Cougars Down Falcons, 3-1, in MAC Opener

Saturday, October 7

Edwardsville, IL

7:00 PM CT (8:00 PM ET)

Bowling Green State University

6-5, 0-1MAC

SIUE

5-6, 1-0MAC

Bowling Green

SIUE

(photo by Scott Kane/SIUE)

Photo by: Scott Kane/SIUE

October 08, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SIUE, a 'Sweet 16' program a year ago, wins first-ever MAC match

By: EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team doubled up host SIUE in shots on Saturday (Oct. 7), but a pair of goals early in the second half put the Cougars in control en route to a 3-1 win over the Falcons. The match, the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, was held at Korte Stadium.

SIUE, a first-year MAC affiliate member for men's soccer, got a pair of goals from Greg Solawa, who scored the first and last goals of the contest. Junior Moe Mustafa tied the game in the final minute of the first half, but Devyn Jambga gave the home side the lead once again in the 50th minute, and Solawa's second goal of the night doubled that advantage just over seven minutes later.

Kyle Dal Santo made seven saves for the Cougars, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 last fall. A crowd of roughly 3,900 was on hand for SIUE's Homecoming contest.

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
BGSU Photo Galleries *
BGSU Men's Soccer Videos
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer: Schedule | Roster | Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
* all sports - choose "men's soccer" in the drop-down link at the top right of the page

NOTE OF THE NIGHT

Saturday's loss marked BGSU's first MAC regular-season setback in exactly 23 months, since a loss at Akron on Nov. 7, 2015. Last year, the Falcons were undefeated in league play during the regular season, going 2-0-3 to place second in the six-team loop.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

5' – Freshman Chris Sullivan put a ball past Dal Santo, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul called against the Falcons.
9' – A throw-in by junior Tate Robertson found sophomore Chris Brennan, and Brennan volleyed the ball toward goal. His shot was on target, but Dal Santo made the save.
32' – SIUE got on the board as Solawa controlled a pass from Keegan McHugh and fired the ball into the upper right portion of the goal.
38' – A long throw-in by Mustafa found the head of senior Alexis Souahy, but Souahy's shot was stopped by Dal Santo.
45' – The Falcons tied the match with under a minute (58 seconds, according to the stat sheet; 55.6 seconds, according to the web stream of the match) remaining in the first half. After a foul on the Cougars, Robertson took the ensuing free kick, just shy of the midfield stripe. Robertson played a long ball into the penalty box, and Mustafa nodded it past Dal Santo to tie the score.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

50' – SIUE capitalized on a BG miscommunication in the back. Jambga was the beneficiary, and rolled the ball past BGSU sophomore 'keeper Anthony Mwembia.
54' – Robertson's free kick was played into the box by Brennan. The ball found Souahy, but his shot was blocked, and a follow-up effort by freshman Zach Buescher went wide.
55' – Just over a minute later, a right-side cross found the head of Sullivan in the box, but his shot was hit directly at the 'keeper.
58' – SIUE doubled the lead, as Jorge Gonzalez played a pass to an open Solawa in right side of the box. Solawa had time to take a touch before sliding a ball past Mwembia, who was forced to come off of his line. The shot rolled just inside the far post.
59' – The Falcons were dangerous for much of the night, and continued to apply pressure on the SIUE defense despite going two goals down. A combination play from the Falcons led to a Souahy header, but Dal Santo was able to make the save.
67' – Good possession by BG ended up with a ball played into the box from the right side. It wound up on the head of Mustafa, but Dal Santo was able to grab his shot out of the air.
74' – SIUE's Kashaun Smith was given a yellow card as Brennan was unceremoniously dumped. Robertson's short free kick found senior Brad Macomber streaking down the right side, but Macomber's shot/cross sailed too far and went out of play for an SIUE goal kick.
77' – Less than a minute after a Robertson shot was saved, Brennan tried to play a ball out of the air as he headed into the box. But, the sophomore's one-timer was off target.
79' – Brennan's throw-in was played back to him, and he hit a cross into the box that senior Keaton Reynolds met with a rising header. The ball went over Dal Santo, but also sailed over the bar.
80' – As the clock wound down toward the 10-minute mark, BG continued to fire crosses and diagonal balls into the box. But, SIUE was able to deal with each of them during the second half.
87' – BG continued to apply pressure, winning a throw-in deep in the SIUE end of the field. After several passes, the ball was played into center of box near the six-yard line from the left side, but Sullivan's header went over the goal.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"Getting points in the MAC is tough, and we knew that coming to SUIE was a tall order. We did some good things tonight, and at moments we played some of our best soccer of the year. But, we weren't able to convert those moments into goals. And we have to give SIUE a lot of credit, we are not an easy team to score on and they took their chances well.

"We are disappointed in the result but this group has a lot of belief. The strength of our character is getting tested and I know we will respond."

UP NEXT

The Falcons will step outside of conference play for a matchup at Wright State on Tuesday (Oct. 10) in the teams' latest battle for the I-75 Cup.
Then, BGSU returns home to face West Virginia next Saturday night (Oct. 14) in a key MAC matchup.
Start time for all of BG's October matches is 7:00 p.m. local time.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS

For more information on the men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Facebook (BGSU Men's Soccer), Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUmenssoccer), Instagram (bgsumenssoccer) and Snapchat (BGSU Men's Soccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.