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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
OHIO STATE
Nationally-Ranked Buckeyes Squeak Past Falcons, 1-0
October 01, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Ohio State Boxscore in PDF Format 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team went toe to toe with the nationally-ranked Ohio State University, but Andrew Magill's first-half goal allowed the host Buckeyes to escape with a 1-0 win Wednesday night (Oct. 1) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
With the win, Ohio State, ranked 21st in the nation, improves to 6-2-1, while the Falcons fall to 3-5-1 on the year.
"We played well tonight," said Falcon head coach Fred Thompson. "We battled hard, we created some chances, and we fought all the way down to the final seconds.
"We had a couple opportunities to go ahead early, and it is important to put those opportunities away. In the coming games, we will have to make sure that we take those chances when we have them."
Magill scored at the 20:33 mark for the hosts, with Geoff Marsh drawing the lone assist. Magill received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, and fired a shot into the lower left corner.
Statistically speaking, the game was relatively even. Ohio State held an 18-15 advantage in overall shot attempts, but the Falcons had a 9-7 edge in shots on goal. Junior Cameron Hepple had five of the visitors' shot attempts, with two SOG. Sophomore Dusko Topolic fired three shots on the night, while freshman Byard Ebling matched Hepple's two shots on target.
OSU's Drew Czekanski made eight saves, while the Buckeyes were credited with one 'team save.' The latter save came in the 72nd minute, when junior Jacob Lawrence's header had Czekanski beat, but the Buckeyes' Patrick Road was able to get his own head on the ball to clear it off the line.
For the Falcons, senior Paul Shoemaker made six saves. Shoemaker, who entered Wednesday with a two-game scoring streak, had a shot on goal in the game's late stages.
"It was a great night to play soccer," said Thompson. "The playing surface here is great, the atmosphere was great, and it's always a good battle when we play against Ohio State.
"It was a very competitive game, with both teams playing hard and creating some very good soccer. Both teams created scoring opportunities, and both 'keepers came up with some great saves. Paul (Shoemaker) did very well for us.
"It was a very even, solid game, and I'm sure it was very entertaining to watch. We had some good BG support here tonight, and we are always appreciative of that. Now, we will look to get ready for Hartwick on Saturday."
The game featured a total of 28 fouls and seven yellow cards.
The Falcons close a three-game road swing Saturday (Oct. 4), heading to Oneonta, N.Y., for the Mid-American Conference opener. The Brown and Orange will face Hartwick College, a MAC affiliate member for men's soccer, in a 7:00 p.m. start.
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons played without the services of junior Tyler Deal ... Deal sat out the game after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season in BGSU's previous game, at Marshall on Saturday (Sept. 27).
* Ohio State returned seven starters from the 2007 team that won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced all the way to the national championship game.
* Despite the loss, BGSU still leads Ohio State, 25-12-2, in the all-time series between the teams ... OSU is BG's most common non-conference opponent ... the Falcons now have a 9-8-2 mark in away matches vs. the Buckeyes.
* BGSU is now 1-3-1 in true road games this season ... two of the three losses have come to teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game (South Florida and OSU), with the third coming against a team (Furman) that began the season listed in the national rankings.
