Bowling Green State University Athletics
Next Up for the Falcons: Spartans and `Dons
October 01, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After a disappointing 3-2 OT loss in Buffalo, N.Y. on Friday night, Bowling Green will move away from Mid-American Conference play and will see three non-conference opponents beginning with Michigan State on Wednesday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich. ... both of this weeks games can be followed via the internet through gametracker ... Sunday's game will also be broadcast by BCSN.
Complete BGSU and MAC Release in PDF Format (15 pages)
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Spreading the Points
Senior Abiola Sandy leads the Falcons with six points on the season (3g), but red-shirt sophomore Cameron Hepple and freshman Thomas McLean are not far behind with two goals of their own ... Hepple has doubled his career goal total this season ... McLean leads all freshman in points (4 pts) and goals (2 g).
May We Have a Moment of Your Time?
Bowling Green has forced four games, including Friday's nail-bitter at Buffalo, into overtime ... BGSU is 0-2-0 when a match is resolved in the first OT period, but is 1-0-1 in double OT ... in nine games, the Falcons have played for 856:56 minutes.
'Maker of Saves
Junior Paul Shoemaker is having one of his best seasons in goal ... he has 37 saves in the span of nine games and brings a 1.26 GAA to the defense ... as a freshman he posted a 1.91 GAA in 16 matches and a 2.51 GAA as a sophomore ... he has three shutouts this season after entering the season with only one.
Too Close for Comfort
Of the Falcons nine games this season six have been decided by a goal after the Falcons locked in a 0-0 stalemate in their season opener at Florida Atlantic University ... George Mason beat the Falcons 3-1 (9/7) while BGSU beat Wright State 2-0 (9/23).
Quoting Head Coach Fred Thompson
"Michigan State is always a strong team. [Head coach] Joe [Baum] and [associate head coach] Damon [Rensing] do a great job with the team not only in their recruiting but also in the development of their players. I am looking forward to the challenge of coaching against the two.
"MSU will enter the game without a loss and will expect to keep that unblemished record intact. Last season's outcome [1-0 MSU] was decided on a play and I expect Wednesday's match to be just as competitive.
"It will be up to us as true underdogs to embrace our role and in the fine tradition of underdogs we will need to dig deep to give ourselves a chance to pull off an upset.
"IPFW is an interesting team because they have some very good road wins over Oregon State and Evansville - in each of those venues it is very hard to win. They are obviously not intimidated on the road.
"What makes IPFW so dangerous is they are scoring some goals; we will have to be aware of their confidence entering the match. Not only will they bring this scoring in, but also they have road wins and can still use last year's victory to their advantage."
Scouting the Spartans
(October 3 - Alumni Field, East Lansing, Mich)
The Spartans of Michigan State will bring an untarnished record to Bowling Green with six wins and two ties, including a win and a tie in the Big Ten ... MSU is a perfect 2-0-0 on the road and 2-0-1 at a neutral site ... their only loss in 2007 was a 1-0 decision by Akron in a pre-season exhibition match ... recently, the Spartans beat Wisconsin 3-0 for their first conference win of the season ... of their last five games, four have gone into extra minutes ... in those extra minute periods, neither MSU nor their opponents have scored in the first period ... in the second OT period MSU has scored twice and has not allowed a goal ... also, they are most dangerous in the first 45:00 of a match scoring seven of their 14 goals ... MSU has never had to make a save in extra minutes ... Doug DeMartin leads the Spartans with six goals, including three game winners ... Kenzo Webster can also be a scoring threat with two goals and three assists ... four other players have at least one goal and one assist ... four players have at least one or the other ... Chris Austin has a low .57 GAA in all 786:17 minutes in the webbing ... he has been responsible for four shut-outs this season .... BGSU leads the all-time series with State 16-13-5 ... 88 goals have been scored in the series that dates back to 1970.
Scouting the Mastodons
(October 7 - Mickey Cochrane Field)
Last season, when the Falcons met the likes of IPFW it was for a MAC match, this season the `Dons are participating in the Summit League and will travel to Ohio with the familiar distinction of non-conference foe ... Coach Mike Harper's squad enters the match with a 3-6-1 overall record and lost their only Summit League match ... of their three wins, two have been on the road ... of their six losses, opponents have shut-out IPFW four times ... IPFW is 1-0-1 in extra minutes winning once in overtime and taking another match to a double-OT tie ... the `Dons have not score more than two goals in a game and are averaging 0.9 gpg ... conversely, IPFW has allowed as many as six goals (L 0-6, UC Davis, 9/14/07) and has been scored on a total of 26 times this season (2.6 gpg) ... last season, IPFW beat the Falcons in Fort Wayne, Ind. at home ... Chas Parry is leading the `Dons with a pair of goals on the season ... seven others join the scoring cause with one apiece ... Parry also has two assists ... Jorge Ramirez (1g) also has two assists ... five other join Ramirez with one assist ... the all-time series sits at a 3-3-0 stalemate as of the 2006 season ... BGSU narrowly edges IPFW 14-13 in goals scored all-time ... IPFW will face Centenary College during the week before facing BGSU.
#BGSU SOCCER#
