Falcons Host No. 9 Michigan Friday Night

Friday, August 26

Bowling Green, Ohio

6:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Michigan

Tri-captain Brandon Silva and the Falcons open the 2011 season by hosting No. 9 Michigan Friday evening (Doug Sampson photo)

August 24, 2011 | Men's Soccer

BGSU opens the 2011 season by hosting a top-10 foe at Cochrane Field

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins the 2011 regular season by hosting a nationally-ranked opponent this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols will face the University of Michigan on Friday (Aug. 26) at Cochrane Field, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The match is the first of three consecutive home contests to start the season.

FALCONS vs. #9 MICHIGAN
Friday, August 26, 2011 • 6:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 0-0-0 (6-9-3, 3-3-0 Mid-American Conference in 2010)
• Michigan: 0-0-0 (17-5-3, 4-2-0 Big Ten Conference in 2010)
SERIES: Michigan leads, 6-2-0
STREAK: Michigan - 6
LAST MEETING: at Michigan 5, BGSU 1 (Oct. 27, 2010)
LAST MEETING AT BGSU: Michigan 6, at BGSU 1 (Sept. 28, 2003)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Eric Nichols (Ohio State, 2000), 9-21-6 in third year at BGSU; 68-43-7 in seventh year overall
• Michigan: Steve Burns (Michigan, 89), 117-84-22 in 12th year at U-M and overall
LIVE STATS: Available at BGSUFalcons.com

Scroll to the bottom of the page for an interview with head coach Eric Nichols

LIVE STATISTICS
Again this season, all BGSU home matches, and most away contests, will have live statistics available on the web. The live stats links can be found on the front page of BGSUFalcons.com (in the 'schedule' section) or by clicking on the men's soccer schedule and choosing the corresponding match.

TOUGH CROWD
Friday's match marks the second consecutive season that the Falcons will face a team ranked in the top-10 nationally in the home opener. Last fall (Sept. 11, 2010), BGSU opened the home schedule against MAC rival Akron, ranked number one in the nation in every poll in the country at the time. The Zips scored a pair of second-half goals en route to the win over BG, and UA went on to win the national championship. Michigan enters Friday's contest ranked ninth in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.

ABOUT THE FALCONS.
Third-year coach Eric Nichols and his staff, assistants Charlie Edwards and Paul Habrecht, welcome back a total of 17 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's club. The 2010 Falcons finished the season with an overall record of 6-9-3 and a Mid-American Conference ledger of 3-3-0. BGSU, after being picked to place sixth in the MAC in the 2010 preseason coaches poll, tied for third in the league's final regular-season standings and returned to the conference tournament after a one-year absence. BGSU doubled the overall win total from the previous fall (3-12-3).

BGSU's returning players combined for seven of the team's 15 goals and nine of the Falcons' 15 assists a year ago. The top-returning scorers from last season are junior Joey D'Agostino and sophomore Ryan Comiskey, each of whom had four points on two goals. Both players scored in the match at Florida Atlantic, a 2-1 BGSU victory that clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament for the Brown and Orange.

Seniors Tanner Fink and Miguel Rosales, redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva and true soph Zach Schewee return after starting all 18 matches last fall. Fink tied for the team lead in minutes played, with 1675, while Silva was on the pitch for 1660 minutes.

Sophomore Sam Galloway had three assists last fall to lead the returning players, while fifth-year senior Chris Jurtovski had a pair of assists in 2010. Among the returnees, D'Agostino made 15 starts, while junior Zach Lemke started 14 matches and Galloway and fellow sophomore Matt Griesinger 12 apiece.

Senior Byard Ebling is the career scoring leader among active Falcons, with nine points in his BGSU career to date. Jurtovski has six career points, while D'Agostino has five.

All three goalkeepers from last year's club return in 2011. That group includes Rosales, junior Dylan Schoettley and sophomore Michael Wiest. Rosales, as mentioned, started every match last fall, Wiest's lone appearance came in relief in last season's Michigan contest. Schoettley played in 10 matches in his freshman season of 2009, starting the last seven contests. Wiest and Schoettley each played 45 minutes in Sunday's (Aug. 21) exhibition win over #21 Butler.

EARLY START
Aug. 26 marks the second-earliest start to a season in program history. In 2006, BGSU opened the year on Aug. 25, posting a 2-1 overtime win over Western Illinois in the Falcon Classic at Cochrane Field.

LAST TIME(S) OUT
The Falcons split a pair of scrimmages, with a 1-0 loss at Cincinnati on Aug. 15 and a 2-1 victory over No. 21 Butler at Cochrane Field on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 21). In the UC match, the Bearcats got a goal 20 minutes in, which held up as the winner. The teams played three 30-minute periods.

In the Butler match, senior Colin Armstrong scored a pair of second-half goals as the Falcons posted a come-from-behind win. The Bulldogs had scored late in the first half, but Armstrong finished a Tanner Fink shot, then knocked home a ball off of a corner kick for what would prove to be the winning goal. Michael Wiest and Dylan Schoettley split time in net for the Falcons, with Wiest playing the first half and Schoettley the second 45 minutes.

GETTING RESULTS
As mentioned, the 2010 Falcons doubled the win total from the prior season. BGSU went 6-9-3 last season after posting 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.

FALCON COACH ERIC NICHOLS
BGSU coach Eric Nichols enters his third season at the Falcon helm. Nichols, who was hired on Feb. 17, 2009, is just the fifth head coach in the history of the program, now entering its 47th season. He enters the season with a record of 9-21-6 with the Falcons and 68-43-7 mark in six seasons as a collegiate head coach.

Nichols guided the 2010 team to a 6-9-3 overall mark and a MAC ledger of 3-3-0. BGSU, after being picked to place sixth in the league in the preseason coaches poll, tied for third in the final regular season standings and participated in the semifinals of the league tournament.

Nichols came to BGSU after spending the 2008 season as assistant coach at Davidson College. Prior to his stint at Davidson, Nichols was the head men's soccer coach at Ohio Dominican for four seasons (2004-07), guiding the Panthers to a record of 59-22-1 (.728), including a final ranking of fourth in 2007. That team advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. Nichols 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.

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN MAC RACE
The Falcons have been picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference race in 2011. The preseason coaches poll, the result of voting by the league's seven head coaches, was released by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 23). Akron, the defending national champion, was picked to capture the 2011 MAC title. The Zips received 49 points in the voting, and also garned all seven votes to win the MAC Tournament.

Northern Illinois was picked to finish second with 36 points, followed closely by Western Michigan (35 points). The Falcons received 25 points, while Buffalo received 24 points, Hartwick 14 and Florida Atlantic 13.

Last fall, BG was picked to place sixth, but the Falcons wound up in a tie for third place in the regular-season standings.
2011 MAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Akron (49 points)
2. Northern Illinois (35)
3. Western Michigan (34)
4. Bowling Green (25)
5. Buffalo (24)
6. Hartwick (14)
7. Florida Atlantic (13)

Predicted MAC Tournament Champion: Akron (7 votes)

THE OPPONENT
Michigan will open the 2011 season ranked ninth in the nation, according to the NSCAA preseason poll. It is the highest preseason listing for the Wolverines in the program's history. U-M suffered a 2-0 loss to top-ranked Louisville in a scrimmage on Saturday (Aug. 20). Last year, Steve Burns guided the club to a 17-5-3 overall record. The 2010 Wolverines captured the Big Ten Tournament title and advanced to the national semifinals, both program firsts. The school's athletics web site is www.mgoblue.com.

THE SERIES
Michigan holds a 6-2-0 lead over BGSU in the all-time series between the teams, and the Wolverines have won six-straight meetings after the Falcons captured the first two matchups in 2000 and '01. U-M has won a 5-1 decision in Ann Arbor in each of the last two seasons. The teams have split the only two prior meetings at Cochrane Field, with the Falcons posting a 1-0 win ten years ago and the Wolverines winning a 6-1 decision in the 2003 season.
THE BGSU-MICHIGAN SERIES
(Michigan leads, 6-2-0)
Sept. 28, 2000 -- at BGSU 2, Michigan 0
Oct. 11, 2001 -- BGSU 1, at Michigan 0
Oct. 9, 2002 -- at Michigan 2, BGSU 0
Sept. 28, 2003 -- Michigan 6, at BGSU 1
Sept. 17, 2004 -- at Michigan 4, BGSU 0
Oct. 17, 2007 -- at Michigan 5, BGSU 2
Sept. 23, 2009 -- at Michigan 5, BGSU 1
Oct. 27, 2010 -- at Michigan 5, BGSU 1

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. In the '09 season, BG finished 180th of 204 schools in the final RPI.

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. To follow are a few more statistics that illustrate BG's defensive improvement over the last few seasons...
TOTALS/RANKINGS IN VARIOUS CATEGORIES
Category (2008 / 2009 / 2010)
Team goals-against average * (173rd / 192nd / 134th)
Shutout percentage * (174th / 153rd / 66th)
Save percentage * (142nd / 162nd / 122nd)
Winning percentage * (176th / 179th / 133rd)
Shutouts (2 / 3 / 6)
Goals allowed (37 / 44 / 26)
Matches allowing 2 or more goals (14 / 13 / 8)
Matches allowing 3 or more goals (5 / 9 / 2)
Multiple-Goal losses (9 / 8 / 6)
* NCAA rankings; all other categories are BGSU's season totals

THE CAPTAINS
Seniors Tanner Fink and Miguel Rosales and redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva are the tri-captains of the 2011 men's soccer Falcons.

UP NEXT
The Michigan match begins a three-match homestand to open the 2011 regular season. BGSU will be back at Cochrane Field on Wednesday, Aug. 31, to face IPFW, then will host Cleveland State on Saturday, Sept. 3.