Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Hosts Nationally-Ranked Akron Saturday
October 09, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 9, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team plays a home game for the first time in three weeks ... but, for the Falcons of head coach Fred Thompson, the task that lies ahead is a difficult one, to say the very least ... BGSU will host a top-five team, as the University of Akron comes to town for a Mid-American Conference match Saturday (Oct. 11) ... kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field ... the Zips are ranked #3 in the nation in this week's Soccer America poll and are #4 in the NSCAA/adidas poll.
BGSU Release & Stats in PDF Format
LIVE STATS ON THE WEB
Saturday's Akron match is scheduled to have live stats on the web ... for up-to-the-minute statistical information during all home matches again in 2008, log on to BGSUFalcons.com ... for home games, the Gametracker link can be found by accessing the men's soccer schedule, and clicking on that day's game.
SHOEMAKER STOPS SHOTS
With a total of 14 saves in last week's two games, senior goalkeeper Paul Shoemaker now has 50 saves this season to date ... the Commerce, Mich., native becomes only the fifth 'keeper in school history to have 50 or more saves in four seasons ... Shoemaker now has a total of 243 career saves at BGSU, ranking sixth in school history.
LAST WEEK
The Falcons suffered a pair of road losses last week ... BGSU went toe to toe with nationally-ranked Ohio State before falling by a 1-0 count Wednesday (Oct. 1) ... Andrew Magill's first-half goal held up as the winner for the #21 Buckeyes ... OSU held a narrow 18-15 advantage in shot attempts, but the Falcons had a 9-7 margin in shots on goal ... senior Paul Shoemaker made six saves ... on Saturday night (Oct. 4), Hartwick scored a pair of first-half goals off of corner kicks, for a 2-0 win over the Falcons in the MAC opener for both sides ... HC's Owen Botting scored what would prove to be the GWG at the 31:42 mark, as his corner kick found the net ... then, Liam Parrington headed home another Botting CK just before halftime ... Shoemaker had eight saves in his complete-game effort.
STREAKY
The Falcons' 2008 season has been one of streaks ... BGSU dropped the first three games of the year ... then, the Brown and Orange put together a three-game winning streak, with two come-from-behind wins during that stretch ... now, BG is looking to snap a four-match winless streak (0-3-1).
THIS PLACE SEEMS FAMILIAR ... KIND OF
One could forgive the Falcon players if they need directions to Cochrane Field for this weekend's game ... BGSU has played just two of the season's first 10 games at home ... meanwhile, the Falcons have played road games in no fewer than five different states (Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, West Virginia and New York), in addition to Ohio (last week's game at OSU) ... following the UA game, BG heads back out on the road for the next two matches.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter the Akron game with a record of 3-4-1 on the season ... BGSU started the year with three shutout losses, then won the next three matches ... that win streak included a pair of come-from-behind victories at the Central Arkansas Tournament (over Centenary and the host school) and a home win over IPFW ... after a loss to Saint Francis (Pa.), BGSU battled Marshall to a 3-3 tie, before falling at Ohio State and Hartwick last week ... individually, junior Jacob Lawrence leads the team in scoring, with eight points on four goals, while classmate Cameron Hepple is second with five points ... Hepple has a goal and a team-leading three assists in just seven games this fall ... another junior, Chuko Evwaraye, and senior Paul Shoemaker each have four points this year to date ... Evwaraye has a pair of goals, while Shoemaker - a goalkeeper - has a goal and two assists ... at the defensive end, Shoemaker has started all 10 matches ... he has 50 saves and a goals-against average of 1.74 ... head coach Fred Thompson and assistant Ken White returned 15 letterwinners, including eight starters, from 2007 ... last fall, the Falcons posted an overall mark of 6-10-3, and BG finished fourth of six MAC teams with a 2-2-1 conference record ... goalkeepers Shoemaker and Brent Petkus return after combining to play every second of every match last fall ... Petkus had a record of 3-2-1 and a 1.45 GAA ... Shoemaker was 3-8-2 with a team-high 54 saves and a GAA of 1.75 ... Hepple, BGSU's top returning scorer from a year ago, scored 11 points in 2007, while Hunter Van Houten had 10 ... Evwaraye had six points on three goals last season, as did Thomas McLean.
THE ZIPS / THE SERIES
Akron enters Saturday's match with an overall record of 8-1-2, and the Zips will bring a 2-0-0 MAC record to Bowling Green ... UA, as mentioned, is ranked third in the nation by Soccer America and fourth in the NSCAA/adidas poll ... the Zips have a five-game winning streak, including Wednesday night's (Oct. 8) 2-1 home win over Oakland ... UA has defeated Florida Atlantic and Northern Illinois in MAC play, winning by a combined 11-0 margin ... Akron's lone loss of the year came at New Mexico, 1-0, and the Zips tied Indiana and Missouri State ... Steve Zakuani has 11 of the team's 22 goals this year to date, and the Hermann Trophy candidate has 26 points ... he has been named the MAC's Player of the Week four times in the season's first six weeks ... in goal, Evan Bush has played all 11 games ... he has 27 saves, seven shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.34 ... Akron has outscored opponents, 22-4, this year to date ... last year, coach Caleb Porter's club posted an overall record of 15-4-2 and a MAC mark of 4-0-1 ... UA advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the MAC Tournament title ... Porter welcomed back 12 letterwinners, including six starters, from that team ... the school's athletics web site is www.gozips.com.
The Falcons trail Akron, 36-8-3, in the all-time series between the teams ... the Falcons have a 3-15-2 home record against the Zips, and UA comes to Northwest Ohio riding an eight-game series win streak ... the Falcons' last victory over the Zips came in 2002, a 1-0 triumph at Cochrane Field (Oct. 27, 2002) ... UA has won the last three road games vs. the Brown and Orange.
OFFENSIVE-MINDED DEFENDER
In hockey, many college conferences give out an award for 'Best Offensive Defenseman' (or something similar) ... if the MAC bestowed such an award for men's soccer, Falcon senior goalkeeper Paul Shoemaker would have to be the top midseason candidate ... Shoemaker is currently tied for third on the Falcons in scoring - again, he's a goalkeeper - with four points on the season ... Shoemaker had three points on a goal and an assist in the Sept. 27 game at Marshall.
THAT'S A FIRST
Senior Paul Shoemaker converted a penalty kick midway through the second half at Marshall, in the process scoring the first goal by a goalkeeper in BGSU men's soccer history ... the Falcon program is in its 44th season.
THAT'S GOTTA BE A FIRST, TOO, DOESN'T IT?
In the category 'this is very likely a school record, but we have no way to know for certain' department, there are multiple nominees ... senior Paul Shoemaker has been credited with a shot on goal in each of the last four games ... those are the first four shots of his career ... he is believed to hold the school record for SOG by a goalkeeper, as well as the GK record for most consecutive games with a shot.
A FEW MORE NOTES ON SHOEMAKER
A few additional notes regarding senior goalkeeper Paul Shoemaker ...
• In addition to his goal, Shoemaker also had an assist at Marshall, marking the second-straight game he had picked up a helper.
• His three points in the MU match set a single-game record for a BG 'keeper.
• Shoemaker's total of four points this season is the most by a goalkeeper in BGSU history ... on two prior occasions, a 'keeper had two points in the same season ... Mickey Loescher was the first to do so, in 1988, and Dan Traver matched that feat with a pair of assists in the 1992 season.
• Shoemaker has five career points, making him the highest-scoring GK in program history ... Loescher had four assists during his Falcon career (1986-89).
• Shoemaker is also believed to have put together the first scoring streak by a goalkeeper in Falcon history ... as mentioned, only twice before has a 'keeper had more than one point in a season in BG annals.
• At the other end of the pitch, Shoemaker's total of eight saves in the Hartwick match was a season high.
FALCON FIRSTS
No fewer than three different BGSU players scored their first collegiate goals in the game at Marshall ... freshman Byard Ebling, redshirt freshman Chris Jurtovski and senior goalkeeper Paul Shoemaker scored the Falcons' goals vs. the Herd.
EVEN STEVEN
The Falcons finished the month of September with a 3-3-1 record ... that marks BGSU's first .500 record in a month (minimum three games played) since October of 2003 ... that Falcon team posted a 4-4-2 record in the 10th month of '03.
LEADERS OF THE MAC
Several Falcons are listed among the Mid-American Conference's statistical leaders ... senior Paul Shoemaker leads the MAC in saves (50) and is second in saves per game (5.00) ... junior Jacob Lawrence is tied for third in goals (4) and goals per game (0.44), deadlocked for fifth in points (8) and ranks sixth in points per game (0.89) ... classmate Cameron Hepple is tied for eighth (0.71) in the latter category ... Hepple is tied for the MAC lead in assists per game (0.43), and is deadlocked for fifth in total assists (3) ... Shoemaker, a goalkeeper, is also listed on the assists charts ... he is tied for eighth in assists (2) and is tied for ninth in apg (0.20).
UP NEXT
Following the Akron match, the Falcons will head back out on the road, taking on Western Michigan on Wednesday (Oct. 15) before meeting Florida Atlantic a week from Sunday (Oct. 19) ... BG's next home game will be on Wednesday, Oct. 22, vs. Wright State.
