Bowling Green State University Athletics
Four Falcons Earn All-Ohio Honors
December 20, 2016 | Men's Soccer
Nichols named Coach of the Year; Flynn, Mwembia & Roth named to the OCSA Team
Four members of the Bowling Green State University men's soccer program have earned All-Ohio honors from the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association. Senior Pat Flynn and freshman Anthony Mwembia were named to the OSCA's All-Ohio First Team, while senior Jacob Roth was chosen to the second team.
In addition, Eric Nichols was named the Ohio Coach of the Year.
COMPLETE OCSA ALL-OHIO TEAMÂ - PDF
Flynn earns All-Ohio accolades for the third time in as many years with the Falcons. He was named to the first team in 2014 and earned second-team honors last year before returning to the first team in '16. Both Mwembia and Roth are on the All-Ohio Team for the first time.
A native of Naperville, Ill. (Central H.S.), Flynn was one of the most dangerous strikers in the MAC during his three years with the Falcons. He started all 19 matches this fall, and had 14 points on five goals and four assists. Flynn was named to both the All-Mid-American Conference First Team and the MAC's All-Tournament Team in 2016. He led the Brown and Orange in each of his seasons in Northwest Ohio. In just three years at BGSU, Flynn moved into the school's career top 10 in several categories. Flynn finished his BG tenure ranked seventh in school history in goals, with 28, and he is tied for eighth in career points, with 68. He ranks fourth in BG history with nine career game-winning goals.
Mwembia, who hails from Toulouse, France, started all but one of the Falcons' 19 matches in goal in his first season. On the year, he had 69 saves, a goals-against average of just 0.73 and a saves percentage of .831. Mwembia led the MAC in both saves percentage and GAA, ranking among the top-20 in the nation in both categories. He finished MAC regular-season play with a GAA of 0.53 and a saves pct. of .857, again leading all conference 'keepers in the latter category and ranking second in GAA. Mwembia's eight shutouts this season are the most by a BGSU 'keeper since 2013, and no Falcon has had more since BGSU Hall-of-Famer Scott Vallow kept 10 clean sheets in 1998.
Roth, a Cleveland native (St. Ignatius), had 10 points on the season, on a pair of goals and a BG-best six assists. Roth helped the Falcon defense post eight shutouts this season. At the other end of the field, he had what proved to be the game-winning goal against Wright State, and also scored in the MAC Tournament semifinal vs. Buffalo. Roth also had an assist on no fewer than five game-winning goals in '16. Roth, after playing sparingly as a freshman, moved into the lineup in his sophomore season and started every match over the last three years. He played all but 30 of the Falcons' 1821-plus minutes this year, and played in 65 career matches, making 60 starts as a Falcon. Roth completed his career with 42 points on 12 goals and 18 assists at BG. He was a perfect 8-for-8 on penalty kicks.
Along with his honor from the OCSA, Nichols was also named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2016. He guided the Falcons to a second-place finish in the MAC regular-season standings, the program's highest finish since the 2002 campaign. BGSU was undefeated in conference play for the first time since 1996. Nichols, in his eighth season with the Falcons, took over a BG team that was at the bottom of the MAC, and has slowly but surely changed the culture of the program. He currently has a record of 62-66-24 at the BGSU helm, but has posted a winning record over the last seven years. In the last three seasons, the Falcons have an overall mark of 32-21-6. BG was ranked among the Great Lakes Region top-10 teams in every week of the 2016 season, and the Falcons finished the year ranked fifth in the region.
BGSU finished with an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and the Falcons went 2-0-3 in MAC play. BG – picked to finish fifth in the six-team league in the preseason coaches' poll – placed second in the final regular-season standings, for the program's best finish since 2002. The Falcons went undefeated in the MAC for the first time in 20 years, and BGSU also was unbeaten at home for the first time in two decades.
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In addition, Eric Nichols was named the Ohio Coach of the Year.
COMPLETE OCSA ALL-OHIO TEAMÂ - PDF
Flynn earns All-Ohio accolades for the third time in as many years with the Falcons. He was named to the first team in 2014 and earned second-team honors last year before returning to the first team in '16. Both Mwembia and Roth are on the All-Ohio Team for the first time.
A native of Naperville, Ill. (Central H.S.), Flynn was one of the most dangerous strikers in the MAC during his three years with the Falcons. He started all 19 matches this fall, and had 14 points on five goals and four assists. Flynn was named to both the All-Mid-American Conference First Team and the MAC's All-Tournament Team in 2016. He led the Brown and Orange in each of his seasons in Northwest Ohio. In just three years at BGSU, Flynn moved into the school's career top 10 in several categories. Flynn finished his BG tenure ranked seventh in school history in goals, with 28, and he is tied for eighth in career points, with 68. He ranks fourth in BG history with nine career game-winning goals.
Mwembia, who hails from Toulouse, France, started all but one of the Falcons' 19 matches in goal in his first season. On the year, he had 69 saves, a goals-against average of just 0.73 and a saves percentage of .831. Mwembia led the MAC in both saves percentage and GAA, ranking among the top-20 in the nation in both categories. He finished MAC regular-season play with a GAA of 0.53 and a saves pct. of .857, again leading all conference 'keepers in the latter category and ranking second in GAA. Mwembia's eight shutouts this season are the most by a BGSU 'keeper since 2013, and no Falcon has had more since BGSU Hall-of-Famer Scott Vallow kept 10 clean sheets in 1998.
Roth, a Cleveland native (St. Ignatius), had 10 points on the season, on a pair of goals and a BG-best six assists. Roth helped the Falcon defense post eight shutouts this season. At the other end of the field, he had what proved to be the game-winning goal against Wright State, and also scored in the MAC Tournament semifinal vs. Buffalo. Roth also had an assist on no fewer than five game-winning goals in '16. Roth, after playing sparingly as a freshman, moved into the lineup in his sophomore season and started every match over the last three years. He played all but 30 of the Falcons' 1821-plus minutes this year, and played in 65 career matches, making 60 starts as a Falcon. Roth completed his career with 42 points on 12 goals and 18 assists at BG. He was a perfect 8-for-8 on penalty kicks.
Along with his honor from the OCSA, Nichols was also named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2016. He guided the Falcons to a second-place finish in the MAC regular-season standings, the program's highest finish since the 2002 campaign. BGSU was undefeated in conference play for the first time since 1996. Nichols, in his eighth season with the Falcons, took over a BG team that was at the bottom of the MAC, and has slowly but surely changed the culture of the program. He currently has a record of 62-66-24 at the BGSU helm, but has posted a winning record over the last seven years. In the last three seasons, the Falcons have an overall mark of 32-21-6. BG was ranked among the Great Lakes Region top-10 teams in every week of the 2016 season, and the Falcons finished the year ranked fifth in the region.
BGSU finished with an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and the Falcons went 2-0-3 in MAC play. BG – picked to finish fifth in the six-team league in the preseason coaches' poll – placed second in the final regular-season standings, for the program's best finish since 2002. The Falcons went undefeated in the MAC for the first time in 20 years, and BGSU also was unbeaten at home for the first time in two decades.
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2016 All-Ohio NCAA Men's Division I Team
FIRST TEAM
Position - Name, Class, School (Hometown)
FIRST TEAM
Position - Name, Class, School (Hometown)
GK - Anthony Mwembia, Fr., Bowling Green (Toulouse, France)
D - Lalas Abubakar, Sr., Dayton (Accra, Ghana)
D - Brad Ruhaak, Sr., Akron (Akron, OH)
D - Corey Brown, Jr., Xavier (Nelson, NZ)
M - Adam Wilson, So., Cincinnati (Auchterarder, Scotland)
M - Adam Najem, Sr., Akron (Clifton, NJ)
M -Â Jalen Brown, Sr., Xavier (Indianapolis, IN)
M -Â Abdi Mohamed, So, Ohio State (Westerville, OH)
M - Pat Flynn, Sr., Bowling Green (Naperville, IL)
F - Peguy Ngatcha, Sr., Wright State (Manchester, NH)
F - Jonathan Lewis, Fr., Akron (Plantation, FL)
SECOND TEAM
D - Jake Stovall, Sr., Wright State (Centerville, OH)
D - Lalas Abubakar, Sr., Dayton (Accra, Ghana)
D - Brad Ruhaak, Sr., Akron (Akron, OH)
D - Corey Brown, Jr., Xavier (Nelson, NZ)
M - Adam Wilson, So., Cincinnati (Auchterarder, Scotland)
M - Adam Najem, Sr., Akron (Clifton, NJ)
M -Â Jalen Brown, Sr., Xavier (Indianapolis, IN)
M -Â Abdi Mohamed, So, Ohio State (Westerville, OH)
M - Pat Flynn, Sr., Bowling Green (Naperville, IL)
F - Peguy Ngatcha, Sr., Wright State (Manchester, NH)
F - Jonathan Lewis, Fr., Akron (Plantation, FL)
SECOND TEAM
Position - Name, Class, School (Hometown)
GK - Ben Lundt, So., Akron (Berlin, Germany)D - Jake Stovall, Sr., Wright State (Centerville, OH)
D - Jacob Roth, Sr., Bowling Green (Cleveland, OH)
D - Sergio Manesio, Sr., Cleveland State (London, England)
D -Â Matt Nance, Jr., Xavier (Washington, MI)
D - Patrick Nielsen, Fr., Cincinnati (Copenhagen, Denmark)
D - Patrick Nielsen, Fr., Cincinnati (Copenhagen, Denmark)
M -Â Nate Kohl, Jr., Ohio State (Hilliard, OH)
M - Eric Lynch, Sr., Wright State (Bellbrook, OH)
F - Danny Jensen, Sr., Ohio State (Weston, FL)
F - Kennedy Nwabia, So., Dayton (Imo State, Nigeria)
F - Stuart Holthusen, Jr., Akron (Auckland, New Zealand)
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M - Eric Lynch, Sr., Wright State (Bellbrook, OH)
F - Danny Jensen, Sr., Ohio State (Weston, FL)
F - Kennedy Nwabia, So., Dayton (Imo State, Nigeria)
F - Stuart Holthusen, Jr., Akron (Auckland, New Zealand)
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OCSA 2016 MEN'SÂ NCAA DIVISIONÂ I COACH OF THE YEAR
Eric Nichols, Bowling Green
Eric Nichols, Bowling Green
Players Mentioned
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Thursday, October 23
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