Falcons Head to Philly

FALCONS at DREXEL – Friday, September 1
7:00 p.m. | Vidas Field | Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stats & Video: DrexelDragons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer

FALCONS at PENN – Sunday, September 3
7:00 p.m. | Rhodes Field | Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stats: PennAthletics.com | Video: Ivy League Network (fee required)
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.

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LINKS
This Week's Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
BGSU-Cleveland State Recap, Stats, etc.
Brennan Named to TDS Team of the Week
BGSU-IUPUI Recap, Stats, etc.
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!

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UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after posting a pair of home shutout wins, prepares to go on the road for the first time in the 2017 regular season. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for two contests, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 1) matchup with Drexel University. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Vidas Field.

Then, on Sunday (Sept. 3), the Orange and Brown will head to Rhodes Field to face the University of Pennsylvania. That game also will begin at 7:00 p.m.

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.

FALCONS IN PENNSYLVANIA
• The Falcons have an all-time record of 6-2-2 in matches played in the state of Pennsylvania, including a 3-2-1 record since Eric Nichols took the helm. All six of the previous matches in the Nichols Era took place in Western Pa., as BGSU played in tournaments hosted by Duquesne (2009 and 2014) and Pittsburgh (2011).

• BGSU has never played a match in the city of Philadelphia. In fact, the last time the Falcons ventured to the eastern part of Pennsylvania was in 1991, when BG went 1-0-1 in a tournament hosted by Lehigh.

• Other games in the Keystone State saw the Brown and Orange post one-goal road wins over Penn State in 1987 and Pittsburgh in 2006.

FALCONS FROM PENNSYLVANIA
• There is one Pennsylvania native on the Falcons' current roster. Sophomore Robert Miller III is a York, Pa., native, and played for the PA Classics Academy team.

A QUARTET OF SENIORS NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
A quartet of seniors will serve as captains for the 2017 Falcons. That group is comprised of Prayag Jina, Brad Macomber, Keaton Reynolds and Alexis Souahy.

BRENNAN EARNS A NATIONAL HONOR
On Tuesday (Aug. 29), sophomore Chris Brennan was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Brennan was one of 11 players across the country to earn the honor. The Copley native figured in the scoring of both BG goals in the season-opening win over IUPUI, with a goal and an assist.

A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU heads to Philadelphia with a 2-0-0 record on the young season. The Falcons posted 2-0 wins over IUPUI and Cleveland State at Cochrane Stadium.

• The Falcons are off to a 2-0 start for the fourth-straight season.

• The Falcons are unbeaten in the last 12 home matches, having gone 8-0-4 at Cochrane Stadium since a 1-0 overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Oct. 3, 2015. The win over CSU was BGSU's eighth shutout in that 12-match span. BG has outscored the opponents, 24-5, during that home unbeaten streak.

• BG posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time in nearly a year, since wins over Marshall and Cleveland State on Sept. 2-7, 2016. The Falcons have not recorded three-straight shutouts since the 2014 season.

• BGSU has won eight consecutive matches played in the month of August. The Falcons have not suffered a loss in August since a 2-1 setback to Michigan State in the second match of the 2012 season.

• 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, with seven clean sheets.

• In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is now 8-0-1 since Nichols assumed the helm, having outscored the opponents, 23-1, in those nine contests.

• Both junior Moe Mustafa and sophomore Chris Brennan had the first three-point games of their respective collegiate careers in the IUPUI match. Each player had a goal and an assist in the win.

• Freshman Chris Sullivan joined that duo three days later, with both his first collegiate goal and his initial collegiate assist against Cleveland State.

• Brennan, Mustafa and Sullivan are tied for the team scoring lead with three points apiece. Junior Tate Robertson and sophomore Robert Miller III each have two points on the young season.

• Mustafa had the first game-winning goal of his BGSU career in the IUPUI match, while Miller had his first collegiate GWG three days later vs. CSU. Robertson had an assist in each game, and leads BGSU in that category.

• Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia has a pair of shutouts to begin the 2017 season, and now has kept 10 clean sheets in 20 career matches. He has a goals-against average of 0.00 in 2017 (obviously) and a career GAA of 0.66.

• Both Mwembia and Robertson were listed in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Conference Top-20 rankings. Mwembia was listed as the 10th-ranked player in the MAC, while Robertson was ranked 12th in the league.

• BGSU is ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region, according to the first United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) ranking of the season, which was released Tuesday (Aug. 29). BG was listed in those rankings in every week of the 2016 campaign.

• BGSU is now 16-0-2 when scoring two or more goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are 46-4-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.

SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BROWN AND ORANGE
• 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 can still be found in attendance at the field that bears his name for many 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 weekend in Philadelphia with a record of 64-66-24 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record over the last seven-plus 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 – welcomed back a total of 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team.

• Anthony Mwembia was an All-MAC First-Team selection in his freshman campaign, while Tate Robertson earned All-MAC Second-Team honors.

• Chris Brennan is the Falcons' top returning scorer from last fall. His 12 points included five goals in his inaugural season, while Robert Miller III scored eight points and Robertson and Alexis Souahy five apiece.

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 19-4-5 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, 66-18, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season. BG has scored at least two goals in 20 of the 29 matches in that time, with three or more goals in 10 of those games.

SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel enters the weekend with a record of 0-1-0. The Dragons dropped a 3-0 decision to visiting St. John's on Friday (Aug. 25). Coach Doug Hess, in his eighth season, welcomed back a total of 20 players, including seven starters, from a year ago. The 2016 edition of the Dragons went 1-14-2 overall and 0-8-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play.

A LOOK AT PENN
Penn opens the 2017 season on Friday, facing Monmouth on the road before returning home to meet the Falcons two nights later. Coach Brian "Rudy" Fuller enters his 20th season at the helm. He welcomes back goalkeeper Etan Mabourakh, who started 15 of the Quakers' 17 matches a year ago. Mabourakh had two shutouts and a 1.47 GAA in 2016. Last year, Penn finished with an overall record of 5-6-6 and an Ivy League ledger of 3-3-1.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Drexel, 1-0-0, in the all-time series between the teams. The lone prior matchup was a 1-0 BGSU win on Sept. 3, 2015, at Cochrane. The only goal came on a Jacob Roth penalty kick midway through the first half.

• The Falcons have never met Penn in men's soccer.

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the trip to Philly, the Falcons return home to face Western Illinois University, in BG's lone home afternoon match of the season. The Falcons and Leathernecks will meet on Saturday, Sept. 9, in a 12:00 p.m. start at Cochrane.

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