were able to recover the ball from kickoff. They eventually drove one past the Falcons and converted on their opening possession of the game to take a 0-7 lead away. From there the Falcons woke up. Scoring 20 unanswered points to take a 20-7. Scrumhalf Griffin Wilson opened the Falcons scoring, followed by Phil Tracey, Brian Arnold, and Phil Tracey again. Cincinnati was a far different team in the semifinals than in the 38-5 win in the opening week of the regular season. Cincinnati managed to score before halftime to make it 20-12. In the second half, the Bearcats managed to hold a majority of the possession. Flanker Harvey Harris opened the scoring in the second half for the Falcons and extended the lead to 25-12. On the following kickoff, Cincinnati shocked the Falcons and again scored after recovering the kickoff. Finally, the Falcon's Center Logen VanHoose closed out the game with a try. This brought the final to 30-19 and secured the Falcon's spot in the MAC Final.

Milestone Markers

• The Falcons look to win their 42nd MAC Title.
• BG will be playing for the opportunity to challenge for the National Title, which was last won by BG in 2018.

About Louisville

Last season, Lousiville finished 3rd in the MAC Conference with 26 points from a record of 5-2, with losses to both Bowling Green and Western Michigan. They finished first for points for (305), second for points against (63) and points differential (+242). The Cardinals also won the 2023 MAC Tournament after a 31-30 victory over Western Michigan (No. 2) in the semi-finals and a 47-17 victory over Bowling Green (No. 1) to win their second consecutive MAC Title.

This season, Louisville are 4-1, 3-0 MAC. The Cardinals started with a preseason victory 36-5 over Memphis who are now ranked No. 5 in the D-II NCR Top 20 Coaches Poll. The Cardinals then played three MAC games, going undefeated with wins over Pittsburgh (65-5), Ohio University (85-0) and Western Michigan (27-15). Louisville lost their first match of the season to Notre Dame 29-5 in the Parseghian Cup. Then the Cardinals received their first and only loss in the MAC to a late 28-27 BG win at home. The Cardinals finished their regular season with a 64-7 win over Dayton and a 50-29 win over Cincinnati. Louisville started their MAC Tournament with a 34-10 victory at home over Western Michigan in the MAC Semifinal.

Louisville won in its last MAC Tournament match against BG 47-17 in the 2023 MAC Final. 

Bowling Green vs. Louisville

Bowling Green, Ohio | Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field

Saturday, November 16th | @ 1 p.m.

Up Next

Bowling Green will find out after the MAC Final what awaits them in the Nationals Tournament.

Follow the Falcons

Be sure to follow the Falcons Rugby team on social media for schedule updates and any information:

• Instagram: @rugbgofficial
• Facebook: BGSU Men's Rugby