Wednesday, September 21
Detroit, Mich.
4:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
4
at
1
Detroit
Zach Lemke (6) heads home BGSU's second goal in Wednesday's Detroit match (photo by Galloway Photography)
Falcons Dismantle Detroit, 4-1
September 21, 2011 | Men's Soccer
BGSU scores three first-half goals en route to road win
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team scored three first-half goals to take command of the match, rolling along to a 4-1 win over the University of Detroit Mercy Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 21). The non-conference match was held at Titan Field.
FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY (photos courtesy Galloway Photography)
Scroll down for postgame interviews with Ryan Comiskey & head coach Eric Nichols
With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-2-1 on the season. BGSU went 3-1-1 on the team's just-completed five-match road swing. The Titans drop to 3-4-0 on the year.
Four different Falcons scored goals on Wednesday, and the BG defense held Detroit without a shot on goal for more than 87 minutes. For the match, the Brown and Orange had advantages of 17-5 in total shots and 10-1 in shots on goal.
Junior Rodcliff Hall scored less than three minutes into the match, and redshirt junior Zach Lemke doubled the lead in the 20th minute. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva knocked home a penalty kick late in the half, and true soph Ryan Comiskey scored the Falcons' final goal in the second half.
Adam Bedell enabled the Titans avert the shutout, scoring on a free kick with just 2:40 left in the match.
The Brown and Orange controlled the first half, and BG got on the scoreboard with just 2:33 gone. Freshman Danny Baraldi took a corner kick from the right side, the Falcons' second of the first two-plus minutes, and the ball found the head of the charging Hall at the far post. Hall got a great deal of force behind his shot, which eluded UDM goalkeeper Martin Robertson. A defender on the goal line was able to partially block the ball, but could do no more than deflect it into the top of the goal. The ball hit the underside of the netting, and the Falcons had the lead for good.
Baraldi, who was involved in many BGSU scoring chances on the day, chipped a shot just wide of the goal with just over eight minutes gone. The play began when junior Joey D'Agostino played a ball to sophomore Sam Galloway, who put Baraldi through on the left side of the field.
Just over a minute later, Galloway played a left-side cross along the six-yard line. Hall put the ball on goal with a nifty backheel try, but Robertson was well-positioned, and was able to make the save.
The Titans had not had so much as a whiff of an offensive chance through the first 11 minutes, but that changed in a hurry. Otieno Victor left a ball in the path of teammate Sam Seppo, and Seppo blasted a shot that hit the goalpost. The rebound went to Adam Philp, who fired a shot high of the target.
The Falcons, however, would double the lead in the 20th minute, and the scoring play again began with a Baraldi corner kick. The freshman played a ball across the goalmouth, and senior co-captain Tanner Fink headed the ball back across the box. Lemke outjumped his would-be defender and headed the ball home for a two-goal lead. Fink and Baraldi both drew assists on the play, which came at the 19:58 mark.
Baraldi put a shot just wide of the goal 30 minutes in, then was involved in another BG scoring chance two minutes later. Silva and Galloway teamed up to get the ball to Baraldi on the left side of the pitch, and the Canton, Ohio, native played a cross along the turf to Hall in the center. The junior, stationed only a few yards from goal, was able to get his foot on the ball with a lunging effort, but could not get a lot of force behind his shot, and Robertson made the stop.
With just over seven minutes left in the half, however, Baraldi took a Galloway pass and rifled a long shot from the left side. The shot hit off the crossbar, hit the ground and bounced out to senior Colin Armstrong, who was charging toward goal. Armstrong was pulled down by a Detroit defender, and a penalty kick was awarded. With 6:58 on the clock, Silva converted that PK to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. BG had two more shots on goal, off of the boots of sophomore Zach Schewee and freshman Nico Oliverio, in the final six-plus minutes of the half, but Robertson made a pair of saves to keep it a three-goal game at the break.
BGSU had a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal in the opening half.
In the second period, the Falcons maintained possession for the bulk of the 45 minutes, stringing together lengthy series of passes and going forward when opportunities presented themselves. Detroit had a chance early in the period, but senior Byard Ebling took the ball off the foot of a Titan striker, took the ball into the corner and combined with Fink to clear the ball out of BG's defensive end.
The Falcons had several chances to increase the lead at the other end of the field. Schewee fired a shot wide off of a Baraldi corner kick, Ebling made a run forward and fired a shot that was blocked, and D'Agostino's shot from distance went just wide of the target.
Armstrong worked a give-and-go with D'Agostino with 19 minutes left, but Robertson came off of his line to block Armstrong's shot attempt on the left side of the box. With just under 12 minutes left, though, Comiskey gave the Brown and Orange a four-goal lead.
The sophomore went right-to-left across the 18-yard box, marked by a UDM defender. Comiskey was kicked in the chest with a wayward boot, but took one more dribble and fired a shot back across his body. The shot beat Robertson and nestled just inside the right post.
Detroit got on the scoresheet with just 2:40 on the clock, after a BG foul just outside the 18-yard box in the center of the field. Bedell curved his free kick around the wall and into the left corner of the net.
Robertson made six saves for the Titans. BGSU sophomore Michael Wiest was not credited with a save en route to his fourth win of the season, as Bedell's free kick was the Titans' only shot on goal of the afternoon.
BGSU is now idle for over a week. After five-straight matches away from home, the Brown and Orange will play the next two games at Cochrane Field, hosting IUPUI on Friday, Sept. 30, and opening the Mid-American Conference schedule with a match vs. Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Oct. 2.
FALCON NOTES
* With a 5-2-1 record, BGSU is off to the program's best start since the 1996 season ... the '96 club, coached by Mel Mahler, went 4-0-1 to begin the year, lost the next three matches, then won 14-straight games to advance all the way to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
* BGSU has scored 15 goals through eight matches, equalling the team's total for all of last season ... the 2010 Falcons had a total of 15 goals in 18 contests.
* The 2011 Falcons have totals of 61 shots on goal and 56 corner kicks this year to date ... the 2010 team had 77 shots on goal and 71 corners.
* The Falcons now have scored eight goals in the first half this season ... last year, in 18 matches, BGSU scored a total of four first-half goals.
* Freshman Danny Baraldi now has a four-game point-scoring streak, with a goal in the win over Pittsburgh (Sept. 11), an assist vs. both Belmont (Sept. 16) and Lipscomb (Sept. 18) and a pair of assists in the UDM match on Wednesday.
* Baraldi's streak is the longest by a Falcon since the 2005 season ... Omari Aldridge had a five-game point-scoring streak that fall, from Sept. 18 to Oct. 2 of '05.
* For all intents and purposes, redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva has a four-game streak as well ... the tri-captain had his first collegiate goal in the Cleveland State match (Sept. 3), before suffering an injury just 1:45 into the Duquesne game (Sept. 9) ... Silva missesd the Pitt match, but returned to action against Belmont and scored the second goal of his career ... then, he was credited with an assist vs. Lipscomb before scoring at UDM.
* Baraldi now has six assists on the season ... that is the highest total by a BGSU player since Eric Duda had eight assists in the 2003 campaign.
* BG scored three goals in the first half for the second time this season ... the Brown and Orange also held a 3-0 lead at halftime of the home win over IPFW on Aug. 31.
* The last time the Falcons scored three goals in a half on the road was on Oct. 16, 2009, at Buffalo ... both the Falcons and Bulls found the net three times in the second half of that BGSU 4-3 win.
* BGSU had not scored three goals in the first half on the road in nearly seven years ... the Falcons scored three times at Ohio State on Sept. 24, 2004, but trailed the Buckeyes, 4-3, in a match that OSU would win by a 7-4 final.
* The Falcons' total of four goals on the day matched a team best in the Eric Nichols Era ... BG also scored four times in the aforementioned 2009 match at Buffalo.
* Ryan Comiskey's second-half goal on Wednesday gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead ... the last time BGSU led by four goals was on Oct. 27, 2007 ... on that date, goals from Abiola Sandy, Chuko Evwaraye, Cameron Hepple and Hunter Van Houton put the Falcons up, 4-0, against Western Michigan in a 4-1 victory at Cochrane Field.
* The last time the Falcons held a four-goal lead away from home? That would be the 1997 season ... BGSU posted several lopsided road and neutral-site victories that year en route to an 18-6-0 overall record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
* Comiskey and redshirt junior Zach Lemke each have topped their scoring totals for all of last season ... Comiskey's goal on Wednesday was his second, and he now has six points on the season ... he scored four points on two goals last year.
* Lemke has five points this fall, on two goals and an assist ... he had three points in the 2010 season, with a goal and an assist.
* Silva has seven points this season after scoring one point last season, in his first year with the Falcons.
* Senior Tanner Fink's assist at UDM was the second of his career ... his other assist came last Oct. 20 in the Michigan State match at Cochrane Field.
* The Falcons now lead Detroit, 16-6-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU is now 8-4-1 in road games vs. the Titans ... BGSU is unbeaten in the last four road matches against UDM, having gone 3-0-1 ... the Titans' last win in the Motor City came in the 2004 season.
FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF
PHOTO GALLERY (photos courtesy Galloway Photography)
Scroll down for postgame interviews with Ryan Comiskey & head coach Eric Nichols
With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-2-1 on the season. BGSU went 3-1-1 on the team's just-completed five-match road swing. The Titans drop to 3-4-0 on the year.
Four different Falcons scored goals on Wednesday, and the BG defense held Detroit without a shot on goal for more than 87 minutes. For the match, the Brown and Orange had advantages of 17-5 in total shots and 10-1 in shots on goal.
Junior Rodcliff Hall scored less than three minutes into the match, and redshirt junior Zach Lemke doubled the lead in the 20th minute. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva knocked home a penalty kick late in the half, and true soph Ryan Comiskey scored the Falcons' final goal in the second half.
Adam Bedell enabled the Titans avert the shutout, scoring on a free kick with just 2:40 left in the match.
The Brown and Orange controlled the first half, and BG got on the scoreboard with just 2:33 gone. Freshman Danny Baraldi took a corner kick from the right side, the Falcons' second of the first two-plus minutes, and the ball found the head of the charging Hall at the far post. Hall got a great deal of force behind his shot, which eluded UDM goalkeeper Martin Robertson. A defender on the goal line was able to partially block the ball, but could do no more than deflect it into the top of the goal. The ball hit the underside of the netting, and the Falcons had the lead for good.
Baraldi, who was involved in many BGSU scoring chances on the day, chipped a shot just wide of the goal with just over eight minutes gone. The play began when junior Joey D'Agostino played a ball to sophomore Sam Galloway, who put Baraldi through on the left side of the field.
Just over a minute later, Galloway played a left-side cross along the six-yard line. Hall put the ball on goal with a nifty backheel try, but Robertson was well-positioned, and was able to make the save.
The Titans had not had so much as a whiff of an offensive chance through the first 11 minutes, but that changed in a hurry. Otieno Victor left a ball in the path of teammate Sam Seppo, and Seppo blasted a shot that hit the goalpost. The rebound went to Adam Philp, who fired a shot high of the target.
The Falcons, however, would double the lead in the 20th minute, and the scoring play again began with a Baraldi corner kick. The freshman played a ball across the goalmouth, and senior co-captain Tanner Fink headed the ball back across the box. Lemke outjumped his would-be defender and headed the ball home for a two-goal lead. Fink and Baraldi both drew assists on the play, which came at the 19:58 mark.
Baraldi put a shot just wide of the goal 30 minutes in, then was involved in another BG scoring chance two minutes later. Silva and Galloway teamed up to get the ball to Baraldi on the left side of the pitch, and the Canton, Ohio, native played a cross along the turf to Hall in the center. The junior, stationed only a few yards from goal, was able to get his foot on the ball with a lunging effort, but could not get a lot of force behind his shot, and Robertson made the stop.
With just over seven minutes left in the half, however, Baraldi took a Galloway pass and rifled a long shot from the left side. The shot hit off the crossbar, hit the ground and bounced out to senior Colin Armstrong, who was charging toward goal. Armstrong was pulled down by a Detroit defender, and a penalty kick was awarded. With 6:58 on the clock, Silva converted that PK to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. BG had two more shots on goal, off of the boots of sophomore Zach Schewee and freshman Nico Oliverio, in the final six-plus minutes of the half, but Robertson made a pair of saves to keep it a three-goal game at the break.
BGSU had a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal in the opening half.
In the second period, the Falcons maintained possession for the bulk of the 45 minutes, stringing together lengthy series of passes and going forward when opportunities presented themselves. Detroit had a chance early in the period, but senior Byard Ebling took the ball off the foot of a Titan striker, took the ball into the corner and combined with Fink to clear the ball out of BG's defensive end.
The Falcons had several chances to increase the lead at the other end of the field. Schewee fired a shot wide off of a Baraldi corner kick, Ebling made a run forward and fired a shot that was blocked, and D'Agostino's shot from distance went just wide of the target.
Armstrong worked a give-and-go with D'Agostino with 19 minutes left, but Robertson came off of his line to block Armstrong's shot attempt on the left side of the box. With just under 12 minutes left, though, Comiskey gave the Brown and Orange a four-goal lead.
The sophomore went right-to-left across the 18-yard box, marked by a UDM defender. Comiskey was kicked in the chest with a wayward boot, but took one more dribble and fired a shot back across his body. The shot beat Robertson and nestled just inside the right post.
Detroit got on the scoresheet with just 2:40 on the clock, after a BG foul just outside the 18-yard box in the center of the field. Bedell curved his free kick around the wall and into the left corner of the net.
Robertson made six saves for the Titans. BGSU sophomore Michael Wiest was not credited with a save en route to his fourth win of the season, as Bedell's free kick was the Titans' only shot on goal of the afternoon.
BGSU is now idle for over a week. After five-straight matches away from home, the Brown and Orange will play the next two games at Cochrane Field, hosting IUPUI on Friday, Sept. 30, and opening the Mid-American Conference schedule with a match vs. Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Oct. 2.
FALCON NOTES
* With a 5-2-1 record, BGSU is off to the program's best start since the 1996 season ... the '96 club, coached by Mel Mahler, went 4-0-1 to begin the year, lost the next three matches, then won 14-straight games to advance all the way to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
* BGSU has scored 15 goals through eight matches, equalling the team's total for all of last season ... the 2010 Falcons had a total of 15 goals in 18 contests.
* The 2011 Falcons have totals of 61 shots on goal and 56 corner kicks this year to date ... the 2010 team had 77 shots on goal and 71 corners.
* The Falcons now have scored eight goals in the first half this season ... last year, in 18 matches, BGSU scored a total of four first-half goals.
* Freshman Danny Baraldi now has a four-game point-scoring streak, with a goal in the win over Pittsburgh (Sept. 11), an assist vs. both Belmont (Sept. 16) and Lipscomb (Sept. 18) and a pair of assists in the UDM match on Wednesday.
* Baraldi's streak is the longest by a Falcon since the 2005 season ... Omari Aldridge had a five-game point-scoring streak that fall, from Sept. 18 to Oct. 2 of '05.
* For all intents and purposes, redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva has a four-game streak as well ... the tri-captain had his first collegiate goal in the Cleveland State match (Sept. 3), before suffering an injury just 1:45 into the Duquesne game (Sept. 9) ... Silva missesd the Pitt match, but returned to action against Belmont and scored the second goal of his career ... then, he was credited with an assist vs. Lipscomb before scoring at UDM.
* Baraldi now has six assists on the season ... that is the highest total by a BGSU player since Eric Duda had eight assists in the 2003 campaign.
* BG scored three goals in the first half for the second time this season ... the Brown and Orange also held a 3-0 lead at halftime of the home win over IPFW on Aug. 31.
* The last time the Falcons scored three goals in a half on the road was on Oct. 16, 2009, at Buffalo ... both the Falcons and Bulls found the net three times in the second half of that BGSU 4-3 win.
* BGSU had not scored three goals in the first half on the road in nearly seven years ... the Falcons scored three times at Ohio State on Sept. 24, 2004, but trailed the Buckeyes, 4-3, in a match that OSU would win by a 7-4 final.
* The Falcons' total of four goals on the day matched a team best in the Eric Nichols Era ... BG also scored four times in the aforementioned 2009 match at Buffalo.
* Ryan Comiskey's second-half goal on Wednesday gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead ... the last time BGSU led by four goals was on Oct. 27, 2007 ... on that date, goals from Abiola Sandy, Chuko Evwaraye, Cameron Hepple and Hunter Van Houton put the Falcons up, 4-0, against Western Michigan in a 4-1 victory at Cochrane Field.
* The last time the Falcons held a four-goal lead away from home? That would be the 1997 season ... BGSU posted several lopsided road and neutral-site victories that year en route to an 18-6-0 overall record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
* Comiskey and redshirt junior Zach Lemke each have topped their scoring totals for all of last season ... Comiskey's goal on Wednesday was his second, and he now has six points on the season ... he scored four points on two goals last year.
* Lemke has five points this fall, on two goals and an assist ... he had three points in the 2010 season, with a goal and an assist.
* Silva has seven points this season after scoring one point last season, in his first year with the Falcons.
* Senior Tanner Fink's assist at UDM was the second of his career ... his other assist came last Oct. 20 in the Michigan State match at Cochrane Field.
* The Falcons now lead Detroit, 16-6-2, in the all-time series between the teams, and BGSU is now 8-4-1 in road games vs. the Titans ... BGSU is unbeaten in the last four road matches against UDM, having gone 3-0-1 ... the Titans' last win in the Motor City came in the 2004 season.
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