Bowling Green State University Athletics
Comeback Falls Short For Falcons As They Lose, 3-2
October 28, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2001
Bowling Green, Ohio - The first half belonged to the University of Detroit-Mercy's Eris Tafaj who scored a hat-trick in the first 45 minutes of Sunday's match at Bowling Green. The second half was Detrick Matthews' opportunity to shine for the Falcons with two goals to cut BGSU's deficit to just one goal.
However, that's as close as Bowling Green got in losing 3-2 in front of 165 in attendance at Cochrane Field.
Tafaj gave the Titans (7-6-4 overall) the early lead with a goal at 4:22. His next netter came at 25:38 that found the back, right-corner of the net past BGSU goalie David DeGraff for a 2-0 Detroit advantage. His third and final goal was less than 10 minutes later at 34:54 for a three-goal lead heading into the break. UDM outshot BGSU 9-8 in the first half and the two teams combined for seven corner kicks.
Bowling Green came out as the clear aggressor in the second half, outshooting the Titans 10-3 and holding a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks over the final 45 minutes. Matthews led the charge when he scored BGSU's first goal of the game from his back at 59:42. The senior fell down while fighting for a loose ball in the left-side of the box and kicked in his fourth goal of the season while lying on his back.
Then, Matthews redirected a shot off of the head of Tony Malik for his second goal at 72:30. Ben Vaccaro also assisted on the goal to cut the home team's deficit to just 3-2. Bowling Green created several more opportunities for itself over the final 17:30 but failed to knock in the tying goal. The Falcons outshot UDM 18-12 for the game.
Matthews finished the weekend with three goals, including one at Cleveland State on Friday, and now leads the team with five.
DeGraff finished with just two saves while UDM's Michael McAfee had seven stops in the net. Three Falcons were called for yellow cards, including Damion Bennett, Matt Leardini and Kevin Wisnewski.
Bowling Green plays its final regular-season and home game of the 2001 season next Sunday, Nov. 4, at Cochrane Field against Western Michigan. Kickoff time is set for 2 p.m.
