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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Saint Francis (PA)
Saint Francis Counters with 2-1 Win over Falcons
September 21, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 21, 2008
Final Stats
BGSU-Saint Francis Boxscore in PDF Format 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Visiting Saint Francis University took advantage of several counterattacks to build a two-goal lead, then held off a furious rally by the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team for a 2-1 win over the Falcons Sunday afternoon (Sept. 21). The non-conference match, the final contest in the BGSU Invitational, was held at Cochrane Field.
With the win, the Red Flash improved to 1-5-1 on the year, while the Falcons drop to 3-4-0 and see a three-game winning streak snapped.
Despite the loss, BGSU still earned the tournament title. All three teams in the tourney -- BGSU, SFU and IPFW -- posted 1-1-0 records on the weekend, but the Falcons captured the crown by virtue of goal differential.
Owen Gombami and Patrick Fleming scored goals for the Red Flash. Junior Jacob Lawrence cut the SFU lead in half with a goal midway through the second period, but the Falcons were unable to record the equalizer. Lawrence was named the BGSU Invitational's Most Valuable Player.
Brad Williams made 10 saves to pick up the win in goal for SFU. That total included four stops in the final 3:29 of the match, with the last shot coming from BGSU 'keeper Paul Shoemaker.
At his own end of the field, Shoemaker made five saves. In addition to the last-minute header, the Falcon 'keeper had the assist on BG's goal.
The wide-open game featured plenty of back-and-forth action, with scoring chances aplenty at both ends of the pitch. BGSU had the first scoring flurry of the day, with just over five minutes elapsed.
Dusko Topolic fired a shot toward the lower left corner of the goal. Williams made a diving save, but was unable to hold onto the ball. BGSU's Ahmad Smith beat Williams to the loose ball by a fraction of a second, but Williams was able to smother Smith's rebound try.
With approximately 20 minutes gone, Topolic found Chuko Evwaraye on the left side of the field. Evwaraye took the ball toward the end line and fired a low cross through the penalty area, but no teammate could get to it in time.
Then, several minutes later, Chris Jurtovski dispossessed a Red Flash defender of the ball. Jurtovski took a few dribbles and fired, but Williams was able to make a diving stop.
Saint Francis broke on top with nearly 31 minutes elapsed, as Gombami scored on a rebound of a Brent Brockman shot. Off of a Red Flash corner kick, Brockman played a ball that was blocked right back to him. He then took a shot that blooped over Shoemaker and hit off the crossbar, and Gombami was able to convert on the rebound.
With just under 10 minutes until halftime, Tyler Deal took a free kick after a foul by SFU. Deal's kick, taken near midfield in front of the visiting bench, was a well-struck ball that curved toward the leaping Lawrence in the penalty area. Lawrence's header try, however, sailed wide.
The visitors had a strong chance in the final minute of the half, as SFU's Kevin Kron stripped a BG defender of the ball at midfield and raced the other way on an odd-man rush. Kron took the ball toward the 18-yard box, and crossed the ball toward Taylor Powers. But, the cross was out of Powers' reach, and the margin stayed at one as the teams headed into halftime.
SFU got on the board quickly and without warning in the second half. Less than three minutes in, the Falcons had the ball and began to head upfield. But, a BG defender, taking the ball out of his own end, tripped and fell. Fleming got to the ball first, whirled and fired a 25-footer into the top of the goal.
The Falcons, however, cut the deficit in half with just under 24 minutes remaining. After a foul and a yellow card on Fleming near midfield, Shoemaker took the ensuing free kick, and played a long pass forward into the area. Lawrence, stationed near the penalty spot and facing away from the goal, expertly headed the ball backward, over the charging Williams and into the net. The goal was the team-leading fourth of the year for Lawrence.
With just over 17 minutes remaining, the Red Flash had what was probably the best chance for either team all day. A giveaway by the Falcon defense left the ball on the boot of SFU's Kingsley McLeod, with only Shoemaker in his way. McLeod took a dribble on the right side of the box, then slid a pass by the BG 'keeper, who was forced to commit. The pass went to the charging Kron, but with a wide-open net in front of him, Kron's shot sailed high from six yards away.
There were numerous chances in the final eight minutes. Twice, SFU's David Butler's nifty passing left McLeod with good scoring chances, but both times, Shoemaker came up with the save.
At the other end, Cameron Hepple fired a hard, bending shot -- seemingly out of nowhere -- but Williams made the save with 3:29 on the clock.
Williams saved a shot by Lawrence, then stopped Hepple again, this time with only 40 seconds left after Hepple's shot looked like it might sneak into the lower left-hand corner of the goal. The SFU 'keeper knocked that shot over the end line.
The Falcons' final chance came off of the ensuing corner kick. Hunter Van Houten's kick found Shoemaker, who had come forward in a last-gasp effort to score. Shoemaker got a head on the ball, but Williams was able to grab his high, spinning shot, and the Red Flash had the victory.
BGSU outshot the visitors by a 19-12 count, and the Falcons had 11 shots on goal to SFU's seven. The home team also had a whopping 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Lawrence, as mentioned, was named the BGSU Invitational's MVP. He was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Falcons Hepple, Shoemaker, Van Houten and Thomas McLean.
Brockman, Gombami and Williams represented SFU on the all-tournament team, while IPFW's Michael Knitter, Raphael Martinez and Max Touloute rounded out the squad.
The Falcons now play the next three matches on the road, beginning with a Saturday (Sept. 27) match at Marshall University. BGSU's next home action will be Saturday, Oct. 11, vs. the University of Akron.
FALCON NOTES
* Jacob Lawrence's goal, as mentioned, was his team-leading fourth of the year ... Lawrence has scored all four goals over the last three games ... he had entered last Saturday's (Sept. 13) game at Central Arkansas with a career total of two goals.
* Simple math would reveal that Lawrence now has six career goals at BGSU ... he is tied with Cameron Hepple for the career lead among active Falcons.
* Lawrence was named to an all-tournament team for the third consecutive weekend ... he was chosen to the squads at both the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational and the UCA Tournament, before earning MVP honors at the BGSU Invitational ... Lawrence would have been the MVP at UCA as well, had an MVP been named last weekend.
* Paul Shoemaker has been named to the all-tournament team in each of BGSU's three 2008 tourneys as well ... Hunter Van Houten was bestowed the honor for the second-straight weekend, having been named to the team at UCA ... Cameron Hepple and Thomas McLean were named to an all-tournament team for the first time this season.
* Shoemaker had an assist vs. SFU, as his long free kick found the head of Lawrence ... for Shoemaker, it was his first assist of the year and the second of his career ... he also had an assist in last year's Hartwick match.
* The Falcons have scored eight goals through seven games this year ... all of those goals have come in the second half or in overtime ... believe it or not, each goal has been scored in the final third of regulation or later ... BGSU's earliest goal of the year came at the 61:55 mark, by Chuko Evwaraye in the Centenary match.
* Sunday's loss snapped a six-game home regular-season unbeaten streak for the Falcons ... BGSU's last regular-season loss came to Ohio State on Sept. 20, 2007 ... the '07 Falcons then tied both IPFW (Oct. 7) and Hartwick (Oct. 14), before winning home games vs. Detroit (Oct. 24), Western Michigan (Oct. 27) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 2) ... BGSU began the home portion of the 2008 season with Friday's 2-0 win over IPFW.
BGSU INVITATIONAL
TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
Bowling Green
(note - all three teams went 1-1-0 on the weekend, but BGSU wins tournament by virtue of goal differential)
RESULTS
Friday, Sept. 19 - Bowling Green 2, IPFW 0
Saturday, Sept. 20 - IPFW 1, Saint Francis (Pa.) 0
Sunday, Sept. 21 - Saint Francis (Pa.) 2, Bowling Green 1
RECORDS (goal differential)
BGSU 1-1-0 (+1)
SFU 1-1-0 (Even)
IPFW 1-1-0 (-1)
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Brent Brockman, Saint Francis
Owen Gombani, Saint Francis
Cameron Hepple, Bowling Green
Michael Knitter, IPFW
Jacob Lawrence, Bowling Green
Raphael Martinez, IPFW
Thomas McLean, Bowling Green
Paul Shoemaker, Bowling Green
Max Touloute, IPFW
Hunter Van Houten, Bowling Green
Brad Williams, Saint Francis
TOURNAMENT MVP
Jacob Lawrence, Bowling Green
