Falcons Fall in OT Heartbreaker

Friday, November 11

Akron, OH

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-6-4

Buffalo (Semifinals)

12-3-3

Team	1	2	OT 1	Final F
Buffalo	0	1	1	2
Bowling Green	0	1	0	1

Jacob Roth celebrates goal v UB - Nov 11 2016 - Jeff Harwell photo

Jacob Roth (18) scored the Falcons' goal Friday (Jeff Harwell photo)

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

November 11, 2016 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Golden Goal gives UB a 2-1 win in MAC Tournament semifinal

By: AKRON, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

David Enstrom's goal exactly four minutes into overtime gave the University at Buffalo a 2-1 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team on Friday (Nov. 11). The match, a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal contest, was held at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field in Akron.

LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: HTML | PDF
COACH NICHOLS POSTGAME: Audio | Video
PHOTO GALLERY: Courtesy Jeff Harwell, Univ. of Akron

With the win, UB advances to Sunday's league tournament championship match, where the Bulls will face host Akron. The Zips downed Western Michigan, 4-0, in Friday's second semifinal.

The Falcons fall to 9-6-4.

Senior Jacob Roth scored the Falcons' lone goal, converting a second-half penalty kick after classmate Pat Flynn was hauled down in the box.

Roth's goal came in the 58th minute, after UB's Tommy Fogarty-Cameron had opened the scoring in the 50th minute.

The match was the final contest for BGSU's stellar four-member senior class. That group includes Roth, Max Auden, Pat Flynn and Joe Sullivan.

UB held a narrow 16-13 advantage in shots, including a 7-4 margin in shots on goal. Falcon freshman Anthony Mwembia made five saves, including several acrobatic stops, while UB's Joseph Kuta had three saves in the match.

The Bulls had an early chance, as a shot by Daniel Cramarossa from just outside the penalty area was redirected on net by Braden Scales in the second minute. But, Mwembia made a nifty reaction save.

The Falcons worked the ball into the UB end of the field several times in the first few minutes, but Flynn's bicycle-kick attempt off of a feed by freshman Chris Brennan went wide, and Brennan's shot at the top of the box was blocked after a Sullivan pass.

In the 27th minute, the Brown and Orange looked to threaten, but as redshirt sophomore Bismark Agyeman played a diagonal ball toward a crowd in the box, and true soph Moe Mustafa rose for a header, the assistant referee's flag was up and the Falcons were whistled offside.

Near the half-hour mark, the Bulls got the ball to leading scorer Russell Cicerone on a counterattack. But, as Cicerone took the ball into the box and hit a shot, junior Brad Macomber came up with the block, and the ball caromed off of the UB striker and out of bounds for a BG goal kick.

Just over a minute later, Brennan won a corner for the Falcons. Sullivan rolled that corner to Roth, who played a diagonal ball toward the far post. But, junior Alexis Souahy got tangled up with a UB defender and was knocked to the ground, and Agyeman made a lunging effort for the ball but could not put his shot attempt on target.

Junior Keaton Reynolds, not long after entering the match, had several shot attempts. With 11 and a half minutes before the intermission, Reynolds put a shot on frame, but Kuta was able to make the stop.

Then, sophomore Tate Robertson made a nifty run down the left side of the field, taking the ball to the end line and hitting a cross into the danger zone. Kuta deflected the ball with a diving effort, but Reynolds was able to get to the ball in the center of the box. His quick turnaround shot, however, sailed high.

The Bulls' Rikard Lindqvist responded with a long run of his own with under eight minutes to go in the period, but his shot was well over the crossbar. For the sixth time in as many 2016 matches against MAC competition, the Falcons were tied at the half.

Early in the second half, the Falcons were awarded a free kick after a Buffalo foul approximately 40 yards away from goal. Roth put that free kick into the box, and Mustafa got his head on it, but the shot went wide. Just under a minute later, the Bulls took the lead.

The Bulls played a ball into the box, and Enstrom attempted to fire a shot from point-blank range, but nearly whiffed altogether. UB got a fortuitous bounce, however, as the ball went to Fogarty-Cameron, who trundled the ball toward the left post. Mwembia, expecting a hard shot from Enstrom, was caught leaning the wrong way as Enstrom's unattempted 'pass' found his teammate for the deflection into the net. At the 49:54 mark, the Bulls had the lead.

Moments later, the Falcons won back-to-back corners. The first came after Roth's long pass ahead to Keaton Reynolds on the right side of the field. Off of that corner, Brennan's shot was blocked out for another corner, but the Bulls were able to successfully clear that effort.

UB looked to double the lead as Fogarty-Cameron cut the ball back in the box and hit a shot, but it was right at Mwembia, who made the save and quickly got the ball to Roth. The senior put the ball ahead to Flynn, who found the streaking Reynolds. A Reynolds volley put the ball on the foot of Brennan, but the freshman's hard shot went just high.

Mwembia made a big save in the 57th minute, as Cicerone put a low shot toward the far post. The Falcon 'keeper made a diving effort to his left to deflect the ball wide of the post.

Just over a minute later, BG headed the other way, and a Brennan pass found Flynn, who was dumped by a defender in the penalty area. Roth stepped up and buried the ensuing penalty kick, tying the match at 1-1 with 32:19 remaining in regulation.

For Roth, the goal was his second of the season and the 12th of his career. The Cleveland native scored a goal in each of his three career MAC Tournament appearances, all at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field.

Three minutes after the goal, Flynn played a long pass to freshman Robert Miller III, but as he entered the penalty area on the right side, Miller put his shot wide of the near post.

With 19 minutes to go, Mwembia made a diving save on a shot by Ryan Pereira, keeping the score tied. Three minutes later, at the other end, the ball fell to Auden in traffic in the box. Surrounded by three UB defenders, the fifth-year senior still managed to get a shot off, but it was blocked.

Under 10 minutes remained when Roth got forward and played a low right-side cross. Auden reached the ball a split-second before a UB defender at the near post, but Kuta was in position to block Auden's one-time effort. Two minutes later, Brennan found Roth out wide, and the senior hit a nearly identical cross. This time, Reynolds made a lunging effort toward the ball, but could not get a foot on it as it whizzed through the goalmouth.

The Bulls looked to end the match with several crosses into the box, but Mwembia was up to the task each time. In the final minute, after a UB foul, Roth hit a long free kick, but the ball sailed directly to Kuta, who plucked it out of the air as the final seconds of the second half ticked away.

In overtime, a Mustafa steal near midfield led to a Falcon foray toward the box. Mustafa worked a combination play with Reynolds, but as Mustafa took a return pass and looked to cross the 18-yard line, a UB defender was able to knock the ball away.

In the 94th minute, the Falcons were whistled for a foul outside the box. Cicerone took the ensuing free kick, and hit a hard, curving shot toward the left goalpost. Mwembia made a diving stop, but the ball caromed straight up into the air near that left post. Enstrom reached the rebound just before a BG defender could get there, knocking it home for the winning goal.

Brennan led the Falcons with four shots in the match, while Reynolds had three, including a team-leading two on goal. Roth had two shots, including the 12th goal of his career.

The Falcons finished the season with just 15 goals allowed and a team goals-against average of 0.74. The GAA is the program's lowest since the 1996 team had a GAA of just 0.69, and the total goals surrendered is BG's fewest since the 1995 team also allowed just 15 goals. No BG team has given up fewer goals in a season since the 1991 Falcons allowed only 12 goals in 20 matches.

All six of BGSU's 2016 losses were by a single goal, marking the first time the Falcons have gone an entire season without suffering a multiple-goal loss since 1992.

The Falcons, as mentioned, lose the services of a four-member senior class that combined to score 183 points on 64 goals and 55 assists in their respective Falcon careers. A total of 14 Falcons started at least three matches in 2016, and 10 of those 14 players have at least one year of eligibility remaining.