Saturday, August 26
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM ET
Bowling Green State University
vs
IUPUI
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Two Home Matches on the Horizon as Regular Season Begins
August 22, 2017 | Men's Soccer
BGSU faces IUPUI, CSU at Cochrane Stadium
FALCONS vs. IUPUI – Saturday, August 26
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
FALCONS vs. CLEVELAND STATE – Tuesday, August 29
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
ON MATCH DAY...
Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page right here at BGSUFalcons.com on match day
 –––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins the 53rd season in program history with a pair of matches vs. Horizon League opponents. The season begins on Saturday night (Aug. 26), as head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons host IUPUI. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
Then, on Tuesday (Aug. 29), the Orange and Brown will return to the Cochrane pitch to face Cleveland State University. That matchup also is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
LINKS
This Week's Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Schedule
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Roster
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
FREE ADMISSION / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Again this season, admission to all Falcon men's and women's soccer home regular-season matches is free. For those who can't make it to Cochrane Stadium, live stats are scheduled to be available for each home match via BGSUFalcons.com. Twitter updates for all men's soccer action in 2017, both home and away, will be available via @BGSUmenssoccer. And, plans are in the works to broadcast several home matches on ESPN3.com. All of the pertinent information can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on the day of the match.
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START
The Falcons will be looking to continue a tradition of getting the season off to a successful start when IUPUI comes to town on Saturday night. BGSU has a record of 7-1-0 in home openers during the Eric Nichols Era, and the Falcons have outscored the opposition by a 21-3 count in those eight matches. BG's only loss came to the team ranked number one in the nation at the time, and that match was scoreless until the 64th minute. The Falcons have kept six clean sheets in the last eight home openers.
HOME-OPENING MATCHES, NICHOLS ERA
2009  Marshall     W   2-0
2010  #1 Akron     L   0-2
2011  #9 Michigan    W   2-0
2012  St. Bonaventure  W   3-0
2013  Malone      W   5-0
2014 Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 2-0
2015 Â SIUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 3-1
2016 Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 4-0
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START II
As mentioned in the previous note, the Falcons are 7-1-0 in home openers during the Eric Nichols Era. In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is 7-0-1 since Nichols assumed the helm, and the Falcons have outscored the opponents by a 21-1 count. BG scored 17-straight goals in regular-season openers before SIUE, trailing the Falcons by three goals, scored midway through the second half of the 2015 lidlifter at Cochrane.
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The 2017 season marks the 53rd year of BGSU men's soccer. Legendary coach Mickey Cochrane initiated varsity programs in both soccer and lacrosse at BG in 1965, after serving as club coach of both sports at the University the previous year. Cochrane often can be found in attendance at the field that bears his name for most BGSU men's and women's soccer matches.
• Eric Nichols, now in his ninth season at BG, is just the fifth coach in the illustrious history of Falcon men's soccer. Cochrane (1965-77), Gary Palmisano (1978-92, 1994), Mel Mahler (1993, 1995-2003) and Fred Thompson (2004-08) are the only other individuals to have served as head coach of the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the 2017 campaign with a record of 62-66-24 at BGSU, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record over the last seven seasons.
• Nichols and the Falcons had an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger. BG finished second in the conference, the program's best showing since the 2002 season, and the Falcons were undefeated at Cochrane Stadium for the first time since 1996.
• The Falcons have a record of 32-21-6 (.593) since the beginning of the 2014 season. The '14 team went 14-6-1, posting the program's most wins in nearly two decades (since 1997), and advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match for the first time since 2003. The 2015 club finished 9-9-1, marking only the second time since 2000 that BGSU had won as many as nine games in a season. And, obviously, 2016 was the third time, as BG again posted nine victories.
• Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Eric Reed and Zach Mason – welcome back a total of 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team.
• In all, 15 total players return from a season ago, led by the senior quartet of Prayag Jina, Brad Macomber, Keaton Reynolds and Alexis Souahy. The junior class includes Dominic Grida, Moe Mustafa, Peter Pugliese and Tate Robertson, and redshirt junior Billy Larsen joins that veteran group.
• The sophomore class features Chris Brennan, Mitchell Evans, Charlie Maciejewski, Robert Miller III, Anthony Mwembia and Tom Wrobel.
• Nine of the 15 returnees started at least three games apiece last year. Macomber, Robertson and Souahy each started all 19 contests in the 2016 campaign, while Mwembia made 18 starts, Mustafa 16 and Brennan 12.
• Mwembia was an All-MAC First-Team selection in his freshman campaign, while Robertson earned All-MAC Second-Team honors a year ago.
• Brennan is the Falcons' top returning scorer from a year ago. His 12 points included five goals in his inaugural season, while Miller scored eight points and Robertson and Souahy five apiece.
• Nichols and his staff welcome 10 newcomers, including a pair of senior transfers in Aaron Davis and Theo Jamilloux. Jamilloux, a fifth-year senior goalkeeper, spent the last two seasons at the University of Louisville, while Davis, a Perrysburg native, most recently played at Lourdes University.
• The group of newcomers includes junior Ebenezer Ackon and sophomore Amandy Ayima, who journeyed from Ghana to Northwest Ohio to join the Falcon program.
• The six Falcon freshmen include two student-athletes each from the states of Ohio and Illinois. Zach Buescher attended St. John's Jesuit in Toledo, while Vinny Worner was a high-school teammate of Brennan's at Copley.
• Erik Horvath and Chris Sullivan continue the pipeline of BGSU men's soccer student-athletes from Naperville, Ill. Sullivan is the younger brother of Joe Sullivan, who wrapped up a stellar four-year Falcon career last fall.
• Marshall Mast (Traverse City, Mich.) and Sam Pugliese (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada) round out the BGSU newcomers. Pugliese is the younger brother of Peter, giving the Falcons their first pair of sibling teammates since Chris and Thomas McLean both donned the Orange and Brown for the 2009 and '10 seasons.
• Although scores were not officially kept in two of BGSU's three scrimmages, the Falcons emerged from the preseason with an undefeated record. BG's four goals in those three matches came from three juniors (Mustafa, Peter Pugliese and Robertson) and a sophomore (Miller).
• BG faced Dayton and Oakland in a pair of scrimmages at Cochrane Stadium, and the Falcons wrapped up the preseason schedule with a 2-0 win at Valparaiso on Friday (Aug. 18).
• The Falcons went 6-0-1 when scoring two or more goals in a game last season. BGSU is 14-0-2 in such matches over the last two years, and the Falcons are 44-4-6 when scoring at least two goals in the Eric Nichols Era.
• A total of 12 different players scored at least one goal for the 2016 Falcons. And, nine different BGSU players scored one game-winning goal apiece last season. The latter total tied the school record, as nine Falcons also scored at least one GWG in 1997.
UNBEATEN IN THE MAC IN 2016
• BGSU ended the 2016 regular season as the only team without a loss in MAC play. The Falcons – picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll – finished second in the final league standings.
• The Falcons went unbeaten in MAC play for the first time in two decades, since the 1996 team went a perfect 5-0-0 in league action.
• The Falcons tripled their point total from the previous year. BGSU had nine points in MAC play in 2016, after going 1-4-0 and earning three points in '15.
FALCONS ENJOY HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE IN 2016
• The Falcons went 5-0-4 at home last season. BGSU outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the nine matches at Cochrane Stadium.
• BG finished the home schedule without a loss for the first time since the 1996 club went 9-0-1 at Cochrane.
• Since the start of the 2014 season, BGSU has a record of 17-4-5 at Cochrane. The Falcons went 6-2-0 in 2015 and 6-2-1 in '14. All four home losses in that time have come by identical 1-0 scores. The two 2014 setbacks both came against nationally-ranked opponents, while 2015's home losses came on a goal in overtime and a goal with under two minutes left in regulation.
• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 62-18, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season. BG has scored at least two goals in 18 of the 27 matches in that time, with three or more goals in 10 of those games.
SCOUTING IUPUI
IUPUI went 1-2 in three preseason games, with Coach Brian Barnett's team defeating Indianapolis while falling to Ohio State and Evansville. The Jaguars were picked to finish 10th in the Horizon League's preseason coaches poll. Barnett's team has 15 underclassmen on the 23-man roster. Senior Uriel Macias, who had three goals and seven points last year, is the top returning scorer. Redshirt freshman Michael Buck played all 270 minutes in goal in the exhibitions. Last year, the Jags went 2-15-1 overall and 1-5-0 in HL play.
A LOOK AT CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State returns 14 letterwinners from a year ago, while first-year head coach Kirk Harwat welcomes 10 newcomers. CSU was picked to place fifth in the Horizon League in the preseason poll. Holding midfielder Alec Nagucki earned all-league first-team honors a year ago, while sophomore goalkeeper Sebastian Kalk ranked fifth in the nation in saves percentage in 2016. The Vikings open the regular season by hosting Robert Morris Friday (Aug. 25) before coming to BG four days later. Last year, CSU went 7-8-2 overall and 4-3-2 in league action.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead IUPUI, 3-1-2, in the all-time series between the teams. BG is facing the Jaguars in the regular-season opener for the third time in the last four seasons. Last year, the Falcons downed the Jags, 4-0, at Cochrane Stadium (Aug. 26, 2016). BGSU is 3-1-0 at home and 0-0-2 on the road vs. IUPUI through the years.
• The Falcons lead Cleveland State, 16-15-1, in that series, and BG has won three-straight meetings with the Vikings. Last year (Sept. 7, 2016), Chris Brennan scored with just four seconds remaining in the second overtime to give the Falcons a 1-0 win in downtown Cleveland. BG is 9-7-0 at home and 7-8-1 on the road vs. the Vikings..
• Match-by-match results for both the IUPUI and Cleveland State series can be found in the PDF version of this very release, which is just a click away at the top of this very page.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the IUPUI and Cleveland State matches, the Falcons will head to Philadelphia for a pair of road games over Labor Day weekend. BGSU will face Drexel on Friday, Sept. 1, before meeting Penn on Sunday, Sept. 3. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
FALCONS vs. CLEVELAND STATE – Tuesday, August 29
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
ON MATCH DAY...
Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page right here at BGSUFalcons.com on match day
 –––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins the 53rd season in program history with a pair of matches vs. Horizon League opponents. The season begins on Saturday night (Aug. 26), as head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons host IUPUI. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
Then, on Tuesday (Aug. 29), the Orange and Brown will return to the Cochrane pitch to face Cleveland State University. That matchup also is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
LINKS
This Week's Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Schedule
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Roster
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
FREE ADMISSION / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Again this season, admission to all Falcon men's and women's soccer home regular-season matches is free. For those who can't make it to Cochrane Stadium, live stats are scheduled to be available for each home match via BGSUFalcons.com. Twitter updates for all men's soccer action in 2017, both home and away, will be available via @BGSUmenssoccer. And, plans are in the works to broadcast several home matches on ESPN3.com. All of the pertinent information can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on the day of the match.
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START
The Falcons will be looking to continue a tradition of getting the season off to a successful start when IUPUI comes to town on Saturday night. BGSU has a record of 7-1-0 in home openers during the Eric Nichols Era, and the Falcons have outscored the opposition by a 21-3 count in those eight matches. BG's only loss came to the team ranked number one in the nation at the time, and that match was scoreless until the 64th minute. The Falcons have kept six clean sheets in the last eight home openers.
HOME-OPENING MATCHES, NICHOLS ERA
2009  Marshall     W   2-0
2010  #1 Akron     L   0-2
2011  #9 Michigan    W   2-0
2012  St. Bonaventure  W   3-0
2013  Malone      W   5-0
2014 Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 2-0
2015 Â SIUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 3-1
2016 Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ Â Â 4-0
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START II
As mentioned in the previous note, the Falcons are 7-1-0 in home openers during the Eric Nichols Era. In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is 7-0-1 since Nichols assumed the helm, and the Falcons have outscored the opponents by a 21-1 count. BG scored 17-straight goals in regular-season openers before SIUE, trailing the Falcons by three goals, scored midway through the second half of the 2015 lidlifter at Cochrane.
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The 2017 season marks the 53rd year of BGSU men's soccer. Legendary coach Mickey Cochrane initiated varsity programs in both soccer and lacrosse at BG in 1965, after serving as club coach of both sports at the University the previous year. Cochrane often can be found in attendance at the field that bears his name for most BGSU men's and women's soccer matches.
• Eric Nichols, now in his ninth season at BG, is just the fifth coach in the illustrious history of Falcon men's soccer. Cochrane (1965-77), Gary Palmisano (1978-92, 1994), Mel Mahler (1993, 1995-2003) and Fred Thompson (2004-08) are the only other individuals to have served as head coach of the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the 2017 campaign with a record of 62-66-24 at BGSU, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record over the last seven seasons.
• Nichols and the Falcons had an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger. BG finished second in the conference, the program's best showing since the 2002 season, and the Falcons were undefeated at Cochrane Stadium for the first time since 1996.
• The Falcons have a record of 32-21-6 (.593) since the beginning of the 2014 season. The '14 team went 14-6-1, posting the program's most wins in nearly two decades (since 1997), and advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match for the first time since 2003. The 2015 club finished 9-9-1, marking only the second time since 2000 that BGSU had won as many as nine games in a season. And, obviously, 2016 was the third time, as BG again posted nine victories.
• Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Eric Reed and Zach Mason – welcome back a total of 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team.
• In all, 15 total players return from a season ago, led by the senior quartet of Prayag Jina, Brad Macomber, Keaton Reynolds and Alexis Souahy. The junior class includes Dominic Grida, Moe Mustafa, Peter Pugliese and Tate Robertson, and redshirt junior Billy Larsen joins that veteran group.
• The sophomore class features Chris Brennan, Mitchell Evans, Charlie Maciejewski, Robert Miller III, Anthony Mwembia and Tom Wrobel.
• Nine of the 15 returnees started at least three games apiece last year. Macomber, Robertson and Souahy each started all 19 contests in the 2016 campaign, while Mwembia made 18 starts, Mustafa 16 and Brennan 12.
• Mwembia was an All-MAC First-Team selection in his freshman campaign, while Robertson earned All-MAC Second-Team honors a year ago.
• Brennan is the Falcons' top returning scorer from a year ago. His 12 points included five goals in his inaugural season, while Miller scored eight points and Robertson and Souahy five apiece.
• Nichols and his staff welcome 10 newcomers, including a pair of senior transfers in Aaron Davis and Theo Jamilloux. Jamilloux, a fifth-year senior goalkeeper, spent the last two seasons at the University of Louisville, while Davis, a Perrysburg native, most recently played at Lourdes University.
• The group of newcomers includes junior Ebenezer Ackon and sophomore Amandy Ayima, who journeyed from Ghana to Northwest Ohio to join the Falcon program.
• The six Falcon freshmen include two student-athletes each from the states of Ohio and Illinois. Zach Buescher attended St. John's Jesuit in Toledo, while Vinny Worner was a high-school teammate of Brennan's at Copley.
• Erik Horvath and Chris Sullivan continue the pipeline of BGSU men's soccer student-athletes from Naperville, Ill. Sullivan is the younger brother of Joe Sullivan, who wrapped up a stellar four-year Falcon career last fall.
• Marshall Mast (Traverse City, Mich.) and Sam Pugliese (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada) round out the BGSU newcomers. Pugliese is the younger brother of Peter, giving the Falcons their first pair of sibling teammates since Chris and Thomas McLean both donned the Orange and Brown for the 2009 and '10 seasons.
• Although scores were not officially kept in two of BGSU's three scrimmages, the Falcons emerged from the preseason with an undefeated record. BG's four goals in those three matches came from three juniors (Mustafa, Peter Pugliese and Robertson) and a sophomore (Miller).
• BG faced Dayton and Oakland in a pair of scrimmages at Cochrane Stadium, and the Falcons wrapped up the preseason schedule with a 2-0 win at Valparaiso on Friday (Aug. 18).
• The Falcons went 6-0-1 when scoring two or more goals in a game last season. BGSU is 14-0-2 in such matches over the last two years, and the Falcons are 44-4-6 when scoring at least two goals in the Eric Nichols Era.
• A total of 12 different players scored at least one goal for the 2016 Falcons. And, nine different BGSU players scored one game-winning goal apiece last season. The latter total tied the school record, as nine Falcons also scored at least one GWG in 1997.
UNBEATEN IN THE MAC IN 2016
• BGSU ended the 2016 regular season as the only team without a loss in MAC play. The Falcons – picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll – finished second in the final league standings.
• The Falcons went unbeaten in MAC play for the first time in two decades, since the 1996 team went a perfect 5-0-0 in league action.
• The Falcons tripled their point total from the previous year. BGSU had nine points in MAC play in 2016, after going 1-4-0 and earning three points in '15.
FALCONS ENJOY HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE IN 2016
• The Falcons went 5-0-4 at home last season. BGSU outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the nine matches at Cochrane Stadium.
• BG finished the home schedule without a loss for the first time since the 1996 club went 9-0-1 at Cochrane.
• Since the start of the 2014 season, BGSU has a record of 17-4-5 at Cochrane. The Falcons went 6-2-0 in 2015 and 6-2-1 in '14. All four home losses in that time have come by identical 1-0 scores. The two 2014 setbacks both came against nationally-ranked opponents, while 2015's home losses came on a goal in overtime and a goal with under two minutes left in regulation.
• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 62-18, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season. BG has scored at least two goals in 18 of the 27 matches in that time, with three or more goals in 10 of those games.
SCOUTING IUPUI
IUPUI went 1-2 in three preseason games, with Coach Brian Barnett's team defeating Indianapolis while falling to Ohio State and Evansville. The Jaguars were picked to finish 10th in the Horizon League's preseason coaches poll. Barnett's team has 15 underclassmen on the 23-man roster. Senior Uriel Macias, who had three goals and seven points last year, is the top returning scorer. Redshirt freshman Michael Buck played all 270 minutes in goal in the exhibitions. Last year, the Jags went 2-15-1 overall and 1-5-0 in HL play.
A LOOK AT CLEVELAND STATE
Cleveland State returns 14 letterwinners from a year ago, while first-year head coach Kirk Harwat welcomes 10 newcomers. CSU was picked to place fifth in the Horizon League in the preseason poll. Holding midfielder Alec Nagucki earned all-league first-team honors a year ago, while sophomore goalkeeper Sebastian Kalk ranked fifth in the nation in saves percentage in 2016. The Vikings open the regular season by hosting Robert Morris Friday (Aug. 25) before coming to BG four days later. Last year, CSU went 7-8-2 overall and 4-3-2 in league action.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead IUPUI, 3-1-2, in the all-time series between the teams. BG is facing the Jaguars in the regular-season opener for the third time in the last four seasons. Last year, the Falcons downed the Jags, 4-0, at Cochrane Stadium (Aug. 26, 2016). BGSU is 3-1-0 at home and 0-0-2 on the road vs. IUPUI through the years.
• The Falcons lead Cleveland State, 16-15-1, in that series, and BG has won three-straight meetings with the Vikings. Last year (Sept. 7, 2016), Chris Brennan scored with just four seconds remaining in the second overtime to give the Falcons a 1-0 win in downtown Cleveland. BG is 9-7-0 at home and 7-8-1 on the road vs. the Vikings..
• Match-by-match results for both the IUPUI and Cleveland State series can be found in the PDF version of this very release, which is just a click away at the top of this very page.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the IUPUI and Cleveland State matches, the Falcons will head to Philadelphia for a pair of road games over Labor Day weekend. BGSU will face Drexel on Friday, Sept. 1, before meeting Penn on Sunday, Sept. 3. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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