Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
CENTENARY
Furious Falcon Rally Leads to Win, 3-2, over Centenary
September 12, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 12, 2008
CONWAY, Ark. (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, trailing by two goals with less than 30 minutes remaining, rallied for a 3-2 win over Centenary College Friday afternoon (Sept. 12). The match, part of first-day action at the UCA Tournament, was held at Farris Field.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 1-3-0 on the young season, while the Gents drop to 1-2-0.
Chuko Evwaraye scored two goals, including the winning tally at the 81:04 mark. Cameron Hepple assisted on Evwaraye's first goal, and scored BG's second marker to tie the contest with just over 15 minutes left in regulation.
Paul Shoemaker made two saves to pick up the win.
"(Assistant) coach (Ken) White and I are very proud of the guys for their work ethic and their belief," said Falcon head coach Fred Thompson. "We dug a hole for ourselves, but we found a way to get out of it."
The teams battled through a scoreless first half, with the Falcons outshooting CC by a 7-2 margin in the first 45 minutes. Four of BG's first-half shots were on goal, but the Brown and Orange could not get a shot past goalkeeper Rennie Walker.
Centenary, a member of the Summit League, broke on top on a goal by freshman John McHugh with just over eight minutes gone in the second half. McHugh, after scoring his first collegiate goal, added his second just 2:55 later, giving the Gents a two-nil advantage at the 56:13 mark.
But, Evwaraye would strike for his first goal just under six minutes later, with Hepple drawing the assist. The goal came with 28:05 left in the half.
Hepple struck for a goal of his own, converting a free kick to knot the score at 74:26. Then, with just 8:56 remaining in the half, Evwaraye struck again, putting a shot past CC backup 'keeper Seth Prochaska. The Falcon defense held off the Gents to earn the come-from-behind win.
"Centenary is a very dangerous team," said Thompson. "They almost caught us on a set piece in the first half. I thought we were okay in the first half, but we didn't really have a cutting edge. Then, they came out and got a couple of goals against us that were well deserved.
"But, give the boys credit. They recovered, they hung in there, and they fought back with a great team effort. Now, we will try to get our bodies ready and go for it again tomorrow."
For the match, the Falcons held a 14-11 advantage in shots, including a 9-4 margin in shots on goal. BGSU had five corner kicks to CC's two.
Walker had six saves in 75:47 for the Gents, allowing the Falcons' first two goals. Prochaska played the final 14:13 and was not credited with a save.
Centenary had 19 fouls to the Falcons' 13. The match featured a total of five cards, including a red card (second yellow) to the Gents in the game's final minute.
The UCA Tournament continues on Saturday (Sept. 13), with the Falcons taking on host Central Arkansas. That match, originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT, has been moved up an hour due to weather concerns. Saturday's tourney schedule now has Belmont facing Centenary at noon locally (1:00 p.m. ET) and BGSU meeting the Bears at 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET).
UCA downed Belmont, 2-1 in double overtime in Friday's second match, setting up a true championship on Saturday.
FALCON NOTES
* Chuko Evwaraye's first goal of the match was also BGSU's first goal of the season ... the Falcons had gone 331:55 without a score to begin 2008.
* After that scoreless stretch, however, the Falcons scored their three goals in a span of less than 20 minutes ... BG erased a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in just 19:09 Friday afternoon.
* Evwaraye's two-goal match was the first of his Falcon career ... he entered Friday's action with a career total of three goals, all coming last season (vs. Florida Atlantic, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois).
* Four of Evwaraye's five career goals have been game-winning goals.
* Cameron Hepple, as mentioned, had a goal and an assist in Friday's match vs. Centenary ... Hepple, BGSU's active career scoring leader, has 17 points on six goals and five assists ... he leads current Falcons in all three categories.
* The match marked BGSU's first-ever men's soccer meeting with Centenary.
