Kalamazoo, Michigan - The Bowling Green Men's Rugby Team (8-1, 6-0 MAC) overcame the No. 3 seed Western Michigan (3-2 MAC) away in their final regular season game with a 36-21 win. This year's MAC Tournament will be the 43rd consecutive tournament appearance since 1982, with the Falcons winning the Conference Tournament for the first 40 of 43 appearances.
 
"You know, it's always good to beat Western, especially at their place. Could have been a cleaner game, as far as our tactics and our execution," said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. "Getting through that game is what we really needed to do, we did that and put ourselves in the position that we were hoping for."
 
The last time the Falcons faced the Broncos was in the 27-15 home win in the regular season on September 23rd, 2023. With the 36-21 win over the Broncos, the Falcons have secured the No. 1 Seed in the MAC as well as retained the No. 2 Seed in the NCR Top 20 Coaches Poll. The Falcons can be proud of their away performance in Kalamazoo as they defeated their long standing rivals.
 
"Finishing off Western solidifies our spot at 1st overall in the playoffs, getting us two home games," said Captain Joey Apel. "This has been our goal all year and we worked very hard to earn these last 2 home games."
 
The Falcons opened the game with two quick tries. The Falcons played a solid game throughout the first half. BG was ready to go and brought the pressure to the desperate Broncos. It was obvious that Western Michigan were playing with nothing to lose. They came out strong from the opening kickoff with an aggressive defense. After halftime, the Falcons let their foot off the gas and conceded quick tries to Western Michigan. BG was able to hold Western Michigan to only scoring two tries, one conversion, and three penalties, while six Falcons would score tries and Captain Joey Apel would make three of six conversions. Overall, the Falcons did what they needed to do to lock in the No. 1 Seed heading into the MAC Tournament.
 
NOTABLES

• Falcons are now 14-0 in the MAC since their November 5th, 2022 victory over Pitt 91-0.
• Falcons finish 6-0 in the MAC and top of the conference table on 30 pts.
• BG are undefeated in back-to-back seasons in the MAC regular season.
• Bowling Green will host the semi-finals for the MAC Tournament on November 9th

Bowling Green (8-1, 6-0 MAC) will begin the MAC Tournament on Saturday, November 9th at home on the Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field at 1 pm against the No. 4 Seed team Cincinnati. Both teams will be fighting for the opportunity to face the winner of Louisville (No. 2) and Western Michigan (No. 3) in the MAC Final the following weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st XV
Bowling Green 36, Western Michigan 21

• Kickoff
• Wing Isaac Radke opens the scoring for the Falcons (5-0)
• Center Logan Van Hoose scores his sixth try in the MAC (10-0)
• Captain Joey Apel converts (12-0)
• Western Michigan converts a penalty kick (12-3)
• Western Michigan converts a penalty kick (12-6)
• Scrumhalf Griffin Wilson scores (17-6)
• Captain Joey Apel converts his second (19-6)
• Lock Zach Szepiela scores (24-6)
• Halftime: (24-6)
• Western Michigan scores and converts (24-13)
• 8-Man Phil Tracey scores (29-13)
• Captain Joey Apel converts his third (31-13)
• Western Michigan converts a penalty kick (31-16)
• Wing Brian Arnold scores his fourth of the season (36-16)
• Western Michigan scores (36-21)
• Final Score: 36-21

2nd XV
Bowling Green (21), Western Michigan (24)