Falcons Blank Drexel to Move to 3-0 on the Season

Thursday, September 3

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-0-0

Drexel

0-3-0

Drexel

Bowling Green

Jacob Roth's first-half goal proved to be the winner as the Falcons moved to 3-0

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 03, 2015 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Roth's PK is all the scoring the BGSU defense needs in Thursday night's win

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Jacob Roth converted a penalty kick midway through the first half, and Roth, Ryan Heuton and the rest of the defense made that goal stand up as the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team downed Drexel University, 1-0, Thursday night (Sept. 3). The non-conference match was held at Cochrane Stadium on the BGSU campus.

With the win, the Falcons move to 3-0-0 on the year. The Dragons drop to 0-3-0.

BGSU has won the first three games of the year for the second-straight season. The Falcons have not started a season with a 4-0-0 record since 1995.

LINKS
FINAL STATS: HTML | PDF
VIDEO: Roth | Heuton | Nichols
PHOTO GALLERY: Photos courtesy Larry Clapper
PHOTO GALLERY II: Photos courtesy Amanda Cutcher, BGSU Athletic Comm.

On a humid evening at Cochrane, the Orange and Brown dominated the visitors in nearly all of the offensive statistical categories. BGSU held advantages of 18-6 in shot attempts and 8-2 in both shots on goal and corner kicks. But, the lone goal of the match was the result of a seemingly innocent play in the game's 25th minute.

BG was able to string together double-digit pass totals on multiple occasions vs. the Dragons. One such occasion led to the goal. Six different players touched the ball as the Falcons put together a 10-pass sequence. That play culminated with sophomore Alexis Souahy playing a ball forward to freshman Tate Robertson, who met the ball with a leaping, twisting header. That header sailed into the box, where a Drexel defender blocked it with his hand approximately 15 yards from the end line on the left side of the box.

A penalty kick was awarded, and Roth stepped up and knocked the ball past DU goalkeeper Jacob Jordan for what proved to be the only goal of the match.

The Falcons controlled possession for most of the 90 minutes, and Heuton and the BGSU defense proved to be up to the task each time the Dragons made a foray into the home team's end of the field. Heuton made two saves en route to his first shutout of the young season and the fifth clean sheet of his BGSU career.

Thursday night marked the first time Heuton posted a complete-game shutout at Cochrane. Each of his four clean sheets in 2014, his first playing season with the Falcons, came on the road.

BGSU took the first four shot attempts of the night, with sophomore Keaton Reynolds firing two of those shots. Reynolds made the first start of his collegiate career on Thursday evening. His first shot sailed wide of the frame, and his second shot came after a pass from senior Ryan James in the box. After the Reynolds effort was blocked by a defender, junior Joe Sullivan fired a shot that went just wide. Sullivan led all players with six shot attempts on the night.

A lengthy sequence of BG passes in the game's 17th and 18th minute resulted in a low shot by Sullivan that was knocked away from the near post and out of bounds for a corner kick. Off of that corner, Robertson's roller was saved by Jordan.

Redshirt junior Max Auden very nearly connected with true junior Pat Flynn in the box as the match passed the 20-minute mark, but the ball was just out of Flynn's reach and Jordan gathered it in. Moments later, however, came the long passing sequence that resulted in the handball and the Roth PK.

With just over 15 minutes left in the period, Sullivan and Flynn worked a nifty give-and-go play in the penalty area. But, Sullivan's shot was stopped by Jordan.

Seven minutes later, DU's Aaron Thompson found space on the left side of the penalty area and fired a shot that forced Heuton to make a nifty diving save. The redshirt junior tipped the ball wide of the far post, and the Falcons successfully dealt with the ensuing corner kick.

Sullivan got his head on a ball in the box in the final minute of the first half, but the DU 'keeper was up to the challenge, saving the ball out of the air. BG took that 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

Ten minutes into the second period, Sullivan looked for James, lofting a ball into the box, but Jordan was able to punch it away before Sullivan could get a touch. The Falcons quickly got the ball back, and redshirt freshman Bismark Agyeman played the ball to Sullivan, who put a shot on frame, but Jordan made the stop.

With lightning visible in the distance to the north for much of the second half, the Falcons looked to double the lead. With just over 60 minutes gone, James took a pass from redshirt junior Danny Shea and fired a shot that was blocked by a defender. The Falcons got the ball back, however, and Robertson put a pass into the box for Auden. Without letting the ball hit the ground, Auden fired a shot that was on frame. Auden was unable to get a great deal of force behind his shot, however, and Jordan made the save.

As the match surpassed the 70-minute mark, the Dragons looked to get the equalizer, but back-to-back shots from distance were blocked by BGSU defenders. At the other end of the pitch, a shot by James from the top of the box was parried, then grabbed, by Jordan.

With just under 10 minutes left, a long ball by senior Jake Genrivh glanced off of the head of a leaping defender. Sullivan was first to the ball, and took it into the penalty area, but his shot sailed high.

Fewer than four minutes remained when Thompson took a shot that was punched away by Heuton. The Falcons attempted to clear the ball, but it went directly to Lorenz Walbert. Walbert lofted a ball toward the far post, but Heuton grabbed it out of the air. After a foul by BG in the final minute of play, the Dragons put the ball into the box, but the assistant referee's flag was up, indicating an offside call as the final seconds of the match ticked away.

The Falcons will conclude a season-long four-match homestand on Sunday night (Sept. 6), when Cleveland State University comes to town. The BGSU-CSU match will begin at 7:00 p.m., and admission is free to all Falcon home soccer matches.