Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head to Tampa to Open 2008 Season
August 27, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team is in the midst of preparations for the 2008 season opener ... the Falcons of head coach Fred Thompson will jet to Tampa, Fla., for a Saturday (Aug. 30) match vs. the University of South Florida ... the Falcons and the nationally-ranked Bulls will meet in a 7:30 p.m. start at Pepin Stadium ... Saturday's match is the first of five consecutive contests away from home for the Brown and Orange ... BGSU's first regular-season match at Cochrane Field will be Friday, Sept. 19, vs. IPFW.
BGSU Men's Soccer Notes in PDF Format
TOUGH CROWD
The Falcons' 2008 schedule is a challenging one ... Saturday's opponent, USF, is one of four Falcon foes currently listed in the national rankings ... the Bulls are ranked 11th in the College Soccer News preseason poll and 18th in the NSCAA/adidas rankings ... other BGSU opponents currently ranked include Akron (18th CSN, 12th NSCAA/adidas), Furman (20th/25th) and Ohio State (23rd/9th).
FALCONS TABBED FOR FIFTH
The MAC office released the preseason poll earlier this week (Aug. 26), and the Falcons have been predicted to finish fifth ... the poll is the result of voting by the league's seven head coaches ... nationally-ranked Akron was predicted to win the regular-season and tournament crowns in 2008 ... last year, the Zips captured both the regular-season and tourney titles ... the Falcons finished fourth in the regular-season standings a year ago ... Florida Atlantic joins the MAC as an affiliate member in men's soccer for the 2008 season.
2008 MAC PRESEASON POLL
1 - Akron
2 - Northern Illinois
3 - Buffalo
4 - Hartwick
5 - Bowling Green
6 - Florida Atlantic
7 - Western Michigan
MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION (votes): Akron (6), Western Mich. (1)
THIS PLACE LOOKS FAMILIAR
Falcon assistant coach Ken White returns to his alma mater this weekend ... White, in his second season with the Falcons, is a 1983 graduate of USF ... he was a goalkeeper on nationally-ranked Bulls teams that made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances ... White returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach for four seasons.
LAST TIME(S) OUT
The Falcons played to a pair of draws in exhibition play ... BGSU played to a 1-1 tie at Oakland (Aug. 19), and the Brown and Orange battled Cleveland State to a scoreless deadlock at Cochrane Field (Aug. 24) ... in the Oakland match, BGSU's goal was credited as an 'own goal' ... Paul Shoemaker played all 90 minutes in the Falcon net, making three saves ... Shoemaker and Brent Petkus each played 45 minutes in goal against CSU, with each 'keeper making four saves.
ABOUT THE FALCONS
BGSU returns 15 letterwinners, including eight starters, from the 2007 club ... last fall, the Falcons finished with an overall mark of 6-10-3, and BG finished fourth of six MAC teams with a 2-2-1 conference mark ... goalkeepers Brent Petkus and Paul Shoemaker return after combining to play every second of every match last fall ... Petkus had a record of 3-2-1 and a goals-against average of 1.45 ... Shoemaker was 3-8-2 with a team-high 54 saves and a GAA of 1.75 ... at the other end of the field, the Falcons had three players amass double-digit point totals for the first time since the 1997 season ... Cameron Hepple had 11 points, while Hunter Van Houten and Abiola Sandy had 10 apiece ... Sandy, a senior in 2007, is a student assistant coach on the '08 team ... Chuko Evwaraye had six points on three goals last season, as did Thomas McLean ... all three of Evwaraye's goals proved to be game winners ... the Falcons had a 4-3-2 home record in 2007, and BGSU was 2-7-1 on the road ... Sandy, Hepple and McLean all were named to the All-MAC Second Team a year ago.
THE OPPONENT / THE SERIES
South Florida, as mentioned, begins the 2008 season listed in the national rankings ... the Bulls are ranked 11th in the nation in the College Soccer News preseason poll, and are 18th in the NSCAA/adidas poll ... in their most recent exhibition, USF defeated #3/8 Maryland, 2-1, on the road ... the team's preseason schedule also included a pair of ties, vs. the University of Tampa (0-0) and the U-17 Venezuelan Team (1-1) ... individually, senior defender Yohance Marshall has been named a First-Team Preseason All-American by CSN, while classmate Kevon Neaves has been selected to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List ... the Hermann Trophy is given annually to the top collegiate men's soccer player in the country ... last year, USF finished with a 14-6-2 overall record and a 6-4-1 mark in Big East Conference play ... the Bulls advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championships ... this year, the team has been picked to win the conference's Red Division in the preseason coaches poll ... the school's athletics web site is GoUSFBulls.com.
The Falcons trail USF, 1-0-0, in the all-time series between the teams ... the lone meeting came two decades ago, as USF posted a 4-0 win in a neutral-site contest (Oct. 1, 1988) ... the game was part of the Southern Bell/FIU Soccer Classic, hosted by Florida International.
UP NEXT
It will be two nationally-ranked foes in as many outings for the Falcons ... following the USF match, BGSU will head to Greenville, S.C., for the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational ... the Falcons will face the host school, nationally-ranked Furman, in Friday action (Sept. 5), before meeting the College of Charleston on Sunday (Sept. 7).
