Bowling Green State University Athletics
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Nichols, Falcons Unveil Fall 2016 Schedule
May 20, 2016 | Men's Soccer
BGSU's slate includes three home dates against NCAA Tournament participants
Bowling Green State University men's soccer coach Eric Nichols has announced his team's fall schedule for 2016. The Falcons' 18-match regular-season slate includes nine matches inside the friendly confines of Cochrane Stadium.
2016 BGSU MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
The home schedule includes visits from three schools that qualified for the NCAA Championships last season, and eight of the nine games at Cochrane will be held under the lights.
Of BGSU's nine home matches, the final six are against teams that won an average of 12.5 games a year ago.
"We continue to try to put together the best schedule possible," said Nichols, who enters his eighth season at the BGSU helm. "Our guys come here to play the best, and so we aim for the top and try to put together the best schedule we possibly can.
"From an RPI perspective, this is one of the best schedules that we have ever put together. We face four NCAA teams, and that's not even including a powerhouse like Michigan State. And, in addition to those opponents, several other teams we will face had double-digit win totals last year."
BGSU will begin the regular season with three consecutive home matches, and the Falcons will conclude the schedule with back-to-back Saturday night contests at Cochrane vs. conference competition.
The season begins with a three-match homestand, as the Brown and Orange will welcome IUPUI (Aug. 26), Appalachian State (Aug. 28) and Marshall (Sept. 2) to town. BG played closely-contested matches vs. the Jaguars and Mountaineers on the road last season, earning a draw at IUPUI and winning a one-goal decision at ASU. The Falcons did not face Marshall last fall, but BGSU competed in the Thundering Herd's tournament in mid-September of 2015.
The Falcons then play three out of the next four matches on the road, with trips to Cleveland State (Sept. 7), Western Illinois (Sept. 10) and Cincinnati (Sept. 17) sandwiched around a home date vs. Wright State (Sept. 13). The WSU match is the latest installment of the battle for the I-75 Cup. BGSU won a narrow 3-2 decision vs. the Raiders last season, marking the Falcons' fifth win in six matches since the teams began playing for the I-75 Cup, a trophy that goes to the winner of the BGSU-WSU match each year.
Then, the Falcons end September by running a three-match gauntlet through Dayton, Ohio State and Michigan State. The Flyers won 13 matches last year and advanced to the NCAA Championships, where they saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Buckeyes in the second round. OSU also won 13 times in 2015, and the Buckeyes advanced to the third round before losing to Stanford, the eventual national champions.
The Spartans did not qualify for the NCAA tourney last year, but MSU advanced to the NCAA's round of eight in each of the previous two years.
BGSU suffered tough losses to all three programs last fall. The Falcons fell by one goal to each of the two Big Ten Conference foes, as MSU scored with under two minutes remaining in the second half at Cochrane, and OSU found the back of the net with just three seconds remaining in the second overtime in Columbus. UD downed the Falcons by six goals, the team's most lopsided loss in over half a decade.
BG will face both UD (Sept. 20) and OSU (Sept. 24) at Cochrane Stadium, before heading to East Lansing to end the month with the MSU match (Sept. 28).
October begins with a trip to Northern Kentucky (Oct. 4), before the Falcons open MAC play at West Virginia (Oct. 7). BG's first MAC home game comes the following weekend, as Western Michigan comes to Cochrane (Oct. 15).
NKU is coached by John Basalyga, a BGSU graduate and the father of BGSU women's soccer coach Lindsay Basalyga. The Falcons and Norse did not meet last fall, but faced off in each of the previous two years, battling to a scoreless draw in 2013 before the Falcons pulled out a 2-1 decision in '14.
The Falcons downed West Virginia by a 2-0 count at Cochrane last fall. That was the first match decided by more than one goal in the five meetings since the Mountaineers joined the MAC for men's soccer prior to the 2012 season. The BGSU-WVU series is all even at 2-2-1 in that time.
BGSU and WMU have played more than their share of close matches in recent years as well. Each of the last six meetings has been decided by one goal, and the Falcons and Broncos have split the last four matches. Western won a 2-1 decision in Kalamazoo last fall after BG posted an overtime victory by that same score in 2014.
Following the WMU match, the Falcons play three-straight contests on the road, beginning with an Oct. 18 game at Kentucky. The Wildcats went 7-0-1 in Conference USA play last season, winning the league's regular-season title and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row.
BG then heads westward for a pair of games, facing Northern Illinois in DeKalb (Oct. 22) and IPFW in Fort Wayne (Oct. 25). The Huskies escaped Cochrane with a 1-0 overtime win last fall, while the Falcons posted a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Mastodons in Northwest Ohio in 2015.
The Falcons will close the regular season with a pair of MAC matchups at Cochrane. BGSU hosts Akron on Saturday night, Oct. 29. The Zips won 18 matches a year ago, capturing the MAC regular-season and tournament titles and advancing all the way to the national semifinals. UA fell to eventual champion Stanford via PKs in the NCAA College Cup.
The following Saturday (Nov. 5), BG battles Buffalo. The Bulls struck twice in the final minutes for a 2-1 victory over the Falcons in Western New York last season, riding that momentum all the way to the MAC Tournament championship before falling to UA.
The 2016 MAC Tournament will see the top-four teams in the final regular-season standings converge on the site of the regular-season champion for the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 11. The two winners will meet in the championship match at the same site on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Falcons will play a pair of scrimmages against opponents from the state of Michigan. BG will face Oakland, a 2015 NCAA Tournament participant, on Aug. 13 at Cochrane, before venturing to the Motor City for an exhibition vs. Detroit on Aug. 19.
"College soccer in the Midwest in general is very good," said Nichols. "We have a fun home schedule for our fans, with Ohio State, Dayton, Akron and several other powerful teams coming to Cochrane. And, just because we're not traveling far away for our road games doesn't mean we're not playing great competition.
"This is a schedule that gives us an opportunity to be successful, but on the other hand, we know we will need to bring our A-game every time out. I look forward to seeing how our team responds to each challenge we will face in the coming season."
The complete 2016 schedule follows. For the latest schedule updates throughout the season, click here or click the 'schedule' link on the men's soccer page right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
2016 BGSU MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
(as of May 18, 2016)
August
Sat., 13 - OAKLAND (Scrimmage)
Fri., 19 - at Detroit (Scrimmage)
Fri., 26 - IUPUI
Sun., 28 - APPALACHIAN STATE
September
Fri., 2 - MARSHALL
Wed., 7 - at Cleveland State
Sat., 10 - at Western Illinois
Tue., 13 - WRIGHT STATE (I-75 Cup)
Sat., 17 - at Cincinnati
Tue., 20 - DAYTON
Sat., 24 - OHIO STATE
Wed., 28 - at Michigan State
October
Tue., 4 - at Northern Kentucky
Fri., 7 - at West Virginia *
Sat,. 15 - WESTERN MICHIGAN *
Tue., 18 - at Kentucky
Sat., 22 - at Northern Illinois *
Tue., 25 - at IPFW
Sat., 29 - AKRON *
November
Sat., 5 - BUFFALO *
Fri., 11 - MAC Tournament Semifinals
Sun., 13 - MAC Tournament Final
* Mid-American Conference match
HOME matches at Cochrane Stadium
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2016 BGSU MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
The home schedule includes visits from three schools that qualified for the NCAA Championships last season, and eight of the nine games at Cochrane will be held under the lights.
Of BGSU's nine home matches, the final six are against teams that won an average of 12.5 games a year ago.
"We continue to try to put together the best schedule possible," said Nichols, who enters his eighth season at the BGSU helm. "Our guys come here to play the best, and so we aim for the top and try to put together the best schedule we possibly can.
"From an RPI perspective, this is one of the best schedules that we have ever put together. We face four NCAA teams, and that's not even including a powerhouse like Michigan State. And, in addition to those opponents, several other teams we will face had double-digit win totals last year."
BGSU will begin the regular season with three consecutive home matches, and the Falcons will conclude the schedule with back-to-back Saturday night contests at Cochrane vs. conference competition.
The season begins with a three-match homestand, as the Brown and Orange will welcome IUPUI (Aug. 26), Appalachian State (Aug. 28) and Marshall (Sept. 2) to town. BG played closely-contested matches vs. the Jaguars and Mountaineers on the road last season, earning a draw at IUPUI and winning a one-goal decision at ASU. The Falcons did not face Marshall last fall, but BGSU competed in the Thundering Herd's tournament in mid-September of 2015.
The Falcons then play three out of the next four matches on the road, with trips to Cleveland State (Sept. 7), Western Illinois (Sept. 10) and Cincinnati (Sept. 17) sandwiched around a home date vs. Wright State (Sept. 13). The WSU match is the latest installment of the battle for the I-75 Cup. BGSU won a narrow 3-2 decision vs. the Raiders last season, marking the Falcons' fifth win in six matches since the teams began playing for the I-75 Cup, a trophy that goes to the winner of the BGSU-WSU match each year.
Then, the Falcons end September by running a three-match gauntlet through Dayton, Ohio State and Michigan State. The Flyers won 13 matches last year and advanced to the NCAA Championships, where they saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Buckeyes in the second round. OSU also won 13 times in 2015, and the Buckeyes advanced to the third round before losing to Stanford, the eventual national champions.
The Spartans did not qualify for the NCAA tourney last year, but MSU advanced to the NCAA's round of eight in each of the previous two years.
BGSU suffered tough losses to all three programs last fall. The Falcons fell by one goal to each of the two Big Ten Conference foes, as MSU scored with under two minutes remaining in the second half at Cochrane, and OSU found the back of the net with just three seconds remaining in the second overtime in Columbus. UD downed the Falcons by six goals, the team's most lopsided loss in over half a decade.
BG will face both UD (Sept. 20) and OSU (Sept. 24) at Cochrane Stadium, before heading to East Lansing to end the month with the MSU match (Sept. 28).
October begins with a trip to Northern Kentucky (Oct. 4), before the Falcons open MAC play at West Virginia (Oct. 7). BG's first MAC home game comes the following weekend, as Western Michigan comes to Cochrane (Oct. 15).
NKU is coached by John Basalyga, a BGSU graduate and the father of BGSU women's soccer coach Lindsay Basalyga. The Falcons and Norse did not meet last fall, but faced off in each of the previous two years, battling to a scoreless draw in 2013 before the Falcons pulled out a 2-1 decision in '14.
The Falcons downed West Virginia by a 2-0 count at Cochrane last fall. That was the first match decided by more than one goal in the five meetings since the Mountaineers joined the MAC for men's soccer prior to the 2012 season. The BGSU-WVU series is all even at 2-2-1 in that time.
BGSU and WMU have played more than their share of close matches in recent years as well. Each of the last six meetings has been decided by one goal, and the Falcons and Broncos have split the last four matches. Western won a 2-1 decision in Kalamazoo last fall after BG posted an overtime victory by that same score in 2014.
Following the WMU match, the Falcons play three-straight contests on the road, beginning with an Oct. 18 game at Kentucky. The Wildcats went 7-0-1 in Conference USA play last season, winning the league's regular-season title and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row.
BG then heads westward for a pair of games, facing Northern Illinois in DeKalb (Oct. 22) and IPFW in Fort Wayne (Oct. 25). The Huskies escaped Cochrane with a 1-0 overtime win last fall, while the Falcons posted a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Mastodons in Northwest Ohio in 2015.
The Falcons will close the regular season with a pair of MAC matchups at Cochrane. BGSU hosts Akron on Saturday night, Oct. 29. The Zips won 18 matches a year ago, capturing the MAC regular-season and tournament titles and advancing all the way to the national semifinals. UA fell to eventual champion Stanford via PKs in the NCAA College Cup.
The following Saturday (Nov. 5), BG battles Buffalo. The Bulls struck twice in the final minutes for a 2-1 victory over the Falcons in Western New York last season, riding that momentum all the way to the MAC Tournament championship before falling to UA.
The 2016 MAC Tournament will see the top-four teams in the final regular-season standings converge on the site of the regular-season champion for the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 11. The two winners will meet in the championship match at the same site on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Falcons will play a pair of scrimmages against opponents from the state of Michigan. BG will face Oakland, a 2015 NCAA Tournament participant, on Aug. 13 at Cochrane, before venturing to the Motor City for an exhibition vs. Detroit on Aug. 19.
"College soccer in the Midwest in general is very good," said Nichols. "We have a fun home schedule for our fans, with Ohio State, Dayton, Akron and several other powerful teams coming to Cochrane. And, just because we're not traveling far away for our road games doesn't mean we're not playing great competition.
"This is a schedule that gives us an opportunity to be successful, but on the other hand, we know we will need to bring our A-game every time out. I look forward to seeing how our team responds to each challenge we will face in the coming season."
The complete 2016 schedule follows. For the latest schedule updates throughout the season, click here or click the 'schedule' link on the men's soccer page right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
2016 BGSU MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
(as of May 18, 2016)
August
Sat., 13 - OAKLAND (Scrimmage)
Fri., 19 - at Detroit (Scrimmage)
Fri., 26 - IUPUI
Sun., 28 - APPALACHIAN STATE
September
Fri., 2 - MARSHALL
Wed., 7 - at Cleveland State
Sat., 10 - at Western Illinois
Tue., 13 - WRIGHT STATE (I-75 Cup)
Sat., 17 - at Cincinnati
Tue., 20 - DAYTON
Sat., 24 - OHIO STATE
Wed., 28 - at Michigan State
October
Tue., 4 - at Northern Kentucky
Fri., 7 - at West Virginia *
Sat,. 15 - WESTERN MICHIGAN *
Tue., 18 - at Kentucky
Sat., 22 - at Northern Illinois *
Tue., 25 - at IPFW
Sat., 29 - AKRON *
November
Sat., 5 - BUFFALO *
Fri., 11 - MAC Tournament Semifinals
Sun., 13 - MAC Tournament Final
* Mid-American Conference match
HOME matches at Cochrane Stadium
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