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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Men's Soccer Headed to MAC Championship
November 14, 2003 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 14, 2003
Bowling Green, Ohio -
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BGSU Returns to MAC Championship for Eighth Time in 10 Years
The Bowling Green men's soccer team returns to the Mid-American Conference Championship game for the eighth time in the 10-year existence of the tournament. The Falcons have captured the tournament title three times (1995, 1996, 1997) and have a league-best 16-6 MAC Tournament record.
Series History
BGSU leads the all-time series against Western Michigan, 24-4-3. The two teams finished in a 2-2 tie in their only meeting this season at Mickey Cochrane Field. Over the last 14 years the Falcons hold a 12-1-1 record against WMU. The one defeat to the Broncos during that span came last season in Kalamazoo during the regular season, 1-0. This will mark the first time the two teams have met in the MAC Tournament.
Previous Meeting This Season
FR Dustin Snyder and SR Paul Dhaliwal each scored a goal in a 2-2 tie at Mickey Cochrane Field on Oct. 26. WMU held a 23-14 shot advantage in the game. BGSU's David DeGraff had nine saves while WMU's Brent Miller had seven saves.
About the Competition
Western Michigan entered the MAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed after finishing with a league record of 3-2-1 and an overall mark of 11-6-2. The Broncos kicked off the 2003 season with a six-game winning streak. WMU defeated Marshall in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tourney, 1-0, and then advanced to the championship game by getting past No. 2 seed Akron by winning in a shootout. The game against the Zips ended in a scoreless tie. Travis Waters scored the lone goal of the tournament for WMU vs. Marshall. Jeff Hughes leads the team with 13 goals while goalkeeper Brent Miller has a 0.98 gaa. and .844 save pct.
BGSU Coach Mel Mahler
Mel Mahler is in his 17th year with the Falcon Soccer program and 10th as head coach. He was named full-time head coach in March 1995 after serving as interim coach following the death of longtime Falcon coach Gary Palmisano in December 1994. Mahler has a career coaching record of 129-107-15 (.544) in 12 years and a 111-75-13 (.590) record at Bowling Green in nine seasons. Sunday's championship game will mark his 200th as head coach of the Falcons.
Dhaliwal/Duda Named Second-Team All-MAC
Paul Dhaliwal, a senior forward from Edmonton, Alberta, is third on the team with eight points, including three goals and two assists, in 17 games played. Eric Duda, a senior defender from Bloomingdale, Ill., leads the team and is among the league leaders with eight assists. League coaches voted on the All-MAC teams.
DeGraff Goes Over 100-Save Mark for Season
SR David DeGraff went over the 100-save mark for the first time in his career when he recorded nine saves against Western Michigan on Oct. 26. DeGraff currently has 122 saves in 20 games (6.1 pg) this season and 371 for his career. The single-season record at BGSU is 149 by Gary Kovacs (1968) while the career-save mark is 441 by Joe Koury (1979-82).
More DeGraff
Sunday's MAC Championship game will be David DeGraff's 75th start in net for the Falcons. Over those 75 games, DeGraff has accumulated 6,851:21 minutes played. His career goals-against-average is 1.35.
Rookie Run by Dustin Snyder
FR Dustin Snyder leads the team with six goals and 16 overall points in 21 games played this season. The Plainwell, Mich., native has played in every game this season and has a team-high three game-winning goals.
