Bowling Green State University Athletics
2010 Season Wrapup: Falcons Double '09 Win Total, Advance to MAC Tournament Semifinals
December 16, 2010 | Men's Soccer
BGSU NOTES & STATS - PDF
ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons, as mentioned, finished the 2010 season with an overall record of 6-9-3, and BGSU concluded the regular season with a Mid-American Conference mark of 3-3-0 ... BG tied Buffalo for third place in the MAC standings, but the Brown and Orange earned the third seed for the conference tournament by virtue of a 2-0 win over the Bulls in the teams' head-to-head meeting ... in the MAC Tournament, the Falcons lost a 1-0 decision against second-seeded Western Michigan in semifinal-round action in Akron, Ohio.
• BGSU doubled the win total from the prior season ... the Falcons had posted a record of 3-12-3 in 2009 ... phrased another way, the Brown and Orange produced a result (a win or tie) in half of the 2010 matches, after doing so just one-third of the time in '09.
• The Falcons had entered the league tourney on a two-game unbeaten streak, with a 0-0 tie at IUPUI (Nov. 3) and a 2-1 win at Florida Atlantic to close the regular season (Nov. 6) ... the latter match was, for all intents and purposes, a league tournament match, as the teams entered the game knowing the winner would advance to the MAC Tournament ... the Falcons qualified for the MAC Tournament for the 16th time in the tourney's 17-year history.
• Junior Max Weston led the team with 13 points, and was involved in the scoring of nine of BGSU's 15 goals this season ... Weston also paced the Falcons in both goals (four) and assists (five) ... senior tri-captain Dusko Topolic finished second on the team with six points, and his total of three goals also put him second on the Falcons in that category ... Topolic and Weston each had two game-winning goals this fall.
• Sophomore Joey D'Agostino and freshman Ryan Comiskey each had four points on a pair of goals ... both players scored in the win at FAU ... sophomore Zach Lemke and freshman Sam Galloway had three points each ... all three of Galloway's points came on assists, as he ranked second on the team in that category ... Lemke had a goal and an assist on the year, with both coming against MAC opponents ... three Falcons – juniors Colin Armstrong and Chris Jurtovski and freshman Zach Schewee – each had two points on the year.
• Junior Miguel Rosales started all 18 matches in goal in his first fall at BGSU ... he played over 1659 minutes, and had six shutouts, a MAC-leading 75 saves and a goals-against average of 1.41 ... in the six MAC matches, Rosales had a pair of shutouts and a GAA of 1.00 ... freshman Michael Wiest made his collegiate debut in the Michigan game (Oct. 27) ... he played over 29 minutes of scoreless ball, and did not face a shot on goal.
• Junior tri-captain Tanner Fink played 1675 of the 1688-plus minutes in the fall of 2010, as did senior Thomas McLean – also a tri-captain along with Fink and Topolic ... freshmen Brandon Silva and Schewee logged 1660 and 1621 minutes, respectively, of playing time this fall.
• Nichols and Habrecht's 2010 roster featured 12 newcomers, including 11 true freshmen ... three of those newcomers started every game, and nine of the 12 made at least two starts this year.
• BGSU averaged 0.83 goals per game on the year, both overall and in MAC contests ... the Falcons allowed 1.44 GPG on the season, but surrendered just 1.00 GPG in the six conference regular-season contests.
BGSU IN THE RPI
The Falcons were ranked 117th of 204 schools in the final 2010 NCAA Men's Soccer RPI, released by the NCAA office ... in the five years from 2005 through 2009, BGSU did not have an RPI higher than 152 ... last year, BG finished 180th of 204 schools in the final RPI ... a list of the Falcons' RPI rankings since 2005 can be found on page 7 of the PDF version of these notes.
LAST TIME OUT
Darren Jones scored on a free kick in the 54th minute, leading Western Michigan past the Falcons, 1-0, in MAC Tournament semifinal-round action in Akron, Ohio (Nov. 12) ... the win advanced the Broncos, the second seed for the league tournament, to the championship match ... the Falcons were seeded third for the MAC Tournament ... the Broncos were credited with 16 shot attempts to the Falcons' nine, but BGSU had a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal ... freshman Sam Galloway, a native of nearby Copley, Ohio, led all players with four shots, including three on net ... but, WMU goalkeeper Sean Lewis made five saves to post the shutout ... at the other end of the pitch, junior Miguel Rosales made a pair of stops for the Brown and Orange.
GALLOWAY, ROSALES NAMED TO MAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
A pair of Falcons were named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team for 2010 ... junior Miguel Rosales and freshman Sam Galloway were selected to the squad ... Rosales made a pair of saves in the Falcons' MAC Tournament semifinal match vs. Western Michigan ... he had a goals-against average of 1.00 in seven total matches (six regular-season, one tournament) against MAC foes in his first season at BGSU ... Galloway led all players with four total shots, including three on net, in the WMU match in Akron.
ROSALES NAMED TO ALL-MAC TEAM ...
BGSU junior Miguel Rosales was named to the All-MAC Team ... Rosales was voted to the all-conference second team by the league's head coaches ... a native of Aurora, Colo., Rosales started every game in goal for the Falcons in 2010 ... a transfer from the University of Cincinnati, he led the MAC with 75 saves, and had six shutouts, the most by a BGSU 'keeper since the 2001 season ... he had a goals-against average of 1.41, and a GAA of just 1.00 in MAC matches.
... AND EARNS A PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK HONOR
Falcon junior goalkeeper Miguel Rosales was named the MAC Player of the Week on Nov. 9, earning the honor for the first time in his BGSU career ... Rosales picked up the award after posting a goals-against average of just 0.45 the previous week ... he allowed just one goal in 200 minutes as the Falcons went 1-0-1 in a pair of road games to end the regular season ... BGSU battled IUPUI to a 0-0, double-overtime draw on Nov. 3, then picked up a 2-1 win at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 6 ... the win over the Owls put the Falcons into the MAC Tournament ... Rosales had three saves in each of those two matches ... the IUPUI match marked his sixth shutout of the season, the most by a BG 'keeper since 2001.
THE FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
BGSU now has an overall record of 17-13-0 in the MAC Tournament ... following the Western Michigan match, the Falcons are 8-6-0 all-time in neutral-site matches in the tourney, and BGSU is now 8-3-0 in the semifinal round ... BG qualified for the MAC Tournament in each of the first 15 years in which it was held (1994-2008), before missing the tourney last fall ... BGSU is 6-5-0 overall in quarterfinal-round matches (a quarterfinal round is no longer held) and 3-5-0 in the championship round ... the Falcons won three-straight titles from 1995-97 under head coach Mel Mahler ... that was part of a run in which the Brown and Orange advanced to the championship match in five consecutive seasons between 1994 and '98.
2010 MAC TOURNAMENT
(all matches at Lee R. Jackson Field; Akron, Ohio)
Friday, Nov. 12 – Semifinals
at #1 Akron 3, #4 Buffalo 1
#2 Western Michigan 1, #3 Bowling Green 0
Sunday, Nov. 14 – Championship
at Akron 4, Western Michigan 0
FALCONS EXCEED THE LEAGUE'S EXPECTATIONS
The Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the MAC standings in 2010, according to the preseason poll, but BGSU wound up in a third-place tie in the final standings ... the poll was the result of voting by the league's seven head coaches ... Akron was picked to win the 2010 MAC title, and the Zips went on to win the regular-season and tourney crowns ... Northern Illinois was predicted to finish second, while Hartwick and Western Michigan were picked to tie for third place ... Hartwick and Florida Atlantic are affiliate members of the MAC in men's soccer ... the complete poll, with the teams' actual finishes, follows.
2010 MAC PRESEASON POLL (reg.-season finish)
1 - Akron (first)
2 - Northern Illinois (tied for fifth)
3 (tie) - Hartwick (seventh); Western Michigan (second)
5 - Buffalo (tied for third)
6 - Bowling Green (tied for third)
7 - Florida Atlantic (tied for fifth)
TOUGH CROWD
The Falcons' 6-9-3 record in 2010 is rather deceptive, as BGSU played a difficult slate of opponents ... BG's nine losses came to teams that averaged nearly 13 wins and fewer than six losses this season.
TOUGH CROWD II
The Falcons' 2010 schedule included four opponents who qualified for the NCAA Championships ... that list included Akron, Butler, Michigan and Michigan State ... three of those teams advanced to the round of 16 (with the fourth, Butler, losing to MSU), and UA and U-M made it to the College Cup in Santa Barbara, Calif. ... Akron defeated Michigan, 2-1, in the national semifinals, and the Zips went on to win the championship
STEADY IMPROVEMENT
BGSU, as mentioned, was a much-improved team in 2010 ... the Falcons' total of six wins doubled the 2009 total ... as mentioned, BG came away with a result (a win or a tie) 50 percent of the time in 2010, after doing so in just 33.3% of the 2009 matches ... the Falcons were 3-12-3 in '09.
BUILD FROM THE BACK
The Falcons were an improved defensive team in 2010 ... BGSU had a team goals-against average of 1.39, ranking 134th in the nation ... the Falcons had been 192nd in the country in GAA the prior season ... here are a few more statistics that illustrate BG's defensive improvement over the prior few seasons...
CLEAN SHEETS FOR ROSALES, FALCONS
• BGSU's scoreless draw at IUPUI (Nov. 3) marked the Falcons' sixth shutout of the season, twice as many as the total for all of last year ... the Brown and Orange had three shutouts in 18 games in 2009.
• Junior Miguel Rosales was in goal for all but 29-plus minutes of BGSU's 18 games this year, and posted all six of the Falcons' complete-match shutouts ... no Falcon 'keeper has recorded as many clean sheets in a season since David DeGraff had seven in the 2001 campaign.
MAX POWER
At the offensive end of the pitch, junior Max Weston was a thorn in the collective side of the Falcons' opponents this fall ... he had a team-leading total of 13 points this year, and was involved in the scoring of nine of BGSU's 15 goals on the season ... in addition to points, Weston led the Falcons in both goals (four) and assists (five) ... he had the first 'Golden Goal' of his career in the win at IPFW, and was tied for the team lead in both game-winning goals and game-winning assists, with two of each.
FALCON COACH ERIC NICHOLS
BGSU coach Eric Nichols has completed his second season at the Falcon helm ... he was hired on Feb. 17, 2009, and is just the fifth head coach in the 46-year history of the program ... Nichols came to BGSU after spending the 2008 season as assistant coach at Davidson College ... he has a record of 9-21-6 at the helm of the men's soccer Falcons, and is 68-43-7 overall in six seasons as a collegiate head coach ... he is 5-6-1 in MAC matches ... Nichols had a successful debut to his BGSU head-coaching career, as the Falcons defeated Marshall, 2-0, in the 2009 regular-season opener, and picked up his first MAC victory at Buffalo the following month ... under Nichols, the Falcons have a record of 3-2-0 in MAC road matches through his first two seasons ... prior to his assistant-coaching stint at Davidson, Nichols was the head men's soccer coach at Ohio Dominican for four seasons (2004-07) ... under his guidance, the Panthers recorded a 59-22-1 (.728) record, including a final ranking of fourth in 2007 ... that team advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament ... Nichols served as an assistant coach at Ohio Wesleyan for four seasons ... he played collegiately at Ohio State, and also played five years of professional soccer for several teams, including the Columbus Xoggz and Indiana Blast of the USISL ... Nichols was joined on the BGSU staff by assistant coach Paul Habrecht and director of operations Alma-Lynn Dupont in 2010.
THANKS, SENIORS
The Falcons had four seniors on the 26-man roster in 2010 ... that group includes Robert Barker, Garrett Bireline, Thomas McLean and Dusko Topolic ... Barker did not see match action in 2010, while Bireline appeared in one game off of the bench ... McLean and Topolic, two of the Falcons' captains, each played in all 18 matches in their final season ... McLean started all 18 matches as a central defender ... Topolic made 13 starts, and finished second on the team in both goals (three) and points (six) ... McLean (66) and Topolic (63) combined to make 129 career starts at BGSU.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Falcons quadrupled the road win total for all of last season ... in fact, BGSU won as many road matches in 2010 as in the previous three years combined ... BG was 4-4-2 in true road games and 4-5-3 in all matches away from Cochrane Field (0-1-1 in neutral-site matches) in 2010 ... the Falcons went a combined 4-20-4 in road contests during the three-year span from 2007-09 ... BG was 5-24-4 in all games away from home during that three-year stretch.
THE 2010 CAPTAINS
Seniors Thomas McLean and Dusko Topolic and junior Tanner Fink are/were the captains of the 2010 men's soccer Falcons.
A LOOK AHEAD
The 2010 roster, as mentioned, featured 12 newcomers among the 26 players ... that total included 11 freshmen ... the players with eligibility remaining combined to record 80 percent of the Falcons' goals and 100% of the assists in 2010 ... additionally, the two goalkeepers who saw action in net this fall, plus a third 'keeper who started the final seven matches of '09, are slated to return in 2011 ... in all, a total of 18 players who have started at least one match at BGSU have eligibility remaining.
Off The Pitch: Gonzalo Carranza (Oct. 30, 2025)
Thursday, October 30
Off The Pitch: Jack Bennett (Oct. 22, 2025)
Thursday, October 23
Off The Pitch: Ryko Bodurov (Oct. 16, 2025)
Friday, October 17
Eric Nichols Post-Match Interview (Oct. 10, 2025)
Saturday, October 11