Brennan, Mustafa Key 2-0 Win Over IUPUI in Season Opener

First-half goals by Moe Mustafa and Chris Brennan gave the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team the lead, and the Falcon defense never let the IUPUI offense get untracked in a 2-0 victory over the Jaguars Saturday night (Aug. 26). The match, the season opener for both teams, was held before a large and vocal crowd at Cochrane Stadium.

Mustafa and Brennan each had three points in the win, with a goal and an assist apiece. Mustafa opened the scoring with just under 10 minutes gone, and Brennan doubled the BG lead with only 3:21 left before halftime. Brennan was inches away from recording a hat trick, as the sophomore hit the crossbar not once, but twice, during the second half.

Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia and the BGSU defense earned the shutout. Mwembia was called upon to make just one save in the victory.

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NOTE OF THE NIGHT

The Falcons are now 8-1-0 in regular-season openers during the Eric Nichols Era. BGSU has outscored the opposition by a 23-3 count in those nine matches, and the Falcons have kept seven clean sheets.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

10' – The first shot attempt of the game for either team resulted in the opening goal. Sophomore Robert Miller III played a diagonal ball toward the right side of the goal. Senior Alexis Souahy got a head on it, and Brennan, near the right post, nodded it back across the goalmouth. Mustafa headed it home from close range for what would prove to be the winning goal..
18' – BG very nearly doubled the lead when senior Brad Macomber lofted a ball into the penalty area from the right side. IUPUI goalkeeper Michael Buck leaped into the air but could not come up with the ball. Junior Peter Pugliese ran onto it and hit a one-timer from the six-yard box, but his hard shot went just over the crossbar.
25' – Junior Tate Robertson's cross found the onrushing Brennan on the right side of the six-yard box. Brennan's one-timer rolled dangerously across the center of the box, but Buck was able to dive on it before a BG striker could arrive.
42' – Brennan doubled the lead with a blast from close range. After an IUPUI foul, Robertson's ensuing free kick sailed toward the right side of the goal, just in front of the Cochrane Stadium scoreboard. Mustafa met the ball just before reaching the end line, and the junior headed it across the box. The ball fell to Brennan, who fired a hard shot from approximately five yards out. An IUPUI defender was able to partially deflect the shot, but could not keep the ball from crashing into the back of the net.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

55' – Brennan, who was a thorn in the Jaguars' collective side all evening, made a long run down the center of the field, but was taken down just as he headed into the box, and an IUPUI defender was able to clear the ball away.
58' – Mustafa stole the ball near midfield and played it ahead to Brennan. Brennan slid a pass to Miller on the right side. With no defender between Miller and the goal, Buck was forced to come off of his line. Miller poked the ball past the IUPUI 'keeper, but as he settled the ball near the end line, the Jags' defenders were able to scramble back into position to end the threat.
60' – One of the visitors' best chances came with nearly an hour gone, when Nick Anderson and Pedro Valladao combined to get the ball into the Falcons' 18-yard box. A left-side cross found an open Yan Souza, but Souza's shot was blocked by a BG defender. The ball went over the end line, and BG successfully dealt with the ensuing corner kick.
83' – Pressure by Miller resulted in an errant clearing attempt by Buck. The goalkeeper's effort was stolen by Brennan approximately 40 yards away from goal. The BG sophomore quickly lofted a ball toward the frame, but his shot glanced off the top of the crossbar and went out of play for a goal kick.
84' – Brennan came up with another steal near midfield, took the ball toward the right side of the field to avoid the futile attempts of a would-be defender. Brennan's run took him all the way to the end line, where he again toyed with an IUPUI player before sliding a dangerous cross through the box.
85' – BG got the ball right back, and Souahy and Robertson combined to get the ball into the IUPUI third of the field. Robertson's pass found Miller near the top of the box, and he laid the ball off for Brennan, who fired a laser that rang off of the crossbar and bounded back into the field of play.
86' – Brennan slid a pass to Miller, who made a nifty spin move to create some space and fired a low shot that went just wide of the left post. That was the final shot attempt of the match.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"We had a great crowd and a great atmosphere here at Cochrane tonight. It was awesome to get out here and actually play a real game against a real opponent."

"We got on them, we got our goal, and then I thought we let off a little bit. I think we were a little bit vulnerable at times. But, we got the shutout in front of a good crowd, and overall it was a good night."

"Chris and Moe are both big-time players. They train hard and they do all of the right things, and this is when they're at their best. Both of them made a lot of plays in addition to the goals. Chris hit the bar a couple of times, and Moe made a number of big defensive plays and was clean and sharp all night."

STATS

The Falcons outshot the Jaguars, 10-5. BGSU had two shots on goal, scoring on both, to IUPUI's one.
Brennan led the home side with three shot attempts, scoring on one and hitting the crossbar with each of the other two.
Seth Vang had three shots for the visitors, while Souza had the other two. Vang had IUPUI's lone shot on goal.
Mwembia had one save to earn the clean sheet.

FALCON NOTES

Freshman Zach Buescher was in the starting XI for the first match of his collegiate career. Fellow freshman Chris Sullivan came off the bench to make his BGSU debut as well.
BGSU is now unbeaten in the last 11 home matches. The Falcons are 7-0-4 since a 1-0 overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Oct. 3, 2015. Saturday's win over IUPUI was BG's seventh shutout in that 11-match span.
BG has outscored the opponents, 22-5, in that 11-match home unbeaten streak.
In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is now 8-0-1 since Nichols assumed the helm, and the Falcons have outscored the opponents by a 23-1 count in those nine matches.
BGSU is 15-0-2 when scoring two goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are now 45-4-6 in such matches in the Nichols Era.
BG now leads the series with IUPUI, 4-1-2, and the Falcons are unbeaten in the last six meetings with the Jaguars.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES AND NUMBERS

Both Brennan and Mustafa had the first three-point game of their respective collegiate careers on Saturday night.
Mustafa matched his point total for all of last year. Saturday's goal was his first game-winning goal as a Falcon.
Mustafa's goal was the second of his career. His first goal as a Falcon also came on August 26, also came at the north end of Cochrane Stadium, and also came against IUPUI. He headed home a cross for the final goal of last year's season opener, a 4-0 Falcon win over the Jaguars.
Brennan now has 15 career points on six goals and three assists. He leads all current Falcons in goals and points.
Like Mustafa, Brennan scored a goal vs. IUPUI for the second-straight season. And, like Mustafa, Brennan's goal in the 2016 meeting was his first as a Falcon.
Robertson's assist vs. the Jaguars was the fifth of his career. He is BGSU's active career leader in that category. Robertson now has nine career points.
Souahy's assist vs. IUPUI gives him four career assists and 10 points as a Falcon.
Mwembia's shutout was the ninth of his 19-match BGSU career. His career goals-against average dropped to 0.69.

UP NEXT

The Falcons now prepare for a Tuesday (Aug. 29) matchup with Cleveland State University. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane.

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.

ERIC NICHOLS POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

CHRIS BRENNAN POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

MOE MUSTAFA POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

TWEETS

FULL TIME: pic.twitter.com/DzgnRrqTqt
— BGSU Men's Soccer (@BGSUmenssoccer) August 27, 2017

The best post match tradition in college soccer as @BGSUmenssoccer @FalconFanatics1 @CochraneCrazies and @cityofbg sing Ay Ziggy together pic.twitter.com/6SMFgceDr5
— BGSU Screech Team (@BGScreechTeam) August 27, 2017

We dug through the Jerseys and finally pulled out #8 to match his favorite!??????@alexissay8 pic.twitter.com/BXgH42ouyq
— Kendra German (@kbay97) August 27, 2017

Home Opener did not disappoint! pic.twitter.com/XikNroP3Ie
— Max Wayne (@MaxWayne7win) August 27, 2017

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Chris Brennan

Moe Mustafa

Tate Robertson

Alexis Souahy

Players Mentioned

Chris Brennan

Zach Buescher

Brad Macomber

Robert Miller III

Moe Mustafa

Anthony Mwembia

Peter Pugliese

Tate Robertson

Alexis Souahy

Chris Sullivan

Players Mentioned

Chris Brennan

Zach Buescher

Brad Macomber

Robert Miller III

Moe Mustafa

Anthony Mwembia

Peter Pugliese

Tate Robertson

Alexis Souahy

Chris Sullivan

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