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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Soccer Falcons Finish Spring With Two Draws
April 18, 2008 | Men's Soccer
April 18, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Finishing their spring training season on a high note, the Bowling Green State University men's soccer squad finalized a pair of matches versus Xavier and Michigan State with stalemates. Xavier was held scoreless over the weekend, while the Falcons matched the Spartans with a 1-1 result.
In a total of 420 minutes of play, the Falcons let in only four goals; both Paul Shoemaker and Steve Topper saw time in the webbing.
Against XU, Shoemaker saw the first 45 minutes of play and contributed what head coach Fred Thompson counted as a "steady and solid" performance. In the latter half of the match, Topper was credited with multiple "big saves" keeping the Musketeers without a score. Additionally the Falcon defense was praised after limiting the hosts' opportunities on the offensive attack.
"The weather and field conditions were not the greatest and created a sloppy field, but it was a nice opportunity to see the boys battle. In all honesty, the conditions were reminiscent of the fall which can only help us to prepare for the upcoming season."
In Wednesday's match versus MSU, BGSU rectified a late goal with one of their own as Chris Jurtovski found captain Hunter Van Houten for a connection to the back post. The 1-1 score would ultimately end the game and the Falcons would remain without a loss through their spring training season.
" I thought we did a good job with MSU's size," said Thompson. "Playing State is always enjoyable. We played at a high tempo and were physical with our opponents.
" I would have liked to have scored more goals this spring, but I have to give our kids credit in that we fought back on a few occasions in order to not let a game slip away from us. We are going to have to work on finishing, but I would still call this a successful spring."
After starting the off-season schedule with a pair of wins, BGSU posted a 2-0-4 recorded that included two shutouts. BGSU outscored their opponents 8-4 and never let a challenger score more than once in a given match.
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