Five-Match Road Swing Begins with Trip to Pittsburgh

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after beginning the 2011 season with three-straight home games, now takes to the road for the next five matches. The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols head to Pittsburgh, Pa., for this weekend's Pitt/Nike Invitational. BGSU will meet Duquesne University on Friday (Sept. 9) before facing the host University of Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon (Sept. 11). Friday's match will begin at 5:00 p.m., while Sunday's contest is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start. The tourney will be held at Pitt's Ambrose Urbanic Field at the Petersen Sports Complex.

BGSU Cumulative Stats | 2011 Media Guide
Directions to Ambrose Urbanic Field

FALCONS vs. DUQUESNE
Friday, September 9, 2011 • 5:00 p.m.
VENUE: Ambrose Urbanic Field; Pittsburgh, Pa.
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 2-1-0 (6-9-3, 3-3-0 Mid-American Conference in 2010)
• Duquesne: 2-0-1 (8-7-3, 4-4-1 Atlantic 10 Conference in 2010)
SERIES*: Duquesne leads, 1-0-1
STREAK: N/A (teams tied in last meeting)
LAST MEETING: BGSU 0, at DU 0 (2-OT) (Sept. 12, 2009)
LAST NEUTRAL-SITE MEETING: None
COACHES:
• BGSU: Eric Nichols (Ohio State, 2000), 11-22-6 in third year at BGSU; 70-44-7 in seventh year overall
• Duquesne: Jake Ouimet (Maine, 1996), 40-42-14 in sixth year at DU and overall
LIVE STATS: Available at PittsburghPanthers.com and BGSUFalcons.com

FALCONS at PITTSBURGH
Sunday, September 11, 2011 • 2:30 p.m.
VENUE: Ambrose Urbanic Field; Pittsburgh, Pa.
RECORDS:
• BGSU: 2-1-0 (6-9-3, 3-3-0 Mid-American Conference in 2010) – Falcons play Duquesne Friday
• Pitt: 1-2-1 (6-9-2, 1-6-2 Big East Conference in 2010) – Panthers host Air Force Friday
SERIES*: Tied, 1-1-0
STREAK: BGSU - 1
LAST MEETING: BGSU 2, at Pittsburgh 1 (Oct. 11, 2006)
LAST MEETING AT PITT: BGSU 2, at Pittsburgh 1 (Oct. 11, 2006)
COACHES:
• BGSU: Eric Nichols (Ohio State, 2000), 11-22-6 in third year at BGSU; 70-44-7 in seventh year overall
• Pitt: Joe Luxbacher (Pittsburgh, 1974), 202-218-55 in 28th year at Pittsburgh, 226-230-59 in 31st year overall
LIVE STATS: Available at PittsburghPanthers.com and 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.

TOURNEY TIME
The Pitt/Nike Invitational is the first of two tournaments in as many weekends for the Falcons, as BGSU heads to Nashville, Tenn., next weekend (Sept. 16-18). This weekend's tournament sees the Brown and Orange meet Duquesne and host Pittsburgh, with Air Force the fourth team in the field.
PITT/NIKE INVITATIONAL
(all matches at Ambrose Urbanic Field)
Friday, Sept. 9
Bowling Green vs. Duquesne, 5:00 pm
Air Force at Pittsburgh, 7:30 pm

Sunday, Sept. 11
Air Force vs. Duquesne, 11:00 am
Bowling Green at Pittsburgh, 2:30 pm

LAST WEEK
The Falcons split a pair of home matches, posting a 3-0 victory over IPFW Wednesday (Aug. 31) before falling to Cleveland State by a 2-1 count Saturday (Sept. 3). The IPFW match saw the Falcons build a 3-0 halftime lead en route to the victory. Juniors Rodcliff Hall and Zach Lemke and sophomore Ryan Comiskey scored the goals for the Brown and Orange, while sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wiest and his teammates posted a shutout for the second consecutive game.

On Saturday, CSU got a pair of goals just over two minutes apart midway through the second half, and the Vikings held on for the victory. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva got one back for the Falcons, scoring just over a minute after CSU's second goal. Silva would hit the post with a shot later in the second half, but the home team could not get an equalizer. Wiest had five saves vs. the Vikes.

*** SCHEDULE NOTE ***
The Falcons' game at Buffalo has been moved to Sunday, Oct. 9, with kickoff time to be determined. This match was originally listed on BGSU schedules as an Oct. 8 match.

GOOD START
The Falcons started the season with wins over Michigan and IPFW before the loss to CSU. BGSU's 2-0-0 start was the program's first since 1999. The Falcons had been unbeaten after two matches on three occasions during that span. BG started both the 2003 and '07 seasons with 1-0-1 records, and last year's BG club was 0-0-2 after two games.

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.

ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET FOR WIEST
Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wiest, as mentioned, had a shutout against Michigan in his first collegiate start, and followed that up with another clean sheet vs. IPFW Wiest has played all 270 minutes in net in 2011, after his only match action of the 2010 regular season came in a relief appearance against U-M. Wiest played 29:16 in that match and did not face a shot. In this year's rematch vs. the Wolverines, the Naperville, Ill., native made five saves, and he followed that up with three stops vs. IPFW.

A FEW MORE NOTES ABOUT MICHAEL WIEST
Sophomore Michael Wiest, after posting two shutouts in his first two career starts, finally had to fish a ball out of the back of the net on Saturday night. He allowed the first two goals of his collegiate career vs. Cleveland State. The first goal snapped Wiest's streak of nearly 274 minutes (273:54, to be exact) of shutout ball to begin his career. Wiest played 29:16 last season, and had shutouts in each of the Falcons' first two games – vs. Michigan (Aug. 26) and IPFW -- this year.

ABOUT THE FALCONS.
The Falcons are 2-1-0 on the young 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 Wednesday (Aug. 31) before suffering a 2-1 loss to Cleveland State Saturday evening (Sept. 3). All three matches came at Cochrane Field.

Six different players have scored one goal apiece for the Falcons to date. Three of those players – sophomores Ryan Comiskey and Ryan Snashall and freshman Danny Baraldi – have four points on the year, as all three have two assists in addition to the goal.

Baraldi and Snashall each scored goals in the win over U-M, while redshirt junior Zach Lemke, junior Rodcliff Hall and Comiskey hit the back of the net in the IPFW contest. Redshirt soph Brandon Silva had the Falcons' lone goal vs. CSU. Lemke has three points on the year after picking up an assist on Silva's goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wiest has played all 270 minutes in goal to date. Wiest has 13 saves and a goals-against average of just 0.67. He posted shutouts in each of his first two collegiate starts.

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 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 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, Silva and sophomore Zach Schewee returned 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 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. Comiskey now has eight points as a Falcon, while Jurtovski and Lemke each have six career points.

All three goalkeepers from last year's club return in 2011. That group includes Rosales, Wiest and junior Dylan Schoettley. Rosales, as mentioned, started every match last fall, Prior to this season, Wiest's lone appearance had come in relief in last season's Michigan contest. Schoettley played in 10 matches in his freshman season of 2009, starting the last seven contests.

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 Duquesne match with a record of 11-22-6 with the Falcons and a 70-44-7 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.

ROAD TRIP(S)
Following three-straight home games to begin the season, BGSU now plays the next five matches away from home. The 2011 marks the fourth consecutive season that the Falcons embark upon a five-game road swing. Following this weekend's Pitt/Nike Invitational, BG will head to Nashville to face Belmont (Sept. 16) and host Lipscomb (Sept. 18) in the Hyatt Place Select/Lipscomb Invitational. Then, the Brown and Orange will take on Detroit (Sept. 21) in the Motor City. The Falcons' next home game is Friday, Sept. 30, against IUPUI.

FALCON FIRSTS
• Redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva's goal in the Cleveland State match was the first of his collegiate career. Silva had one point last year, in his first playing season, with an assist at Michigan.

• Three days earlier, junior Rodcliff Hall had scored the first goal of his Falcon career, opening the scoring in the IPFW game. Hall is in his first season at BGSU after playing two years at Owens CC.

• Freshman Danny Baraldi and sophomore Ryan Snashall each had their first two-assist games vs. the Mastodons. For Baraldi, the assists were the first and second of his brief career. Snashall had one assist last season.

• Sophomore Matt Griesinger picked up his first career point in that IPFW match, with an assist on junior Zach Lemke's goal.

A THREE-GOAL GAME
The IPFW match marked the first time BGSU had scored three goals in a game since last Sept. 22, a 3-0 win over Wright State at Cochrane. The Falcons have not scored more than three goals in a match since a 4-3 win at Buffalo on Oct. 16, 2009.

A THREE-GOAL HALF
• The Falcons scored three first-half goals in Wednesday night's win. BGSU scored a total of four first-half goals during all of last season, a total of 18 matches.

• BGSU had not scored three goals in a half since that 4-3 victory at Buffalo two years ago. In that game, the Brown and Orange scored three times in the second half.

• The last time the Falcons had scored three goals during the first half of a game was on Nov. 2, 2007. On that afternoon, BG took a 3-0 halftime lead over Northern Illinois en route to a 3-1 win.

BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS
BGSU posted shutouts vs. both Michigan and IPFW to begin the season. That marked the first time the Falcons had back-to-back shutouts in eight years, since the 2003 team blanked Cincinnati and UW-Green Bay to open the season.

STREAKY
Sophomore Ryan Comiskey, with an assist on Silva's goal, now has scored a point in each of the Falcons' three games this year to date. He has four points during his three-game scoring streak, and has matched his point total for all of last season. Comiskey scored four points as a freshman in 2010. Comiskey's three-game point-scoring streak is the first by a BGSU player since Jacob Lawrence had nine points in a three-game span (vs. Buffalo, Michigan State and Hartwick) in October of 2009.

THE OPPONENTS
Duquesne enters Friday's match with a record of 2-0-1. The Dukes, like the Falcons, opened the season with three home games. DU posted wins over Niagara (2-0) and Valparaiso (2-1) before playing Stony Brook to a 1-1 draw on Sunday (Sept. 4). The latter two matches came in the Duquesne Invitational, won by the Dukes. Simon Gomez leads the team with two goals and five points, while Colin Thorp has played every minute in goal, and has seven saves and a GAA of 0.62. Head coach Jake Ouimet welcomed back 14 letterwinners, including five starters, from last year's club. The 2010 Dukes went 8-7-3 overall and 4-4-1 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The school's athletics web site is www.GoDuquesne.com.

Pittsburgh is 1-2-1 on the year, heading into Friday's match vs. Air Force. The Panthers suffered road losses to Robert Morris (2-1) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-0) to begin the year, before going 1-0-1 at last weekend's Duquesne Invitational. Pitt defeated Stony Brook (1-0) and tied Valpo (1-1). Nico Wrobel has scored all three of the Panthers' goals this year to date. Lee Johnston and Hami Kara each have seen time in net for Pitt. Johnston is 1-0-1 with nine saves and a GAA of just 0.43, while Kara has three saves and a 2.67 GAA to date. Head coach Joe Luxbacher returned 16 letterwinners, including six starters, from last year's club that went 6-9-2 overall and 1-6-2 in the Big East Conference. The school's athletics web site is www.pittsburghpanthers.com.

THE SERIES
The Falcons trail Duquesne, 1-0-1, in the all-time series between the teams, and the teams battled to a scoreless draw in the lone prior meeting in Western Pennsylvania. That game, two years ago (Sept. 12, 2009), was played on DU's campus. The teams' only other matchup came in 2002, and saw former BGSU assistant coach Wade Jean bring the Dukes to Cochrane Field and post a 3-0 victory over the Falcons. That match was part of BGSU's Diadora Classic.
THE BGSU-DUQUESNE SERIES
(Duquesne leads, 1-0-1)
Sept. 8, 2002   Duquesne 3, at BGSU 0
Sept. 12, 2009   BGSU 0, at Duquesne 0 (2-OT)

The Falcons and Pittsburgh are deadlocked, 1-1-0, in that series, and each team has scored two total goals. BG suffered a 1-0 loss to the Panthers nine years ago (Sept. 1, 2002), in the St. Bonaventure Classic. The Falcons' lone road game vs. Pittsburgh was a 2-1 win nearly five years ago (Oct. 11, 2006). Justin Kim scored both BG goals in that match.
THE BGSU-PITTSBURGH SERIES
(Tied, 1-1-0)
Sept. 1, 2002   Pittsburgh 1, BGSU 0 ^
Oct. 11, 2006   BGSU 2, at Pittsburgh 1
^ St. Bonaventure Classic (St. Bonaventure, N.Y.)

BIG CROWDS AT COCHRANE FIELD
BGSU and Cleveland State squared off before a crowd of over 500 on Saturday night. The 2011 season marks the first time in at least 15 years that the Falcons have played before two crowds in excess of 500 at Cochrane Field. BG's season-opening win over Michigan came before a crowd of 2,133, more than triple the previous largest crowd at Cochrane Field in the last 15 years. Attendance records are incomplete prior to 1997, but to follow are the top attendance figures at Cochrane during that time.
LARGEST HOME CROWDS (Since 1997)
2,133 - vs. Michigan; Aug. 26, 2011
650 --- vs. Miami; Oct. 12, 1997
608 --- vs. Kentucky; Nov. 12, 2000
537 --- vs. Ohio State; Sept. 20, 2007
531 -- vs. Cleveland State; Sept. 3, 2011
520 --- vs. Akron; Oct. 2, 1998
513 --- vs. Akron; Sept. 11, 2010

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 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 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)

EXTRA TIME (A FEW FINAL FALCON NOTES)
Sophomore Ryan Comiskey and redshirt junior Zach Lemke each scored their first goal of the season in the IPFW match ... Comiskey now has three career goals, having scored vs. Michigan and Florida Atlantic last fall ... Lemke's goal was the second of his career, as he scored the winner in last year's Buffalo match • a total of 20 players saw action for the Falcons vs. the Mastodons on Wednesday night ... two of those 20 players, freshmen Jon Kumher and Nico Oliverio, made their respective collegiate debuts • both Comiskey and Lemke have tied their point totals for all of last season ... Comiskey has four points on the year, after notching four points on a pair of goals (vs. Michigan and Florida Atlantic) in 2010 ... Lemke had three points last fall, and has matched that total with a goal and an assist this year to date • BGSU had 10 corner kicks in Saturday's game vs. Cleveland State, the team's highest total in nearly three years ... the last time the Falcons took 10 corners was on Sept. 21, 2008, in a match vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) at Cochrane Field ... BG took as many as nine corner kicks just one time each in 2009 and '10 ... the Falcons have had 19 corners over the last two matches, with nine vs. IPFW and 10 on Saturday.

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

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