Erik Van Der Meulen

Erik Van Der Meulen enters his second season on the Bowling Green State University women's soccer staff in the fall of 2021. Van Der Meulen, in his first season with the Orange and Brown, helped the Falcons to a Mid-American Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Van Der Meulen joined head coach Jimmy Walker's staff in early 2020, in time for Walker's first season at the helm of the Falcons. Walker and Company took over a team that had won two consecutive MAC titles. The new coaches, at the helm of a program that was expected by many observers to win yet another championship, barely had time to get to know their new team before everyone’s world changed due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.

But, when all was said and done, a season that was unlike any other ended just as the previous two seasons had ended – with BGSU capturing the MAC championship. The Falcons posted a 6-1-1 overall record and a 5-1-0 mark in MAC regular-season play in the spring of 2021, and BG downed Ball State in the conference championship.

The Falcons outscored opponents, 17-3, and all 11 starters return in the fall of 2021. The returning players accounted for all 17 of the goals and 10 of the team’s 11 assists in the spring. Nikki Cox and Madi Wolfbauer were named to both the All-MAC First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team in 2020(-21). Lili Berg, Jasmijn Dijsselhof and Audrey Shea each earned All-MAC honors as well, while Berg and Kennedy White also represented the Falcons on the all-region squad.

Berg, Shea and the BGSU defensive corps helped the Falcons tie for first in the entire nation in shutout percentage (.750), with six shutouts in the eight matches. At the other end of the pitch, Wolfbauer led a balanced scoring attack with five goals.

In the classroom, a school-record 17 Falcons were named to the Academic All-MAC Team, and BGSU had an eye-popping 3.806 team GPA in the spring 2021 semester.