Falcons Down Detroit to Close Scrimmage Schedule

Friday, August 19

Detroit, MI

12:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-0, 0-0MAC

Detroit (scrimmage)

0-0, 0-0HL

Bowling Green

Detroit Mercy

Alexis Souahy scores his 2nd goal at Detroit - Aug 19 2016

Alexis Souahy (8) wheels away after scoring his second goal of the match (Colin MacDonald, UDM Athletics)

Photo by: Colin MacDonald, UDM Athletics

August 19, 2016 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Souahy scores both BGSU goals in 2-1 win Friday afternoon

By: DETROIT, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Junior Alexis Souahy scored once in each half Friday afternoon (Aug. 19), lifting the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over the University of Detroit Mercy. The scrimmage was held at UDM's Titan Field.

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Senior tri-captain Jacob Roth assisted on both BGSU goals in the win. Freshman Anthony Mwembia played the first 64-plus minutes in goal, while redshirt freshman Noah Kummer was between the posts for the final 25-plus minutes. Both BGSU 'keepers made one save apiece.

The Falcons controlled the match for most of the 90 minutes, with a 15-6 advantage in total shot attempts and a 9-3 margin in shots on goal. The Brown and Orange had 10 shots, compared to just one for the Titans, in the opening half, but the match was scoreless until Souahy's golazo in the 40th minute.

The home team evened the score in the 56th minute of action before the Roth-to-Souahy connection struck again in the 73rd minute.

"We controlled a lot of moments of the game today, but we were challenged to shut the game down, and we weren't quite as solid as I'd like to be," said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols. "We probably weren't as dangerous with some of our possessions as I'd like to be, but overall this was a good learning experience.

"Possession doesn't matter; putting balls in the back of the net is what matters. We certainly we playing to win the whole time today, so it's not like we have any excuses. We were playing to win, we were controlling it, and they got their goal and the next thing you know it's a game again. So, that's a great lesson for us to learn."

The Falcons dominated the game in the early going, but could not break the scoreless deadlock. Senior Joe Sullivan was involved in two chances in the first three minutes of the match. His low cross was just out of the reach of classmate Pat Flynn's sliding effort, and Sullivan then saw his toe poke blocked by UDM goalkeeper Robbie Beckwell. Beckwell made seven saves on the afternoon.

In the fifth minute, a nifty cross by junior Brad Macomber found Flynn in the box, but the senior tapped his shot just wide of the mark. The Falcons' fourth shot of the first six-plus minutes saw senior Jacob Roth's far-post header stopped after a cross by sophomore Tate Robertson. Beckwell was forced to make a diving save of that Roth effort.

In the 14th minute, some nifty passing resulted in a low cross by sophomore Vincent Giannini. His ball was just out of Flynn's reach. A Roth free kick was punched away by Beckwell midway through the half, and another Roth shot found the frame in the 34th minute, but the UDM 'keeper grabbed that effort as well.

Less then a minute later, Roth's low free kick got through a group of players in the box, before Flynn got a touch on the ball. But, Beckwell stopped that shot, then saved Macomber's one-timer just over a minute after that. On the latter save, Beckwell's lunging effort saw him sail into the goal. The 'keeper had to let go of the ball as he crossed the goal line, but he recovered in time to grab the ball once again before a BG player could arrive.

Finally, after BG had taken the first seven shots of the game, the Titans fired their first shot in the 38th minute of play. But, Tyler Moorman's effort was a low roller that Mwembia easily gathered in.

Two minutes later, the Falcons were on the board. A short Macomber throw-in near midfield found the feet of Roth. From in front of the scorer's table, the senior tri-captain played a long cross toward the penalty area. Souahy, stationed approximately 12 yards out, never let the ball touch the ground. The junior's perfectly-struck half volley gave Beckwell no chance, and the UDM 'keeper could only watch as the ball sailed past him and found the back of the net. The Falcons took that 1-0 lead into the half.

In the second period, Detroit evened the score on the first shot of the half. Justin Schueneman played a long ball into the box, and Matt Harkema took advantage of a miscommunication between several Falcons, knocking the ball past Mwembia to tie the score.

Midway through the half, a long throw-in by freshman Robert Miller III sailed into the box, and sophomore Moe Mustafa and a UDM defender leaped for the ball at the same time. The ball caromed off of a forehead and went just wide of the target.

Miller was involved in another scoring chance moments later, taking a pass from junior Keaton Reynolds and heading into the box. But, a UDM defender knocked the ball away at the last possible second.

In the 71st minute, Mustafa headed home a long ball by Roth, but the assistant referee's flag was up, indicating either offside or a foul in the box on the Falcons, and the match remained tied.

Just over two minutes later, however, BG took the lead. Roth played a long free kick into the danger zone. The ball glanced off of at least one Detroit defender and went directly to an open Souahy, who knocked it past Beckwell for what proved to be the winning goal.

Both teams had several more chances. Roth put a bullet of a header on goal, but it was directly at Beckwell, who was able to make the stop. Reynolds was tripped just before he reached the penalty box, but the ensuing free kick was blocked and cleared away.

The Titans had a chance after a BG turnover with under five minutes to go, but Kummer made the save on a header by Jake Reitzloff.

Falcon freshman Charlie Maciejewski worked a combination play with Flynn, receiving the return pass and putting a shot on target, but Beckwell was able to knock the ball away.

Detroit was able to win a corner kick in the final minute of play, but redshirt sophomore Bismark Agyeman headed the ball out of the box, and a last-ditch turnaround shot by a Titan forward rolled harmlessly wide as the final seconds ticked away.

"Going into the game, our only goal was to win," said Sullivan, a team tri-captain. "We knew Detroit was a very good team, and that it wasn't going to be easy for us, but we focused a lot on set pieces in practices over the past week, and we got two goals off of set pieces today, so that was obviously a plus for us.

"Overall, there is a lot we can work on to get better. Over the next week, we will put in the time to fix what we need to fix, and we will be ready to face another good team in IUPUI next Friday."

The Falcons will open the regular season with three consecutive home matches, beginning with that IUPUI match next Friday evening (Aug. 26).

"I really like this group," said Nichols of his 2016 team. "There's a lot of talent here, a lot of character. So, when things go bad this season – and we know they will at some point – I really feel like our guys will be able to respond. As far as knowing rotations and who is going to play where, it's still cloudy. There's a lot of players fighting for positions, and it's a good problem to have, but there are still a lot of questions.

"Now we will take a couple days to relax with a few team events. We will do some team bonding and take a few days to relax and heal a bit. Then we'll get ready for classes on Monday and start preparing for our first game next Friday."

BGSU will face the Jaguars in a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium. Admission is free to all BGSU home soccer matches.