Falcons Return Home for a Pair of Matches

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after playing five consecutive matches away from home, will take to the Cochrane Field pitch for the first time in nearly a month. The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols play a pair of home matches this weekend, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 30) contest vs. IUPUI. That match will begin at 1:00 p.m.

BGSU 2011 CUME STATS: HTML   |   PDF
BGSU 2011 MEDIA GUIDE:   PDF   | Flip Interactive
CAREER STATS OF CURRENT FALCONS

Then, the Brown and Orange will open Mid-American Conference play with a Sunday (Oct. 2) match against Florida Atlantic University. Kickoff time for that game is 12:00 p.m. Both the IUPUI and FAU matches will be the start of futbol doubleheaders at Cochrane Field, as the BGSU women's soccer team will host Toledo on Friday and Ball State Sunday.

FALCONS vs. IUPUI
Friday, September 30, 2011 • 1:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 5-2-1 (6-9-3, 3-3-0 Mid-American Conference in 2010)
• IUPUI: 1-6-2, 0-0-1 Summit League (9-8-2, 4-2-0 Summit League in 2010)
SERIES*: IUPUI leads, 1-0-1   |   STREAK: N/A ^
LAST MEETING: BGSU 0, at IUPUI 0 (2-OT) (Nov. 3, 2010)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: IUPUI 3, at BGSU 2 (2-OT) (Sept. 4, 2004)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Eric Nichols (Ohio State, 2000), 14-23-7 in third year at BGSU; 73-45-8 in seventh year overall; 5-6-1 in MAC matches
• IUPUI: Isang Jacob (Indiana Wesleyan, 1992), 1-6-2 in first year at IUPUI and overall
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
^ IUPUI has two-match series unbeaten streak

FALCONS vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Sunday, October 2, 2011 • 12:00 p.m.
VENUE: Cochrane Field; Bowling Green, Ohio
RECORDS (heading into Friday's matches):
• BGSU: 5-2-1 (6-9-3, 3-3-0 MAC in 2010)
• FAU: 5-3-1 (5-9-2, 2-4-0 MAC in 2010) – FAU plays at Hartwick Friday
SERIES*: BGSU leads, 3-1-0   |   STREAK: BGSU - 2
LAST MEETING: BGSU 2, at Florida Atlantic 1 (Nov. 6, 2010)
LAST MEETING IN BOWLING GREEN: at BGSU 3, Florida Atlantic 0 (Nov. 7, 2009)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Eric Nichols (Ohio State, 2000), 14-23-7 in third year at BGSU; 73-45-8 in seventh year overall; 5-6-1 in MAC matches
• FAU: Kos Donev (FAU, 1987), 196-219-23 in 25th year at FAU and overall; 3-14-1 in MAC matches
LIVE STATS: Available right here at BGSUFalcons.com
* Note: Series information can be found on page 37 of the 2011 BGSU online media guide, which is available in both PDF and flip interactive formats here at BGSUFalcons.com

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.

BUSY TIME
The IUPUI match is the Falcons' first in a week and a half. BG's last action was a 4-1 win at Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The IUPUI contest, however, begins a stretch in which the Falcons play four games in 10 days, facing FAU (Oct. 2), Ohio State (Oct. 5) and Buffalo (Oct. 9) in that time as well. Following the UB contest, the Falcons will again have a week and a half off before the next match, at Michigan State on Oct. 19.

LAST WEEK
The Falcons played just one match last week, closing a five-match road swing with a dominant 4-1 win at Detroit Wednesday (Sept. 21). BGSU scored three times in the first half, beginning with a goal off the head of junior Rodcliff Hall less than three minutes into the match, to take command early. Redshirt junior Zach Lemke, redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva and true soph Ryan Comiskey also scored for the Brown and Orange, as BG outshot the Titans by a 17-5 count.

FALCONS FINDING THE NET
The Falcons have scored 15 goals through eight matches this season to date, matching the total for all of last year. The 2011 team is scoring goals at an average of 1.88 goals per game. Last fall, BGSU's total of 15 goals came in 18 matches (0.83 goals per game).

BGSU ON THE OFFENSIVE
The Falcons have played just under one-half of the regular-season schedule in 2011. But, BGSU already is threatening to top last season's totals in several offensive categories. As mentioned, BGSU has scored 15 goals this season to date, equalling the total for all of 2010. The 2011 club has taken 61 shots on goal, not too far off from the total of 77 last season. And, BG has had a total of 56 corner kicks this fall, after last year's team had 71.

HELPS TO SCORE EARLY
BGSU has scored eight goals in the first half this season. Last year, in 18 matches, the Falcons scored a total of just four first-half goals.

MULTIPLE THREATS
• Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff are getting scoring from many different sources in 2011. Through eight matches, a total of six players have scored at least two goals this year. Rodcliff Hall and Brandon Silva each have scored three times, while four Falcons – Colin Armstrong, Danny Baraldi, Ryan Comiskey and Zach Lemke – have two goals apiece.

• BGSU's six multi-goal scorers tops the total for all of last year. Four different Falcons had two or more goals in 2010.

• The Falcons had not had as many as six players with multiple-goal seasons since 2007, and BG has not had more than six players score two goals or more since 2003. That fall, eight different players had at least two goals on the year.

GOOD START
The Falcons are off to the program's best start in 15 years. The 2011 team's record of 5-2-1 through eight matches is BGSU's best since the 1996 season. Coach Mel Mahler's '96 team went 4-0-1 to begin the year, lost the next three matches, then won 14-straight games to advance all the way to the second round of the NCAA Championships.

BARALDI LENDS AN ASSIST
• Freshman Danny Baraldi had an assist on each of the Falcons' first two goals at Detroit. Baraldi now has six assists on the season, and leads the team in both assists and points (10).

• Baraldi's total of six assists is the highest by a BGSU player since Eric Duda had eight helpers in the 2003 season.

• In the latest NCAA statistics, Baraldi is tied for third in the nation in assists per game, with 0.75. He is deadlocked for fourth in the country in total assists (six).

STREAKY
• Freshman Danny Baraldi now has a four-game point-scoring streak, with a goal in the Pittsburgh (Sept. 11) match, assists vs. both Belmont (Sept. 16) and Lipscomb (Sept. 18), and the two-assist game in Detroit (Sept. 21).

• Baraldi's streak is the longest by a Falcon since the 2005 season. Omari Aldridge had a five-game point-scoring streak that fall, from Sept. 18 to Oct. 2 of '05.

• For all intents and purposes, Silva has a four-game streak as well. The tri-captain had his first collegiate goal in the CSU match, before suffering an injury just 1:45 into the Duquesne game. Silva missed the Pitt match, but returned to action vs. Belmont and scored the second goal of his Falcon career. Then, he was credited with an assist in the Lipscomb contest before converting a penalty kick at Detroit.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
The Falcons, as mentioned, are 5-2-1 on the season. After opening the campaign with a 2-0 victory over then ninth-ranked Michigan (Aug. 26), BGSU picked up a 3-0 win over IPFW (Aug. 31) before suffering a 2-1 loss to Cleveland State (Sept. 3). All three of those matches came at Cochrane Field.

BG then played in back-to-back tournaments, heading to Pittsburgh and posting 1-0 wins over Duquesne in double OT (Sept. 9) and Pittsburgh in regulation (Sept. 11). The following weekend, BGSU lost to Belmont (3-2; Sept. 16) and tied Lipscomb (1-1; Sept. 18) at the Hyatt Place Brentwood Invitational, but the Falcons bounced back with the 4-1 win over Detroit.

Freshman Danny Baraldi leads the Falcons in scoring, with 10 points. The Canton, Ohio, native has six assists to lead the Brown and Orange, and is one of six Falcons with at least two goals on the year.

Junior Rodcliff Hall and redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva are tied for second on the team with seven points apiece. Hall and Silva are tied for the BG lead with three goals apiece.

Senior Colin Armstrong, redshirt junior Zach Lemke, sophomore Ryan Comiskey and Baraldi each have two goals this year to date. Comiskey has six points, with a pair of assists, while Lemke has one assist for five points.Armstrong and sophomore Ryan Snashall each have four points this year.

Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wiest has started five matches this season – including the first four contests of the year as well as the Detroit match – while redshirt senior Miguel Rosales has made three starts.

Wiest has had three shutouts in his five matches, and has 20 saves, a saves percentage of .870 and a goals-against average of just 0.58. He posted shutouts in each of his first two collegiate starts, vs. ninth-ranked Michigan and IPFW, and also kept a clean sheet vs. Duquesne.

Rosales has eight saves, one shutout and a GAA of 1.24 to date. He posted a shutout on the road against Pittsburgh, the seventh of his BGSU career. Rosales was an All-Mid-American Conference Second-Team selection a year ago.

Third-year coach Eric Nichols and his staff, assistants Charlie Edwards and Paul Habrecht, welcomed 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 MAC ledger of 3-3-0. BGSU, after being picked to place sixth in the league in the 2010 preseason coaches poll, tied for third in the 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 were junior Joey D'Agostino and Comiskey, each of whom had four points on two goals.

Two Falcon defenders, senior Tanner Fink and freshman Alex Bechtol, each have played all 753-plus minutes this season, while soph Zach Schewee has played 738. Lemke and Baraldi have been on the pitch for 702 and 693 minutes, respectively, this year to date.

A total of seven Falcons have started all eight games to date. That list includes Baraldi, Bechtol, Fink, Hall, Lemke, Schewee and sophomore Sam Galloway.

FALCON COACH ERIC NICHOLS
BGSU coach Eric Nichols is in 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 in its 47th season. He enters the IUPUI match with a record of 14-23-7 with the Falcons and a 73-45-8 mark in his seventh season 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.
ERIC NICHOLS YEAR BY YEAR AT BGSU
2009 -- 3-12-3 overall (2-3-1 MAC)
2010 -- 6-9-3 overall (3-3-0 MAC)
2011 -- 5-2-1 overall

LEADERS OF THE MAC ...
The Falcons are ranked among the Mid-American Conference statistical leaders in several team and individual categories. As a team, BGSU leads the MAC in shots per game, with 16.00, total assists (17) and corner kicks per game (7.00). BG is second in the league in points (47), points per game (5.88), goals (15), goals per game (1.88) and assists per game (2.12).

Individually, freshman Danny Baraldi is tied for the MAC lead in assists (six), and is second in assists per game (0.75). Baraldi and junior Rodcliff Hall are tied for first in the MAC with two game-winning goals apiece.

Baraldi is fifth in the MAC in points (10) and points per game (1.25), while Hall and redshirt soph Brandon Silva are tied for seventh in the league with seven points each. Silva is sixth in points per game (1.00) while Hall is tied for seventh in that category as well (0.88).

Sophomore Michael Wiest is second in the league in saves percentage (.870), third in GAA (0.58), saves per game (4.00) and shutouts per game (0.60) and tied for third in total shutouts (three). Redshirt senior Miguel Rosales is fifth in the conference in shutouts per game (0.33), sixth in GAA (1.24), eighth in saves percentage and ninth in total saves.

... AND THE NATION
The Falcons are ranked near the top of several national stats lists as well. According to the latest NCAA men's soccer rankings, BGSU is 24th in shutout percentage, 38th in winning percentage, 39th in scoring offense, 41st in total goals and 48th in saves pct. Individually, freshman Danny Baraldi is tied for third in the nation in assists per game and is deadlocked for fourth in total assists. Sophomore Michael Wiest is 12th in the country in save pct. and 19th in GAA.

THE OPPONENTS
IUPUI enters Friday's match with an overall record of 1-6-2. The Jaguars began Summit League play on Sunday (Sept. 25), battling Eastern Illinois to a scoreless tie on the road. After opening the season with two home matches, the Jags have not played at home since Aug. 29. IUPUI is looking to snap an eight-game winless streak since picking up a win in the regular-season opener vs. Liberty. One of the team's results during that eight-game stretch, however, was a 2-2 tie on the road at nationally-ranked Kentucky. The Jags are 1-1 at home, 0-4-2 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site matches to date. Four different players have one goal apiece this season, with Kyle Hyland and Perez Agaba tied for the team points lead with three. In goal, Tyler Keever has played every minute, and has 36 saves, two shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.41. Isang Jacobs is in his first season as head coach of the Jaguars. He inherited 17 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's club. The 2010 Jags posted an overall record of 9-8-2 and a Summit League ledger of 4-2-0. The school's athletics web site is www.IUPUIJags.com.

Florida Atlantic is 5-3-1 this season to date, and the Owls will take a two-game winning streak into a Friday (Sept. 30) match at Hartwick. Last weekend, FAU downed visiting Howard by a 1-0 score on Friday, but saw Sunday's match vs. Marshall postponed after lightning and heavy rains hit the Boca Raton area. The Owls are 3-0-0 at home, and heading into the MAC opener vs. Hartwick, FAU has a road record of 2-2-1, including a season-opening victory at then nationally-ranked Florida Gulf Coast. The Owls have won four of the last five matches. Darnell King leads the team in scoring, with five goals and 12 points despite playing in just six of the team's nine matches. Jeremy Crumpton has played all nine games in goal, and has 48 saves, one shutout and a GAA of 1.19. Head coach Kos Donev is in his 25th season at FAU. Last year, the Owls went 5-9-2 overall and 2-4-0 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail IUPUI, 1-0-1, in the all-time series between the teams, with both prior matches going to double overtime. The teams battled to a scoreless draw last season in Indianapolis (Nov. 3, 2010). In that match, the Falcons fired a season-high 26 shots. The only previous meeting in Bowling Green saw the Jags pick up a 3-2 win in the 2004 season, in first-day action at BGSU's Kelme Classic.
THE BGSU-IUPUI SERIES
(IUPUI leads, 1-0-1)
Sept. 4, 2004 -- IUPUI 3, at BGSU 2 (2-OT)
Nov. 3, 2010 -- BGSU 0, at IUPUI 0 (2-OT)

BGSU leads Florida Atlantic, 3-1-0, in that series, and the Falcons hold a two-game winning streak against the Owls. Last year, in a match where the winner would advance to the MAC Tournament, the Falcons got goals from Joey D'Agostino and Ryan Comiskey for a 2-1 road win. Darnell King, the Owls' leading scorer in 2010 (and again in 2011 to date), scored his team's lone goal. Miguel Rosales made three saves for the Brown and Orange. Two seasons ago, in the lone previous meeting in Bowling Green, the Falcons posted a 3-0 win on 'Senior Day' at Cochrane Field. Byard Ebling scored a goal in that match, while Dylan Schoettley made seven saves to earn his first collegiate shutout.
THE BGSU-FAU SERIES
(BGSU leads, 3-1-0)
Sept 2, 2007 -- BGSU 2, at Florida Atlantic 1
Oct. 19, 2008 -- at Florida Atlantic 2, BGSU 1 (OT)
Nov. 7, 2009 -- at BGSU 3, Florida Atlantic 0
Nov. 6, 2010 -- BGSU 2, at Florida Atlantic 1

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 was the result of voting by the league's seven head coaches. Akron, the defending national champion, was picked to capture the 2011 MAC title. The Zips received 49 points in the voting, and also garnered all seven votes to win the MAC Tournament.

Northern Illinois was tabbed 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 predicted 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)

HOME WINS
Before the month of August came to an end, the Falcons had matched the home win total for all of last season. The 2010 club went 2-4-0 at Cochrane Field, with wins over Wright State and Buffalo and losses to Akron, Lipscomb, Western Michigan and Michigan State. This year, BG opened with two home victories before suffering the loss to CSU. BGSU has not had more than two home wins in a season since the 2007 club went 4-3-2 at Cochrane. The 2008 team went 2-4-0 at home, while the '09 Falcons were 2-4-2.

A FOUR-GOAL GAME
The Falcons' total of four goals at Detroit matched a team best in the Eric Nichols Era. BGSU also scored four times in a 4-3 victory at Buffalo on Oct. 16, 2009.

A THREE-GOAL HALF
• In the Detroit match, BGSU scored three goals in the first half for the second time this season. The Brown and Orange also held a 3-0 lead at halftime of the home win over IPFW on Aug. 31.

• The last time the Falcons scored three goals in a half on the road was that Oct. 16, 2009, match at Buffalo. Both BG and the Bulls found the net three times in the second half of that game.

• BGSU had not scored three goals in the first half on the road in nearly seven years. The Falcons scored three times at Ohio State on Sept. 24, 2004, but trailed the Buckeyes, 4-3, in a match that OSU would win by a 7-4 final.

A FOUR-GOAL LEAD
• Ryan Comiskey's second-half goal at Detroit gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead. The last time BGSU led by four goals was on Oct. 27, 2007. On that date, goals from Abiola Sandy, Chuko Evwaraye, Cameron Hepple and Hunter Van Houten put the Falcons up, 4-0, against Western Michigan in a 4-1 victory at Cochrane Field.

• The last time the Falcons held a four-goal lead away from home? That would be the 1997 season. BGSU posted several lopsided road and neutral-site victories that year en route to an 18-6-0 overall record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships.

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
Following this weekend's two matches, the Falcons will hit the road for three-straight contests. BGSU will head to Ohio State next Wednesday, Oct. 5, before returning to MAC action with a game at Buffalo on Sunday, Oct. 9. The OSU game will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Columbus, while the UB match is slated for a 4:00 p.m. start.

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