Roth, Falcons are Golden in Downtown Cleveland

Tuesday, October 7

Cleveland, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-2-0

Cleveland State

4-6-0

OT 1

Bowling Green

Cleveland State

Jacob Roth's first collegiate goal came in overtime in his hometown

Photo by: Larry Clapper

October 07, 2014 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sophomore's overtime goal in his hometown gives BGSU a 1-0 win over CSU

By: CLEVELAND, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Sophomore Jacob Roth scored on a free kick in overtime, giving the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team a 1-0 win over Cleveland State University Tuesday night (Oct. 7). The non-conference match was held at Krenzler Field in downtown Cleveland.

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FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
POST-MATCH VIDEO: Baraldi | Nichols | Roth
BGSU 2014 Cumulative Statistics | Career Stats of Current Falcons

With the win, the Falcons improve to 9-2-0 on the year. BGSU has won nine games in a season for the first time in 14 years. The Vikings drop to 4-6-0.

Roth's goal was the first of his BGSU career, and came in his hometown. The Falcon defender, a product of St. Ignatius High School, now has eight points this season. Roth's free kick also marked BG's first 'Golden Goal' of 2014.

"I just tried to put it low and hard toward the back post," said Roth about the winning goal. "Sully (Joe Sullivan) was right there, and could have tapped it in but let it go because the 'keeper was going that way, and it just happened to go in.

"I was just looking to put it on frame, because when you do that, you give it a chance to go in."

BGSU had advantages of 9-4 in shots and 4-0 in shots on goal. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Heuton was not credited with a save on the night as he and his Falcon teammates kept a clean sheet.

At the other end of the field, CSU goalkeeper Nick Ciraldo made three saves.

It rained for much of the afternoon in Cleveland, and although the rain subsided roughly 30 minutes before kickoff, the artificial turf at Krenzler Field was slick. With just over a minute gone, sophomore Pat Flynn hit a low, hard shot, but it went directly to Ciraldo.

The Falcons controlled the play for most of the first half, and senior Danny Baraldi fired the second shot of the match with six minutes elapsed. He traded passes with junior Ryan James, took a return pass and fired a shot that hit the netting behind the goal at the north end of the CSU soccer complex.

Three minutes later, the Falcons stole the ball from the Vikings and went on a counterattack. Flynn slid a pass to Baraldi, who laid it off for sophomore Joe Sullivan. Sullivan hit a shot from just outside the box, but it was blocked by a defender and popped up in the air for Ciraldo to grab.

CSU did not have many offensive chances in the early going, but one of the few came in the 12th minute, as Thomas Beck possessed the ball on the right side of the pitch near the BG end line. Beck looked to play a cross into the box, but BG senior Jon Kumher knocked it out of play, and the Falcons dealt with the ensuing corner kick.

In the 18th minute, BGSU tried a right-side cross at the other end of the field, and freshman Brad Macomber played a nifty ball, but it sailed through the 18-yard box untouched. Midway through the period, redshirt soph Max Auden hit a hard shot that was deflected by a defender. The ball took a tricky carom, but Ciraldo was able to grab it.

Two minutes later, the Falcons would string 10 or more passes together, beginning in the defensive end in front of the BG bench, and culminating in a diagonal ball by Roth. As that ball headed toward Sullivan, however, the assistant referee's flag went up, indicating offside. BG would be whistled for five offside infractions on the evening.

With the match nearly 30 minutes old, Auden slid a pass forward to Flynn. The sophomore striker made several nifty moves against his defender to free up some space, then hit a hard shot that was deflected a split-second after he fired it. Despite the deflection, Ciraldo was able to make a leaping save to keep the match scoreless.

Six minutes remained in the half when Baraldi stole the ball in the CSU end. He poked it to Flynn, then took a return pass and fired a low shot, but Ciraldo made the stop.

Less than a minute later, the Vikings' best chance of the night came against the run of play. Jake Lagania hit a shot from distance that was deflected by a defender, then struck the left goalpost and bounded back into the field of play. BG cleared the ball out of danger, and the teams went to halftime still locked in a scoreless draw.

Early in the second half, the Falcons had several scoring chances. A nice diagonal ball from Roth somehow went out of play, just left of the CSU goal, without a player on either side getting a touch. Two minutes later, James stole the ball deep in the Vikings' end of the field and quickly fired a shot that went inches wide of the near post.

Baraldi and Sullivan nearly combined on a through ball in the 57th minute, and again in the 68th, but offside was called in both cases. Meanwhile, the rain had started again, lightly at first, then a little harder. With 70 minutes gone, a CSU player dumped Flynn and was called for a yellow card, but the hosts cleared the ensuing BG free kick.

In the 78th minute, James stole a sloppy CSU pass and played the ball ahead to Flynn. Flynn put the ball to Sullivan on his right, and the sophomore slid a shot just wide of the far post.

With just under five minutes left, Roth's free kick from midfield caromed off of several people as it approached the penalty area, but a CSU defender got to the ball just as Flynn looked to fire a shot in the box.

Two minutes later, redshirt sophomore Danny Shea, who had just entered the match, played a dangerous ball from the left side of the pitch, and the ensuing sequence resulted in a corner kick. Roth's corner was struck well, but curved just beyond Flynn at the far post.

Under a minute remained in regulation when BGSU stole the ball near midfield. Sullivan played a ball in the direction of Flynn, but the pass was blocked just before it reached the nation's leading scorer. BG got the ball back almost immediately, but the quick changes of possession resulted in the Falcons being called for offside.

Three minutes into overtime, junior Jake Genrich knocked a ball forward to Sullivan on the right side. Sullivan played a ball to fellow Naperville, Ill., native Flynn on the left, and Flynn drilled a shot that sailed barely wide of the top left corner of the goal.

As the Krenzler Field clock ticked upward past the 99-minute mark, Baraldi was unceremoniously fouled in the CSU end. Roth took the resulting free kick from the left side of the goal, and his low, hard shot went through a maze of players and found the far-side netting, giving the Falcons win number nine on the season.

The Falcons now return home for the next two games, beginning with Saturday's (Oct. 11) Mid-American Conference opener vs. the University of Akron. That match will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.

FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons' total of nine wins is the program's highest in 14 years, since the 2000 team went 9-8-1. BGSU has not posted a double-digit win total since the 1998 club finished with a 10-8-2 record.

* Sophomore Jacob Roth's goal, as mentioned, was the first of his collegiate career. Obviously, it was his first game-winning goal as a Falcon.

* Roth now has eight points on the season, ranking him fourth on the team. He has a BG-best six assists this fall to date.

* Roth's goal was BGSU's 25th of the season, matching the total for all of last year.

* The Falcons have won four-straight road games, all by 1-0 scores. The Falcons have topped Michigan (Sept. 16), St. Bonaventure (Sept. 28), IPFW (Oct. 1) and CSU during that stretch. BGSU is now 4-1-0 in road games this season.

* Freshman Brad Macomber made the first start of his BGSU career on Tuesday night.

* The Falcons have recorded seven shutouts this season to date. Redshirt sophomores Ryan Heuton and Nick Landsberger each have three complete-match shutouts, and they each played a half in BG's other shutout this fall.

* Heuton has started three matches in his Bowling Green career, coinciding with the Falcons' current three-game winning streak. He has yet to allow a goal, saving all 10 shots on goal he has faced in 324-plus minutes of work.

* Tuesday night's match marked just the second time the Falcons have gone to overtime this season. BGSU played a school-record nine OT contests last year.

* Roth's goal was BG's first overtime marker since last Oct. 22, when the Falcons downed Wright State, 1-0, on the road. That goal was an own goal. The last time a BGSU player scored a 'Golden Goal' was five days shy of a year ago -- Oct. 12, 2013 -- when Anthony Grant scored in the 102nd minute for a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois at Cochrane Field.

* The road team has won the last four BGSU-Cleveland State series meetings.

* BGSU has topped last year's totals in home wins, road wins and neutral-site wins. This year's team is 4-1-0 at home, 4-1-0 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site contests. Last year, BG went 3-2-3 at Cochrane Field, 3-4-3 in road games and 0-1-0 at neutral sites.