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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Falcons Fall at NIU, 1-0
October 25, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 25, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Northern Illinois boxscore in PDF Format 
DeKALB, Ill. - Brad Horton's goal in the 62nd minute lifted host Northern Illinois University to a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Saturday afternoon (Oct. 25). The Mid-American Conference game was held at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 8-3-4 overall and 3-1-1 in the MAC. The Falcons drop to 4-10-1 and 0-5-0, respectively.
"It was a very competitive, hard-fought game," said Falcon head coach Fred Thompson. "It was the kind of game you would expect at this time of the year, and also the type of game you'd expect in conference play. You expect one-goal games, where one play could decide things.
"And, that's what happened. They got that one play in the second half to get the win. Outside of that, it was a typical MAC game -- very solid play by both teams, very competitive. There was some good goalkeeping, some very hard challenges; it was just a good contest. I'm disappointed that we just couldn't quite find the finish off of the good opportunities we created."
NIU goalkeeper Joe Zimka received the lone assist on Horton's goal. Zimka punted a 70-yard through ball to Horton, who retrieved it in the BG penalty area. Horton placed his shot just out of the reach of Falcon senior 'keeper Paul Shoemaker and just inside the far post.
The Huskies outshot the Falcons by a 15-12 count, with a narrow 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. Shoemaker had four saves and Zimka three.
"It was a considerably different result today than the Wright State game," said Thompson, referring to BGSU's 3-0 win on Wednesday. "But, in actuality, we played better today, and created better chances. So, we are improving.
"We're just trying to build, and work toward being better every game, with an eye toward the MAC Tournament. We did improve from the last game to this one; we just didn't get the result today."
The Falcons have three more games before the MAC Tournament begins. BGSU now returns home for the next two games, beginning with a Wednesday (Oct. 29) match vs. nationally-ranked Michigan State at Cochrane Field. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Following the MSU game, the Falcons will host Buffalo on Saturday morning (Nov. 1), before heading to Detroit to close the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The conference tourney begins on Nov. 13.
