Fort Wayne Rallies for 2-1 Win

Tuesday, October 24

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

6-8-1

Fort Wayne

4-8-4

Fort Wayne

Bowling Green

Photo by: Grant Martin, BGSU Athletic Communications

October 24, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Falcons close the home slate with Saturday's "Senior Night" match vs. NIU

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Fort Wayne scored a pair of second-half goals, rallying for a 2-1 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Tuesday night (Oct. 24). The non-conference match was played at Cochrane Stadium.

Falcon freshman Chris Sullivan scored with just nine seconds left in the first half to give the home team the lead, but Carmelo Morales equalized in the 55th minute of the match, and Matthew Lieshout's free kick in the 62nd minute proved to be the winning goal.

Both goalkeepers, BGSU sophomore Anthony Mwembia and Fort Wayne's Brendan Stangel, made four saves on the night.

The loss was just the Falcons' second setback at Cochrane Stadium in the last 24 months.

LINKS
FINAL STATISTICS: PDF
VIDEO: In the Nest: Mwembia
This Week's BGSU Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
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BGSU Men's Soccer Videos
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer: Schedule | Roster | Record Book
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ERIC NICHOLS POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

2' – Sophomore Charlie Maciejewski played a ball out wide to junior Tate Robertson, who hit a cross toward freshman Zach Buescher in the 18-yard box. But, Buescher and a Fort Wayne defender got tangled up, and the first-year Falcon was knocked to the ground as the ball sailed through the area.
12' – The first shot of the match came with 11:03 gone, as the Mastodons' Romain Lopez fired a shot that was well off the mark.
16' – BG's first shot of the night came off of the head of junior Ebenezer Ackon, who redirected a Robertson corner kick. But, that shot was wide as well.
35' – After Maciejewski was the victim of a hard foul, Robertson's ensuing free kick was headed just over the crossbar by senior Alexis Souahy.
42' – After a Robertson corner, Souahy rose above his defender to get his head on the ball, putting it toward the right goalpost. The ball was knocked away by a Fort Wayne defender stationed near the post.
43' – A short cross found Lopez on the right side of the box, and he hit a quick one-timer from approximately 12 yards out. But, sophomore Anthony Mwembia made a kick save, and BG cleared the ball out of danger.
45' – Freshman Chris Sullivan gave the Falcons the lead with just nine seconds remaining in the first half. After another Fort Wayne foul, Robertson's free kick sailed into the penalty area from the left side. Ackon headed the ball back across the box, where Sullivan settled it, then hit a low, hard shot. Goalkeeper Brendan Stangel got a piece of the ball, but could not keep it from finding the left side of the net. Ackon and Robertson drew assists on the play.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

50' – Senior Prayag Jina, making his first start, hit a shot from the right side, but Stangel was there to make the save.
55' – The 'Dons got the equalizer. Will Hunt played a ball into the box from the right side, and Carmelo Morales received the serve and hit a shot into the upper half of the net from 10 yards out to tie the score.
62' – Fort Wayne took the lead as Matthew Lieshout's curving free kick from approximately 25 yards out found the left side of the goal.
63' – The Falcons had a corner kick and no fewer than four shots in the two minutes after the Mastodons' second goal. First, Robertson's blast was tipped over the crossbar by a leaping Stangel.
64' – After the ensuing corner, the Falcons fired three shots in roughly 12 seconds. Shots by Ackon and fellow junior Dominic Grida both were blocked near the 18-yard line. Then, an entry ball found Maciejewski near the right side of the goal, but his header went just wide.
75' – The 'Dons squandered a great chance to take a two-goal lead. Oscar Uyamadu won a 50-50 ball, and the visitors had a 2-on-1 opportunity. Uyamadu slid a pass to a wide-open Lopez, but his shot from just inside the penalty area sailed high.
80' – Off of Robertson's right-side free kick, Souahy put a header toward the lower right-hand corner of the goal, but Stangel was able to make the save.
84' - Senior Brad Macomber won the ball in the BG end, and played it forward, beginning a sequence of four or five passes. Robertson hit a ball into the box, and sophomore Amandy Ayima got his head on it, but the hard shot was hit directly at a grateful Stangel. That would prove to be BG's final shot of the night.

STATISTICS

The Falcons had a 14-12 edge in total shot attempts, but the 'Dons put six shots on goal to BG's five.
Senior Alexis Souahy and junior Tate Robertson each had three total shot attempts to tie for the BG lead. For the visitors, both Zach Tom and Romain Lopez had four shot attempts. Lopez was the only player on either team to put two shots on goal.
Both BGSU sophomore Anthony Mwembia and Fort Wayne 'keeper Brendan Stangel made four saves on the evening.
The 'Dons committed 16 fouls to BGSU's 13, and Fort Wayne received the only two cards – both yellow – of the match.
An assistant referee's flag was raised nine times for offside calls. BG was whistled five times and Fort Wayne four.

FALCON NOTES

Freshman Chris Sullivan's goal vs. Fort Wayne was his second of the season. Both goals have come at home. Sullivan's first goal as a Falcon came in the Cleveland State match, and also came from the top of the 18-yard box, but at the other end of Cochrane Stadium.
Sullivan now has five points on the year.
Junior Ebenezer Ackon picked up his first assist as a Falcon on Sullivan's goal. Ackon was playing in just his third match since being cleared by the NCAA.
Junior Tate Robertson also assisted on Sullivan's goal. It was Robertson's team-leading sixth assist of the season and the 10th of his BG career.
Senior Prayag Jina made the first start of his Falcon career.
The temperature was just under 50 degrees with winds of approximately 20 miles per hour at kickoff. The field was slick from rain earlier in the day, and it began to rain midway through the second half and continued through the end of the match.
BGSU is now 4-2-1 at Cochrane Stadium this season to date, and the Falcons are 9-2-5 at home since the start of the 2016 season.
Tuesday night marked the first BGSU match of the season in which the team scoring first did not win.
BGSU is now 6-1-0 this season when scoring first. The Falcons are 0-7-0 when the opponent scores first.
The Falcons had not lost a match when scoring first in just under a year, since last season's Fort Wayne match (Oct. 25, 2016).
Since the beginning of the 2016 season, the Falcons are 13-3-2 when scoring the first goal. A Sullivan sibling scored the first goal in all three losses. Chris Sullivan's brother Joe, a senior on last year's team, scored the opening goal in 2-1 road losses against Western Illinois and Fort Wayne. (The Sullivans also scored goals in multiple BGSU wins during that time.)
BGSU had not lost a match at Cochrane Stadium after scoring first in over four years, since a 2-1 setback vs. Detroit on Oct. 8, 2013.

UP NEXT

The Falcons will close the home portion of the schedule with a Saturday (Oct. 28) match vs. Northern Illinois. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m., and it will be "Senior Night" at Cochrane, with the Falcons' seniors recognized prior to the match.

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