Tuesday, September 1
Bowling Green, Ohio
1:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
2
vs
0
Marshall
The Falcons celebrate Chris Jurtovski's (right) second-half goal
Falcons Open Nichols Era with 2-0 win over Marshall
September 01, 2009 | Men's Soccer
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team opened the Eric Nichols Era in style, posting a 2-0 victory over visiting Marshall University Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 1). The match, the regular-season opener for both teams, was held at Cochrane Field.
* BGSU 2, MARSHALL 0 - Final Stats
* BGSU 2, MARSHALL 0 - PDF Boxscore
* BGSU-MARSHALL PHOTO GALLERY
Senior Cameron Hepple and redshirt sophomore Chris Jurtovski scored goals for the Falcons, who have begun the season with a win for the first time since 2006 and only the second time in the last decade.
The BGSU defense picked up the shutout, with Jeff Smoker and Dylan Schoettley splitting time in goal. Smoker, a redshirt freshman, played the first half and made four saves, while true freshman Schoettley was credited with one stop in the second 45 minutes, but broke up several other MU scoring chances.
On a gorgeous afternoon at Cochrane Field, the Falcons looked sharp from the start. BGSU earned a corner kick less than a minute into the match, and the home team had the first three shot attempts of the day.
In the ninth minute, junior Thomas McLean's long throw-in was was tipped by senior Chuko Evwaraye. Evwaraye's pass went directly to Jurtovski, who fired a low shot that was just wide to the right of net. Just over to minutes later, Evwaraye deflected and nearly stole an attempted outlet pass by MU goalkeeper Greg Walter, but Walter was able to recover and get to the ball ahead of Evwaraye.
With just over 13 minutes gone, however, Walter had no chance on a shot by Hepple. After a foul by the Thundering Herd, the Falcon senior lined up a free kick just outside of the penalty box, toward the left side of the area. Hepple drilled the shot, which curved into the upper right corner of the net. After scoring only three first-half goals during the entire 2008 season, the Falcons were on the scoreboard early in '09 on Hepple's postage-stamp goal.
Midway through the half, the Herd looked to equalize. MU, after going nearly 22 minutes without a shot attempt, had four shots on goal in a span of under two minutes. But, Smoker was up to the task.
Two of those shot attempts came from Jordan Hilgefort, with the second an absolute blast. After taking a right-side cross from Natty Thomas (a transfer from BGSU), Hilgefort uncorked a shot that seemed ticketed for the far (right) post. But, Smoker made a diving save, then smothered a rebound effort from Devin Perkins.
The Falcons had a chance when Thomas McLean slotted a pass through several MU defenders from the right side of the pitch. Evwaraye, Walter and a Marshall defender all met the ball at roughly the same time in the penalty area. But, the Herd was able to clear the ball out of the box before Evwaraye could get a shot off.
With just over 15 minutes left before halftime, Thomas played a cross to an open Sammy Boateng, stationed on the right side of the penalty area with room to maneuver. But, Boateng's shot sailed well wide of the target.
The Falcons strung together several passes with just over seven minutes left in the half, as Hepple, Jurtovski and Garrett Bireline built the attack. Bireline's cross from the right side of the pitch found Evwaraye, who saw his shot go just wide right. The Falcons took a one-nil lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the first grade-A chance came with just over 15 minutes gone, when senior co-captain Hunter Van Houten and Jurtovski combined for a steal in the Marshall end. Van Houten deflected the ball to Jurtovski, who found Evwaraye heading downfield. Walter, however, was able to charge out of the goalmouth, cut down the angle and save Evwaraye's shot.
Just over a minute later, sophomore Colin Armstrong tracked down the ball in the left corner of the pitch, deep in the Herd's defensive end. He found classmate Byard Ebling with a crossing ball, and Ebling deftly dropped a pass to the onrushing Thomas McLean. But, McLean's blast sailed high.
In the 71st minute, however, the Falcons would double the lead. A Marshall foul in the box led to a BGSU penalty kick. Walter saved Hepple's PK try, but in the ensuing goalmouth skirmish, Thomas McLean -- while on the ground -- was able to pass the ball back to junior Dusko Topolic, stationed about 15 yards out. Topolic lobbed a ball toward Jurtovski on the right side of the box, and Jurtovski's header was on target. Topolic and McLean drew assists on the goal, which came at the 70:36 mark.
The Herd had several chances to cut into the Falcons' lead, but Schoettley and the BG back-liners were able to maintain the clean sheet. A dangerous-looking chance with 12 minutes left resulted in Ryan McLeod's shot being blocked by a BG defender. Less than 20 seconds later, Perkins fired a hard shot that was wide right.
With just over three minutes remaining, Thomas McLean's through-ball gave Hepple some room, but Walter made a nice stop of Hepple's ensuing shot.
The Herd kept up their offensive pressure, with three shot attempts in the final 90 seconds, but Perkins' shot was blocked in the box, and two other offerings were off-target.
MU had a 14-11 advantage in total shot attempts, but the Falcons had six shots on goal to the Thundering Herd's five. Walter played all 90 minutes for the visitors, making four saves.
BGSU now prepares for a weekend trip to Lexington, Ky., for the UK Invitational. The Falcons will face Louisville on Friday evening (Sept. 4) at 5:00 p.m., before taking on host Kentucky Sunday (Sept. 6) afternoon. UL is ranked in the top-25 in the nation in several polls, while UK is receiving votes.
FALCON NOTES
* Obviously, the win was the first for Eric Nichols at BGSU, as it came in his Falcon regular-season debut ... overall, Tuesday's victory was Nichols' 60th as a head coach ... Nichols, who coached for four seasons at Ohio Dominican, now has a collegiate head-coaching mark of 60-22-1.
* Several other 'firsts' occurred in Tuesday's match ... in addition to Nichols' first win, the game marked the first collegiate appearances for goalkeepers Jeff Smoker and Dylan Schoettley ... for Smoker, it also marked his first collegiate win.
* The match was the debut for several other Falcons as well, including Jake Custer and Chris McLean ... Custer, a sophomore transfer from Taylor University, was in the starting lineup for his first BGSU start ... McLean, younger brother of Thomas, came off the bench to play 26 minutes in the second half.
* Additionally, two Falcon juniors, Thomas McLean and Dusko Topolic, picked up their first collegiate assists on Chris Jurtovski's goal ... McLean now has 11 points as a Falcon, having scored three goals as a freshman and two more last year ... Topolic's assist Tuesday was his first collegiate point.
* Senior Cameron Hepple's first-half goal was the eighth of his career ... he is now tied for the active career lead in that department with Chuko Evwaraye ... Hepple is BG's active career leader in assists (eight) and points (24).
* The Falcons hope that Hepple's goal is a harbinger of things to come ... last year, BGSU scored only three first-half goals during the entire 19-match season ... the Brown and Orange did not score a first-half goal in the 2008 season until the eighth game -- at Marshall on Sept. 27.
* BGSU is now 8-3-1 in the all-time series with Marshall, but Tuesday's win broke a three-match series unbeaten streak for the Thundering Herd ... the teams tied, 3-3, in Huntington last season (Sept. 27, 2008) ... MU had won the last two meetings before that, snapping a six-game BG winning streak ... the Falcons are now 5-1-0 all-time in home games vs. the Herd.
* Jurtovski's goal on Tuesday was the second of his career ... his first collegiate marker also had come against Marshall, in last season's meeting in West Virginia.
* Prior to Tuesday, BGSU's last season-opening win came in 2006 (2-1 in OT over Western Illinois at Cochrane Field) ... prior to that, the Falcons had not won the first game of the year since 1999 (a 3-1 home win over Dayton exactly 10 years ago) ... that UD match ended a five-year stretch in which BGSU went 4-0-1 in season openers.
* BGSU 2, MARSHALL 0 - Final Stats
* BGSU 2, MARSHALL 0 - PDF Boxscore
* BGSU-MARSHALL PHOTO GALLERY
Senior Cameron Hepple and redshirt sophomore Chris Jurtovski scored goals for the Falcons, who have begun the season with a win for the first time since 2006 and only the second time in the last decade.
The BGSU defense picked up the shutout, with Jeff Smoker and Dylan Schoettley splitting time in goal. Smoker, a redshirt freshman, played the first half and made four saves, while true freshman Schoettley was credited with one stop in the second 45 minutes, but broke up several other MU scoring chances.
On a gorgeous afternoon at Cochrane Field, the Falcons looked sharp from the start. BGSU earned a corner kick less than a minute into the match, and the home team had the first three shot attempts of the day.
In the ninth minute, junior Thomas McLean's long throw-in was was tipped by senior Chuko Evwaraye. Evwaraye's pass went directly to Jurtovski, who fired a low shot that was just wide to the right of net. Just over to minutes later, Evwaraye deflected and nearly stole an attempted outlet pass by MU goalkeeper Greg Walter, but Walter was able to recover and get to the ball ahead of Evwaraye.
With just over 13 minutes gone, however, Walter had no chance on a shot by Hepple. After a foul by the Thundering Herd, the Falcon senior lined up a free kick just outside of the penalty box, toward the left side of the area. Hepple drilled the shot, which curved into the upper right corner of the net. After scoring only three first-half goals during the entire 2008 season, the Falcons were on the scoreboard early in '09 on Hepple's postage-stamp goal.
Midway through the half, the Herd looked to equalize. MU, after going nearly 22 minutes without a shot attempt, had four shots on goal in a span of under two minutes. But, Smoker was up to the task.
Two of those shot attempts came from Jordan Hilgefort, with the second an absolute blast. After taking a right-side cross from Natty Thomas (a transfer from BGSU), Hilgefort uncorked a shot that seemed ticketed for the far (right) post. But, Smoker made a diving save, then smothered a rebound effort from Devin Perkins.
The Falcons had a chance when Thomas McLean slotted a pass through several MU defenders from the right side of the pitch. Evwaraye, Walter and a Marshall defender all met the ball at roughly the same time in the penalty area. But, the Herd was able to clear the ball out of the box before Evwaraye could get a shot off.
With just over 15 minutes left before halftime, Thomas played a cross to an open Sammy Boateng, stationed on the right side of the penalty area with room to maneuver. But, Boateng's shot sailed well wide of the target.
The Falcons strung together several passes with just over seven minutes left in the half, as Hepple, Jurtovski and Garrett Bireline built the attack. Bireline's cross from the right side of the pitch found Evwaraye, who saw his shot go just wide right. The Falcons took a one-nil lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the first grade-A chance came with just over 15 minutes gone, when senior co-captain Hunter Van Houten and Jurtovski combined for a steal in the Marshall end. Van Houten deflected the ball to Jurtovski, who found Evwaraye heading downfield. Walter, however, was able to charge out of the goalmouth, cut down the angle and save Evwaraye's shot.
Just over a minute later, sophomore Colin Armstrong tracked down the ball in the left corner of the pitch, deep in the Herd's defensive end. He found classmate Byard Ebling with a crossing ball, and Ebling deftly dropped a pass to the onrushing Thomas McLean. But, McLean's blast sailed high.
In the 71st minute, however, the Falcons would double the lead. A Marshall foul in the box led to a BGSU penalty kick. Walter saved Hepple's PK try, but in the ensuing goalmouth skirmish, Thomas McLean -- while on the ground -- was able to pass the ball back to junior Dusko Topolic, stationed about 15 yards out. Topolic lobbed a ball toward Jurtovski on the right side of the box, and Jurtovski's header was on target. Topolic and McLean drew assists on the goal, which came at the 70:36 mark.
The Herd had several chances to cut into the Falcons' lead, but Schoettley and the BG back-liners were able to maintain the clean sheet. A dangerous-looking chance with 12 minutes left resulted in Ryan McLeod's shot being blocked by a BG defender. Less than 20 seconds later, Perkins fired a hard shot that was wide right.
With just over three minutes remaining, Thomas McLean's through-ball gave Hepple some room, but Walter made a nice stop of Hepple's ensuing shot.
The Herd kept up their offensive pressure, with three shot attempts in the final 90 seconds, but Perkins' shot was blocked in the box, and two other offerings were off-target.
MU had a 14-11 advantage in total shot attempts, but the Falcons had six shots on goal to the Thundering Herd's five. Walter played all 90 minutes for the visitors, making four saves.
BGSU now prepares for a weekend trip to Lexington, Ky., for the UK Invitational. The Falcons will face Louisville on Friday evening (Sept. 4) at 5:00 p.m., before taking on host Kentucky Sunday (Sept. 6) afternoon. UL is ranked in the top-25 in the nation in several polls, while UK is receiving votes.
FALCON NOTES
* Obviously, the win was the first for Eric Nichols at BGSU, as it came in his Falcon regular-season debut ... overall, Tuesday's victory was Nichols' 60th as a head coach ... Nichols, who coached for four seasons at Ohio Dominican, now has a collegiate head-coaching mark of 60-22-1.
* Several other 'firsts' occurred in Tuesday's match ... in addition to Nichols' first win, the game marked the first collegiate appearances for goalkeepers Jeff Smoker and Dylan Schoettley ... for Smoker, it also marked his first collegiate win.
* The match was the debut for several other Falcons as well, including Jake Custer and Chris McLean ... Custer, a sophomore transfer from Taylor University, was in the starting lineup for his first BGSU start ... McLean, younger brother of Thomas, came off the bench to play 26 minutes in the second half.
* Additionally, two Falcon juniors, Thomas McLean and Dusko Topolic, picked up their first collegiate assists on Chris Jurtovski's goal ... McLean now has 11 points as a Falcon, having scored three goals as a freshman and two more last year ... Topolic's assist Tuesday was his first collegiate point.
* Senior Cameron Hepple's first-half goal was the eighth of his career ... he is now tied for the active career lead in that department with Chuko Evwaraye ... Hepple is BG's active career leader in assists (eight) and points (24).
* The Falcons hope that Hepple's goal is a harbinger of things to come ... last year, BGSU scored only three first-half goals during the entire 19-match season ... the Brown and Orange did not score a first-half goal in the 2008 season until the eighth game -- at Marshall on Sept. 27.
* BGSU is now 8-3-1 in the all-time series with Marshall, but Tuesday's win broke a three-match series unbeaten streak for the Thundering Herd ... the teams tied, 3-3, in Huntington last season (Sept. 27, 2008) ... MU had won the last two meetings before that, snapping a six-game BG winning streak ... the Falcons are now 5-1-0 all-time in home games vs. the Herd.
* Jurtovski's goal on Tuesday was the second of his career ... his first collegiate marker also had come against Marshall, in last season's meeting in West Virginia.
* Prior to Tuesday, BGSU's last season-opening win came in 2006 (2-1 in OT over Western Illinois at Cochrane Field) ... prior to that, the Falcons had not won the first game of the year since 1999 (a 3-1 home win over Dayton exactly 10 years ago) ... that UD match ended a five-year stretch in which BGSU went 4-0-1 in season openers.
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