Bowling Green State University Athletics
Brandon Silva (left photo) and Michael Wiest have been named to the Academic All-MAC Team (head shots courtesy BGSU Marketing & Communications, action shots courtesy Galloway Photography)
Silva, Wiest Named to Academic All-MAC Team
January 06, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Falcon sophomores each earn league honor for first time
A pair of Bowling Green State University men's soccer standouts have been named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference Team, the league office announced Friday (Jan. 6). Redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva and true soph Michael Wiest were selected to the team.
Silva, a native of Columbus, Ohio (Worthington Kilbourne H.S.), was a 2011 team tri-captain. He played in 17 matches on the season, starting them all, and was on the pitch for a total of 1,483 minutes. The lone match he missed was due to injury.
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Silva tied for fourth on the team with seven points, scoring three goals and adding an assist. His first collegiate goal came against Cleveland State (Sept. 3), and he hit the post with another shot later in the match. Silva also scored goals at Belmont (Sept. 16) and Detroit (Sept. 21), with both coming on penalty kicks. He picked up an assist on senior Colin Armstrong's goal at Lipscomb (Sept. 18).
Silva played every minute of 14 matches, including the first three and the last nine of the season. For all intents and purposes, he had a four-game point-scoring streak. After scoring in the CSU game, he was injured in the second minute of the Duquesne match (Sept. 9), and missed the remainder of that game as well as the Pittsburgh contest (Sept. 11). He returned to score at least one point in the next three contests, vs. Belmont, Lipscomb and UDM.
In the classroom, Silva had a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade-point average as a psychology major at the time of nomination (prior to the end of the fall semester). Through the fall semester, Silva's cumulative GPA remains perfect.
Wiest, a native of Naperville, Ill. (North H.S.), played in 13 matches, starting them all, for head coach Eric Nichols. He had a record of 6-4-1, with six complete-match shutouts, 43 saves and a goals-against average of 1.08. Wiest recorded a save percentage of .768 in 2011.
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Wiest had five shutouts in his first seven starts, both of the season and of his career. He began the season by blanking then-#9 Michigan in his first collegiate start (Aug. 26), making five saves. Wiest had a shutout in his second start as well, with three stops vs. IPFW (Aug. 31).
The sophomore's other shutout victims included Duquesne (Sept. 9), IUPUI (Sept. 30), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 2) and Michigan State (Oct. 19). He made a season- and career-high seven saves in the Duquesne game, including a save on a DU penalty kick in the second half. For his efforts, Wiest was named to the all-tournament team that weekend, at the Pitt/Nike Invitational.
Wiest made five stops vs. MSU and Cleveland State (Sept. 3) as well as vs. U-M. He worked nearly 274 minutes (273:54, to be exact) of shutout ball to begin his collegiate career. In his BGSU tenure, Wiest has played a total of 241:46 against Big Ten Conference opponents, and has yet to allow a goal. He finished the season ranked in the nation's top 100 in both GAA (70th) and save pct. (83rd).
In the classroom, Wiest had a 3.61 cumulative GPA at the time of nomination. After the fall semester, Wiest's GPA is now 3.67. He is undecided upon a major in the College of Education.
The Academic All-MAC Team is the result of voting by the faculty athletics representatives at conference institutions. To qualify for nomination, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests.
The complete Academic All-MAC Team is listed below.
2011 ACADEMIC ALL-MAC MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
Chad Barson, Akron
Scott Caldwell, Akron
David Meves, Akron
Brandon Silva, Bowling Green
Michael Wiest, Bowling Green
Joachim Hansteen, Florida Atlantic
Darnell King, Florida Atlantic
Jherrett Maroney, Hartwick
Greg Mathers, Hartwick
Pat Thompson, Hartwick
Michael Mascitti, Northern Illinois
Kai Mendes, Western Michigan
Pat Schiffer, Western Michigan
Derek Schrauben, Western Michigan
Silva, a native of Columbus, Ohio (Worthington Kilbourne H.S.), was a 2011 team tri-captain. He played in 17 matches on the season, starting them all, and was on the pitch for a total of 1,483 minutes. The lone match he missed was due to injury.
Silva played every minute of 14 matches, including the first three and the last nine of the season. For all intents and purposes, he had a four-game point-scoring streak. After scoring in the CSU game, he was injured in the second minute of the Duquesne match (Sept. 9), and missed the remainder of that game as well as the Pittsburgh contest (Sept. 11). He returned to score at least one point in the next three contests, vs. Belmont, Lipscomb and UDM.
In the classroom, Silva had a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade-point average as a psychology major at the time of nomination (prior to the end of the fall semester). Through the fall semester, Silva's cumulative GPA remains perfect.
Wiest, a native of Naperville, Ill. (North H.S.), played in 13 matches, starting them all, for head coach Eric Nichols. He had a record of 6-4-1, with six complete-match shutouts, 43 saves and a goals-against average of 1.08. Wiest recorded a save percentage of .768 in 2011.
The sophomore's other shutout victims included Duquesne (Sept. 9), IUPUI (Sept. 30), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 2) and Michigan State (Oct. 19). He made a season- and career-high seven saves in the Duquesne game, including a save on a DU penalty kick in the second half. For his efforts, Wiest was named to the all-tournament team that weekend, at the Pitt/Nike Invitational.
Wiest made five stops vs. MSU and Cleveland State (Sept. 3) as well as vs. U-M. He worked nearly 274 minutes (273:54, to be exact) of shutout ball to begin his collegiate career. In his BGSU tenure, Wiest has played a total of 241:46 against Big Ten Conference opponents, and has yet to allow a goal. He finished the season ranked in the nation's top 100 in both GAA (70th) and save pct. (83rd).
In the classroom, Wiest had a 3.61 cumulative GPA at the time of nomination. After the fall semester, Wiest's GPA is now 3.67. He is undecided upon a major in the College of Education.
The Academic All-MAC Team is the result of voting by the faculty athletics representatives at conference institutions. To qualify for nomination, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests.
The complete Academic All-MAC Team is listed below.
2011 ACADEMIC ALL-MAC MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
Chad Barson, Akron
Scott Caldwell, Akron
David Meves, Akron
Brandon Silva, Bowling Green
Michael Wiest, Bowling Green
Joachim Hansteen, Florida Atlantic
Darnell King, Florida Atlantic
Jherrett Maroney, Hartwick
Greg Mathers, Hartwick
Pat Thompson, Hartwick
Michael Mascitti, Northern Illinois
Kai Mendes, Western Michigan
Pat Schiffer, Western Michigan
Derek Schrauben, Western Michigan
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