Sophomores Strike as Falcons Down Niagara, 4-0

Sophomore Joe Sullivan had the first two-goal match of his
BGSU career in the Falcons' 4-0 win over Niagara Friday afternoon

Bowling Green State University sophomores Pat Flynn and Joe Sullivan scored two goals each as the Falcons remained unbeaten with a 4-0 win over Niagara University Friday afternoon (Sept. 5). The neutral-site match, the first contest in the Duquesne Invitational, was held at Rooney Field.

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With the win, the Falcons improve to 3-0-0 on the season, while dropping the Purple Eagles to 1-2-0. BGSU has started the season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1999.

"I was really pleased with the mentality of the team today," said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols. "We came out with focus.

"It was a very hot day, and Niagara's a good opponent. They have some weapons we hadn't seen so far this year, but our focus was where it needed to be."

Nick Landsberger made four saves in goal for the Brown and Orange. Landsberger -- like Flynn and Sullivan an Illinois native with sophomore status -- now has kept two clean sheets in as many complete matches in his career.

BGSU has started a season with three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1981.

Flynn, who tied the school records with five goals and 11 points in BG's last match, Tuesday's 8-0 win over Findlay, had five more points on Friday vs. NU. He has scored at least one goal in each of his three matches as a Falcon, and now has team-high totals of eight goals and 18 points in 2014.

Sullivan's brace was the first of his career. He scored a goal vs. Findlay, and now has three goals this fall to top his total for all of last season. Sullivan is second on the team in scoring with seven points this year.

Sullivan gave the Brown and Orange the lead for good in the 12th minute of the match. Junior Ryan James and Flynn drew the assists on the scoring play, which came on BGSU's first official shot of the afternoon.

Flynn doubled the lead in the 32nd minute of play, with sophomore Jacob Roth drawing the assist. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.

BGSU scored two more goals, exactly two minutes apart, early in the second half to remove any doubt about the outcome. Sullivan's second goal of the day came when he deflected home a Roth free kick. For Roth, Friday marked his second consecutive two-assist game.

Sullivan's goal came at 50:35, and Flynn made it a 4-0 scoreline when he made a long run and beat NU starting goalkeeper Joel Gerberich. Flynn's unassisted goal closed the scoring.

BGSU had a 13-8 total shots advantage, and the Falcons put five shots on goal -- scoring on four of them -- to NU's four. Gerberich was not credited with a save in 58-plus minutes of work, while Steve Casey played the final 31:39 and made one stop.

"We had a game plan, executed it and got some good individual efforts today," said Nichols. "Really, we got a collection of those individual efforts and great focus all the way through the full 90 minutes. Now we will look to maintain that focus as we get ready for a big game on Sunday."

The Falcons remain in Pittsburgh to take on the host school, Duquesne University, on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 7). That match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.

FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons have started the season with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1999. BGSU's last 4-0-0 start came in 1995.

* BGSU has posted three-straight shutouts to start a season for the first time in over three decades. The 1981 team blanked four consecutive opponents to start the season. Goalkeepers Joe Koury and Kim Bucher and that '81 club had six clean sheets in the first seven matches on the way to a 6-0-1 start.

* Sophomore Pat Flynn, as mentioned, now has team-leading totals of eight goals and 18 points this season to date. No BGSU player had more than six goals or 13 points during all of last year.

* Flynn has been involved in the scoring of 10 of the Falcons' 14 goals this season to date.

* Sophomore Joe Sullivan had his first two-goal game as a collegian on Friday. Sullivan's four points also was a career best. He had three points in a win over Davidson last season, and recorded another three-point night vs. Findlay on Tuesday.

* With three goals and seven points this fall, Sullivan has topped his totals for all of last season. He had six points on two goals and two assists as a freshman.

* Another sophomore, Jacob Roth, had the first two assists of his career in the Findlay match. On Friday vs. NU, Roth had his second-straight two-assist match. He leads the Falcons with four helpers on the year.

* Junior Ryan James has three assists this season after recording two helpers in each of his first two years as a Falcon. James has had an assist in each of BGSU's first three matches in 2014.

* Redshirt sophomore Nick Landsberger's season -- and career -- goals-against average remains 0.00. Landsberger has stopped all nine shots on goal he has faced in 225 minutes this year.

* BGSU has scored 14 goals through three games this season. The Falcons scored a total of 19 goals during all of the 2009 season, head coach Eric Nichols' first year at BG. That '09 team won three games, a total already matched by this year's club.

* BG's 12 goals in a two-match span is the program's highest total since 1996. The Falcons scored eight goals in back-to-back matches late in that '96 campaign, downing Dayton (8-1; Nov. 1, 1996) and Western Michigan (8-0; Nov. 3, 1996) en route to a MAC championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

* BGSU has scored at least four goals in back-to-back matches for the first time since 1997. The '97 Falcons downed WMU (5-0; Oct. 24, 1997) and Northern Illinois (4-3; Oct. 26, 1997) late in the regular season, and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season.

* Friday's match was BGSU's first win by four goals away from home in nearly 17 years. The Falcons downed host Eastern Illinois by a 4-0 count on Sept. 28, 1997.

* With temperatures in the mid-80s, humidity high and the Falcons and Purple Eagles playing on an artificial turf surface, the teams took a water break in each half (at the 26:13 and 69:03 marks).

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Pat Flynn

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Ryan James

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