Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Undefeated in Home Opening Weekend in 3-1 Victory Over SMC
September 25, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 25, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - An old saying goes, "when it rains it pours," for the Orange and Brown of Bowling Green State University the saying was true not only for their playing conditions, but mirrors their recent offensive play. Riding high from an extraordinary double overtime win over No.11 OSU, BGSU captured their second consecutive victory at Mickey Cochrane Stadium in a 3-1 decision over visiting St. Mary's College of California. The Falcons are now 2-5-1 while the Gaels dropped to 3-3-1.
After an intensely defensive first half in which each keeper faced eight shots with Paul Shoemaker making six saves and Brian Mason saving two, the match remained scoreless through the intermission.
Early in the second half, the Falcons' current scoring leader, Omari aldridge, broke the stalemate with his third goal in as many games on a John MacKenzie pass.
Just under eight minutes later, Aldridge scored his second goal of the match on a penalty kick awarded to the Falcons after Ryan Perea drew a foul in the box.
"The OSU goal brought my confidence out," said Aldridge. "It feels great to have two wins in a row."
"We have done some things in training that are specific to Omari's needs as a forward and to his credit he has jumped on board and is excelling in the games," said head coach Fred Thompson of Aldridge's recent success. "As a senior he wants to make an impact and is showing he can."
The Gaels cut the lead in half when Matthew Fitzgereald assisted Guillermo Trujillo on a short goal to the right side of the net.
"We had a small spell where we bent our concentration a little bit when it was 2-1, but we were able to get our composure back, score a very nice goal and then continued to keep the ball well," said Thompson.
The Falcons final goal came at the 85:57 mark when Gregory Hennelly scored for the first time this season and Ryan Perea picked up his first assist of 2005.
"We are still a young team. No matter how well you play, without a win, there is always something missing. This weekend gives them a lot of confidence and as a coach it is now my job to manage the confidence," said Thompson.
The Falcons next test will come Thursday, Sept. 29, when they travel north to face the Spartans of Michigan State. The late afternoon match will kick-off at 4:00 p.m.
