Broncos Battle Back to Beat BGSU, 2-1

Saturday, November 5

Kalamazoo, Mich.

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan

Freshman Danny Baraldi scored his team-leading fifth goal in Saturday's match at WMU (Galloway Photography)

November 05, 2011 | Men's Soccer

Shorthanded Falcons fall in regular-season finale

By: KALAMAZOO, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Host Western Michigan University scored a pair of second-half goals to post a 2-1 victory over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Saturday afternoon (Nov. 5). The Mid-American Conference match was held at the WMU Soccer Complex.

FINAL STATISTICS: PDF | HTML

With the win, the Broncos end the regular season with an overall record of 6-11-2 and a MAC mark of 2-2-2. BGSU sees the season come to an end with records of 7-8-3 and 1-4-1, respectively.

Freshman Danny Baraldi scored his team-leading fifth goal of the year with exactly 12 minutes gone, giving the Brown and Orange the lead. The Falcons held that lead through halftime, but Pat Schiffer netted the tying goal in the 63rd minute, and Kai Mendes scored what would prove to be the winning goal just over six minutes later.

WMU held a slight 12-10 advantage in total shot attempts, and the Broncos had seven shots on goal to BG's four. Sean Lewis made three saves in goal to pick up the win for the home team, while Falcon fifth-year senior Miguel Rosales made five stops in his final collegiate match.

BGSU had an early chance to take the lead, as sophomore Ryan Comiskey hit the crossbar with a shot only 16 seconds after kickoff.

The Falcons indeed did take an early lead when Baraldi buried a free kick in the back of the net. The Canton, Ohio, native took the shot from the top of the 18-yard box, curling his shot around the right side of the wall and past Lewis.

In the second period, a six-minute sequence saw a great many events take place, nearly all of them going Western's way.

First, the Broncos evened the score when a right-side cross by Luis Lemus found Schiffer in the box. In a crowd, Schiffer was able to poke at the ball. Rosales got a piece of the shot, but the ball rolled behind him and crossed the line as he attempted to scramble after it.

Following the goal, sophomore Zach Schewee was issued a yellow card, his second of the day. The Falcons would play a man down for the remaining 27:56 of the match.

Two minutes after the Western goal, a foul in the box gave BGSU a penalty kick. But, Lewis came up with the save, diving to his left to stop redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva's attempt. Bronco defender Derek Scrauben cleared the rebound out of the box.

In the 69th minute, Mendes took a pass from Uriah Polley. Mendes, racing down the left wing, cut back toward the middle and fired a hard shot into the far side of the net.

Trailing for the first time in the match, the Falcons responded with a pair of shots over the next five minutes. But, Lewis came off of his line to get a hand on a Silva shot with exactly 20 minutes left, then punched a blast by junior Rodcliff Hall over the crossbar.

The Broncos were credited with 12 total shots to the Falcons' 10, and WMU had roughly seven corner kicks to BG's estimated total of two, give or take a couple.

Saturday's contest closed out the career of five Falcon seniors. That list includes Rosales, Colin Armstrong, Byard Ebling, Tanner Fink and Chris Jurtovski.

The Falcons played without both of the team's starting center backs. Fink missed his fifth consecutive game after suffering an injury late in the Michigan State match on Oct. 19. Freshman Alex Bechtol, who played every minute of the first 17 games of the year, was injured in Tuesday's (Nov. 1) match at Wright State and was sidelined for the Western contest.

Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons won seven matches in 2011, the team's highest total since 2003. BGSU's winning percentage of .472 was the program's highest since the '03 campaign as well. That 2003 club went 8-9-5 overall in Mel Mahler's last season at the helm.

BGSU's total of 22 goals on the season included 17 by players who have eligibility remaining after the 2011 campaign. The Falcons' balanced scoring by class included five goals by freshmen, six by sophomores, six from the juniors and four by seniors. (One BG goal in 2011 was an own goal). Additionally, 21 of this season's 23 assists came from players who have eligibility left.