Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green Men's Rugby team (2-0 Overall, 1-0 MAC) will play their home opener this Saturday, September 20th, against Ohio State (0-1 Overall) over Homecoming Weekend. The match will be played at Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field.

"Obviously we need to get some things in order very quickly because we have another tough team coming," said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. "It's a big rivalry and we're going to have to certainly improve about 100% from this past week if we want to get the result we are looking for."

Last Time on the Field

The Falcons took all three matches on the chin last Saturday against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Falcons lost 36-8, 23-7, and 33-12. For the First Side, the Falcons could not get their offense going, only able to convert through Fullback Joey Apel's penalty kick and a try from Flanker Harvey Harris. However, a strong Falcon defense held the Buckeyes to only 12 points, leaving BG down 12-8 going into the half. However, the strong Ohio State defense continued to prevent the Falcon's offense from starting up. Overall, it was a strong defensive match from the Falcons, just without the offense to make it count. The two Development sides also were defeated this weekend, however there were some promising phases of play. 

For the Development 2 Side, Scrum Half Ander had a brace and scored a single conversion For the Development 1 Side, Scrum Half Bradey Sexton provided the only try for the Falcons. Shortly after, Center Lucas Hickernell converted.

"It's a great opportunity to prove ourselves against a great opponent and rival, " said Grad Student, Zach Szepiela. Normally we don't have a playoff style environment or matchup this early in the season but it will be an exciting, high stakes matchup where we can put ourselves to the test and show how great we truly are." 

Milestone Markers

• Bowling Green aims to secure their first home win of the season

• BG looks to claim the No. 1 spot on top of the MAC table.

• Bowling Green is currently 15 games unbeaten in MAC regular season since The streak began following a 91-0 victory away against Pitt on November 5th, 2022.

About Louisville

Last fall,  Louisville went 7-2 Overall, 5-1 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.

This season Louisville has begun 2-0 in the MAC, facing no non-conference opponents. Their season began with a 28-0 forfeit win over Dayton in the MAC. Following the extra week off, Louisville came out swinging with a 106-5 victory over MAC opponent, Ohio University. 

Bowling Green vs. Louisville

Bowling Green, Ohio | The Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field

Saturday, September 20th | 1:00 p.m.

Up Next

Bowling Green will play its Ohio University at Rugby World in Avon Lake on Saturday, September 27th to honor OU Alumni Jim Farmer.

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