Bowling Green State University Athletics
Baraldi, Genrich & James Named to College Sports Madness Team
August 15, 2014 | Men's Soccer
BGSU trio earns Preseason All-MAC accolades from website
A trio of Bowling Green State University men's soccer student-athletes have been named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team. Senior Danny Baraldi was named to the all-league first team by the website, while juniors Jake Genrich and Ryan James each earned second-team accolades.
CSM Preseason All-MAC Team
Baraldi has played in 54 matches over his first three years in BG, and has posted double-digit point totals in each of those three seasons. A native of Canton, Ohio (Massillon Jackson H.S.), he has recorded 47 career points on 14 goals and 19 assists. Baraldi earned All-MAC Second-Team honors last year, when he finished third on the Falcons with 10 points. He had a five-point game vs. IPFW, the highest single-game point total by a Mid-American Conference player in the 2013 season. Baraldi earned All-MAC First-Team accolades in 2012, when he scored a career-high 19 points, and he had 18 points in his freshman season.
Genrich has played in all 39 of BGSU's matches in his first two seasons, starting 38. A native of Plymouth, Mich. (Salem H.S.), and a central defender, he has helped the Falcon defense post 15 shutouts in that two-year span. That total included seven in 2012, and eight -- the highest total in 15 years -- in 2013. The Falcons allowed just 0.89 goals per game last season. Genrich played every minute of the match on 13 occasions last season, including in each of the Falcons' last eight games, and was named to the Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Ohio Teams.
James, like Genrich, has seen action in all 39 of BGSU's games over his first two years. James, a native of Mississauga, Ontario (Loyola Catholic Secondary), has made 29 career starts, including 16 last year, and has scored a total of 14 career points to date. He had four goals and two assists as a freshman, and recorded a goal and a pair of assists last season. James was named to both the Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Ohio Teams a year ago.
Head coach Eric Nichols, in his sixth season at the helm of the Falcons, welcomes back a total of eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that tied for fourth in the Mid-American Conference.
The Falcons' first test of the 2014 season will be a scrimmage at Marshall on Wednesday, Aug. 20. Then, the Brown and Orange will open the regular season with a pair of home matches surrounding the Labor Day weekend, taking on IUPUI on Friday, Aug. 29, and Findlay on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at Cochrane Field. Admission is free to all home Falcon futbol, and the complete and most up-to-date 2014 schedule can be found HERE.
The complete 2014 College Sports Madness Preseason All-MAC Team and specialty awards...
FIRST TEAM
F - Andy Bevin, West Virginia
F - Isaac Kannah, Northern Illinois
F - Saad Abdul-Salaam, Akron
F - Sean Sepe, Akron
M - Adam Najem, Akron
M - Victor Souto, Akron
M - Russell Cicerone, Buffalo
M - Danny Baraldi, Bowling Green
D - Andrew Souders, Akron
D - Connor Furgason, Western Michigan
D - Sean Hazen, Western Michigan
D - Dusty Page, Northern Illinois
GK - Chase Rau, Western Michigan
SECOND TEAM
F - Jamie Merriam, West Virginia
F - Nicolai Berry, Buffalo
F - Matheau Rogers, Western Michigan
F - Eric Schultz, Akron
M - Sean Connerty, Western Michigan
M - Christian Diaz, West Virginia
M - Ryan James, Bowling Green
M - Greg Timmer, Western Michigan
D - Bryce Cregan, Akron
D - Haydon Bennett, West Virginia
D - Daniel Cramarossa, Buffalo
D - Jake Genrich, Bowling Green
GK - Jake Fenlason, Akron
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andy Bevin, West Virginia
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andrew Souders, Akron
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Bryce Cregan, Akron
COACH OF THE YEAR: Chad Wiseman, Western Michigan
