Bowling Green State University Athletics
Men's Soccer Begins 1999 Campaign With Three GamesThis Week
January 03, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 30, 1999
UPCOMING GAMES ...
Bowling Green continues its tournament participation the following weekend with an appearance in the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic hosted by Bradley University (Peoria, IL) on Sept. 11-12. The Falcons will face the tournament hosts on Saturday and Tulsa on Sunday.
THE COACH ...
Mahler was an assistant coach at Akron (1981-83) and High Point (1978-80) prior to being named head coach at Pfeiffer. He also spent seven years as an assistant coach at BG (1987-92, 1994) under Palmisano.
THE SERIES ...
BG has played the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky five times prior to 1999 recording a 4-0-1 mark in a series dating back to 1986. The Falcons are 2-0-0 in matches at Cochrane Field against WKU including a 3-0 victory in the 1992 Kwik Goal/BGSU Soccer Classic. The first meeting was a scoreless tie, but the last four matches have seen no fewer than three goals per match (both teams combined).
SCANNING THE POLLS...
In the final 1998 Great Lakes Region poll, BG was rated eighth, just behind Dayton and two spots ahead of Western Kentucky.
PREVIEWING UPCOMING OPPONENTS...
Western Kentucky had a 12-8-1 mark in 1998, its best record in nine seasons. David Holmes is starting his 16th year as the head coach for the Hilltoppers. Team MVP and second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Chris Lloyd returns after recording 29 points on 12 goals and five assists last year. Tawanda Chitapa was named to the All-MVC newcomer team as well as earning MVC Honorable Mention honors last season. WKU begins its 1999 season with a match at Alabama A&M on Wednesday.
DePaul is hoping to rebound from a 1998 campaign which saw the Blue Demons record a 5-13-0 overall mark with a 1-7-0 record in Conference USA. Junior midfielder Sean Fitzpatrick is the top returning scorer after recording four goals and nine points a year ago. Junior goalkeeper David Wiggins (4-5-0, 1.44, 1 shutout) and sophomore Jash Chavero (1-8-0, 2.78) split time between the pipes last year.
NOTES ...
APPROACHING MILESTONES ...
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team kicks-off its 1999 season this week with three matches. The Falcons entertain Dayton on Wednesday (5 p.m.) at Mickey Cochrane Field before playing host to the Falcon Classic (Saturday and Sunday). BG will face Western Kentucky (Saturday at 3 p.m.) and DePaul (Sunday at 3 p.m.) in the tournament with Detroit-Mercy playing WKU and the Blue Demons on opposite days of BG at 1 p.m.
Falcon field general Mel Mahler starts his fifth consecutive year as Bowling Green head coach. He served as interim head coach at BG during the 1993 season while coach Gary Palmisano was working the World Cup. Prior to joining the Falcon coaching staff in 1987, Mahler served as the head coach at Pfeiffer College (Misenheimer, NC) from 1984-86.
Bowling Green leads the all-time series against the Dayton Flyers with a 15-7-0 mark having outscored UD 56-22. The Falcons have won five of the last six matches including last year's 1-0 triumph at Dayton on Fred Degand's marker early in the second half. BG played Dayton in its first varsity soccer game in 1965 and after losing the first four matches, the Falcons have not lost back-to-back contests and have recorded 11 shutouts.
The Falcons faced DePaul three times between 1990 and 1993 winning all three matches. BG has not allowed a goal in outscoring the Blue Demons 4-0 (1-0 OT, 1-0, 2-0). DePaul played in the 1993 Kwik Goal/BGSU Soccer Classic falling 2-0 to BG.
Bowling Green was picked second in the 1999 Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll. Defending regular-season and tournament champion Akron was a unanimous first-place selection.
Dayton head coach Jim Launder announced he was stepping down at the conclusion of the 1999 campaign to become the State Director of Coaching for the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association. Launder has compiled a 25-17-1 mark in his first two years with the Flyers leading them to the 1998 Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships, while compiling a school-record 13 wins last year. He previously served 15 years as the head coach at Wisconsin leading the Badgers to the 1995 NCAA national championship.
The Falcons played two scrimmages over the last nine days (1-1 at Duquesne, and 1-3 at Wright State). Zac Olson scored the lone BG goal at Duquesne. The only goal allowed by Falcon goalkeeper Ty Fowler was on a penalty kick. Tommy Thomas netted BG's lone marker at Wright State.
Name Milestone Current Total Needs Mel Mahler 100th collegiate win 90 10 victories Mel Mahler 75th win at BG 72 3 victories Chris Dore BG top 10 in career points 49 9 points to tie Bob Theophilus (1990-93) and Tom Kinney (1990-93) for 10th place Chris Dore BG top 10 in career goals 17 6 goals to tie Don Popp (1979-82) for 10th place Chris Dore BG top 10 in career assists 15 7 assists to tie Joe Burch (1993-96) and Kyle Royer (1987-90) for 10th place Bobby Biggs 20 career goals 15 5 goals Bobby Biggs 50 career points 37 13 points
