Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green Men's Rugby Team (8-1, 6-0 MAC) will enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and face the No. 4 Seed Cincinnati (3-3 MAC) in a home MAC semi-final on Saturday, November 9th.
 
The Falcons will go into this match with expectations to make it to the MAC Final. Bowling Green has been to the MAC Final 42 consecutive times, winning the first 40 MAC Finals since 1982. BG will look to extend that run to 43 consecutive MAC Finals appearances with a win over the No. 4 Seed Cincinnati this Saturday.
 
"Cincinnati has caused us a lot of problems in the semifinals in two out of the last three years. We are certainly not going to overlook them," said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. "We played them early in the season. It was a solid performance by us, but we know that they always become a better team at the end of the year and we're going to have to watch out for them."
 
The last time these two teams faced in the MAC Tournament was the 2023 MAC semifinal. The ended with a 29-15 victory for the Falcons, however Cincinnati was no pushover. The Bearcats have proved themselves to be a team that grows in ability as the season progresses. The Falcons cannot overlook Cincinnati and will need to play a complete 80 minute match to avoid any hiccups in the semifinals.
 
"For the semis, we look to show Cincinnati that we are a very different team than we were in week 2," said Captain Joey Apel. I believe that if we play our game then Cincinnati shouldn't be a problem."
 
Last Time on the Field
The Falcons secured the No. 1 Seed in the MAC with a 36-21 victory in Kalamazoo over Western Michigan. The Broncos came out strong from the opening kickoff with an aggressive defense. However, BGSU was still able to start the game with quick tries from Wing Isaac Radke, Center Logan VanHoos, and 1 of 2 conversions from Captain Joey Apel to take a quick 12-0 lead. The Falcons played a solid game throughout the first half, only conceding two penalty kicks to Western which were converted to make the score 12-6. BG was ready to go and brought the pressure throughout the rest of the first half, scoring 2 more tries and 1 conversion to make it 24-6 at half. After halftime, the Falcons let their foot off the gas and conceded a quick try to Western Michigan to bring it to 24-13. From there it was back and forth, each team trading scores. 8-Man Phil Tracey was able to punch one back and with another conversion, BG extended the lead to 31-13. Then Western would get a penalty kick to make it 31-16. BG would find their final try through Wing Brian Arnold and make it 36-16.  Western Michigan would be the last to score, making it a 36-21 victory for the Falcons at the final whistle.
 
Milestone Markers.

• The Falcons could extend to 43 consecutive MAC Final appearances with a win over Cincinnati, which started in 1982.
• Falcons look to keep the hopes of winning their 42nd MAC alive.

About Cincinnati:
 
Last season in the MAC the Bearcats finished 4th and qualified as the No. 4 seed for the MAC Tournament. Throughout last season, Cincinnati also finished 4th in the MAC for Points For (194), Points Against (211), and Points Differential (-17). At the 2023 MAC Tournament, the Bearcats faced off against the 7-0 Falcons in the semi-finals and were defeated 29-15. The Bearcats would then face the No. 2 seed Western Michigan, losing 58-10 to place 4th at the 2023 MAC Tournament.
 
This season, Cincinnati (4-4, 3-3 MAC) again finished as the No. 4 Seed in the MAC on 17 points. Cincinnati finished 4th for points for (164), points against (106), and points differential (+11). The Bearcats went 1-1 in the preseason with a 5-14 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor and a 55-5 win over Xavier, the now NCR ranked No. 20 in DIII. From there Bearcats would start the MAC 0-1 with a 38-5 away loss at Bowling Green. Then the Bearcats would jump to 3-1 after a three-game win streak with wins over Pittsburg (49-21), Ohio University (27-12), and a forfeit win over Dayton (28-0). Finally, the Bearcats would close out their 2024 MAC season with back-to-back losses, from a narrow 32-26 loss to Western Michigan and a 50-29 loss to Louisville.
 
UC lost in its last MAC Tournament match against BG 29-15 in 2023.
 
Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan
Bowling Green, Ohio | Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field
Saturday, November 9th | @ 1 p.m.
 
Up Next
Bowling Green will either have the MAC Tournament Final or 3rd place match. Which the Falcons will play is determined based on if the Falcons can defeat the No. 4 Seed Cincinnati this weekend and make their way to a home MAC Final on November 16th.
 
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