Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Sendoff Seniors With a Pair at Mickey Cochrane Field
October 25, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 25, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Oho - The Falcons will conclude the regular season with a pair of matches in the friendly confines of Mickey Cochrane Field...Wednesday's 3:00 p.m. start will bring the Vikings of Cleveland State University to Bowling Green for non-conference action...Sunday afternoon will have historical significance as the Orange and Brown say good-bye to the Class of 2006 with a first-time MAC meeting versus the Mastodons of IPFW...kick-off for the match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m...the winner of Sunday's match will earn their first MAC win of the season.
Birds of a Feather
The Falcons offense found the back of the net twice as Omari Aldridge (9g, 2a) scored recorded both goals in the first half against WIU...Abiola Sandy assisted on one goal.
Last Week
BGSU: Recorded their second tie of 2005 against the Leathernecks of Western Illinois University, 2-2...Omari Aldridges' two goals broke a three match scoreless streak...dropped a home decision to the UC Bearcats, 3-0.
CSU: Lost a pair of home matches to Valparaiso and Wright State University.
IPFW: The `Dons fell to a pair of Alabama programs...Alabama A&M, 6-2... Birmingham Southern, 5-3.
The Seniors
Dave Belfort- The West Chester native has recorded one goal as a Falcon in 2005...in four years, Belfort has recorded two goals and two assists...recorded first Falcon goal against IUPUI in 2004...the midfielder has played in 56 matches and has started 37...awarded the Mickey Cochrane Coaches award in 2003.
Matthew Yanick-The Euclid native has recorded _ goals as a Falcon in 2005...since transferring from John Carroll University in 2004, Yanick has been responsible for 3 goals and 2 assists...Yanick scored his first goal as a Falcon against Ohio State in 2004...the midfielder has played in 31 matches and has started 15.
Omari Aldridge-The British Columbia native currently leads the 2005 Falcons with nine goals and two assists...since transferring from Saint Francis University in 2003, Aldridge has scored 19 goals and five assists...Aldridge scored his first Falcon goal against Wis.-Green Bay...Aldridge has played in 57 matches and has started 55...the forward led the Falcons in goals (6), points (14) and SOG (17) in 2004...named to the 2004 Kelme Classic All-Tournament team.
BGSU in the MAC
To date the Orange and Brown are 84-34-13 in the Mid-American Conference...BGSU, along with Akron and former MAC foe Kentucky, lead the conference in overall tournament titles won (3)...the 2002 season was the last season in which BGSU held the title of MAC regular season champions...BGSU has made eight appearances in MAC Championship game...has a 16-7-1 MAC Tournament record.
Scouting the Vikings
The Cleveland State University Vikings (0-14-1) are led by coach Pete Curtis...Curtis is in his 5th season with the Vikings...key Vikings to watch for include offensive leader Nemad Stojkovic...Stojkovic has five goals and one assist...other offensive threats include Steve Trapp (2g, 3a) and Roshard Gilbert (2g, 2a)...keeper Anthony DeMarco has 96 saves in 1185:21...CSU has yet to win a match on the road (0-7-0)...the Vikings have been outscored 59-15 in 2005...opponents have outscored CSU 32-4 in the second half
The Series
The Vikings hold the slight advantage over the Falcons (11-13-1)...historically CSU holds a 10 goal advantage, 51-41...in the 1973 first meeting between the programs, BGSU defeated CSU, 5-1, at home...the last meeting came in 2003, the only tie was recorded after a 2-2 stalemate in Cleveland...BGSU has not lost to the Vikings at Mickey Cochrane Field since 1985...at Cochrane Field, BGSU holds a 7-5-0 lead.
Scouting the Mastodons
The Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons (3-14-0) enter the historical MAC match-up 3-0-0 in the conference...the `Dons are led by head coach Terry Stefankiewicz... Stefankiewicz has coached IPFW for 22 seasons...key `Dons include: Victor Webb (4g, 3a) and Chas Perry (5g)...four `Dons have scored two or more goals this season...in the net, Michael Knitter has racked up 68 saves in 1152:47...IPFW is 1-10-0 on the road.
The Series
The Falcons are even with the `Dons 2-2 since their first meeting in 1982...the Orange and Brown took the first win with a 5-0 shutout in Indiana...neither team has recorded two consecutive wins...BGSU has outscored the `Dons 11-10...IPFW recorded a series high seven goals in their 2004 match at Cochrane Field...BGSU holds the advantage if the match is pushed past the 90:00 mark.
Historical Significance
This will be the first time the programs will meet as conference opponents...IPFW was officially welcomed to the MAC in 2005...the winner of the match will record their first MAC win of the season.
Leading the Flock
Fred Thompson is in his second year as BGSU head coach after serving two seasons as assistant at the University of Evansville and two years at Bellevue Community College...named 2001 NWAACC Coach of the Year...became only the fourth head coach in the 40-year history of the BGSU program after accepting the job in April, 2004...played professionally for eight years...assistant coach Tony Economopoulos is in his third season with the Falcons...served two seasons as assistant coach at Western Illinois University...2002 AFLAC Insurance National Assistant Coach of the Year nominee...the coaching duo got their first win over then No.11 Ohio State University in a 3-2 double overtime.
