Falcons Slay Dragons Behind Mustafa's Brace

Friday, September 1

Philadelphia, PA

7:00 PM ET

Bowling Green State University

3-0-0

Drexel

0-2-0

Bowling Green

Drexel

Moe Mustafa v IUPUI - Aug 26 2017 - Isaiah Vazquez photo

September 01, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BGSU downs Drexel, 3-0, to remain unbeaten

By: PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

Junior Moe Mustafa scored two goals as the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team downed Drexel University, 3-0, on Friday night (Sept. 1) in Philadelphia. The non-conference match was held at Vidas Field.

Senior Alexis Souahy also scored as the Falcons improved to 3-0-0 on the young season.

At the other end of the pitch, sophomore Anthony Mwembia made six saves to earn his third shutout in as many matches this fall.

LINKS
FINAL STATS: PDF
Brennan Named to TDS Team of the Week
BGSU Men's Soccer Release/Notes - PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer: Schedule | Roster | Record Book
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NOTE OF THE NIGHT

The Falcons scored three goals on the road for the first time in nearly 22 months, since a 3-2 win at Wright State on Oct. 27, 2015. And, Friday marked the first time BGSU won by three goals in a true road game in nearly six years, since a 4-1 win at Detroit on Sept. 21, 2011.

FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

4' – The first shot of the match for either team resulted in a goal, as Mustafa scored off of a cross from sophomore Chris Brennan. Brennan, on the right side of the box, turnstiled a would-be defender and played a low cross into the middle of the box, where Mustafa knocked it home from close range at the 3:54 mark.
10' – A cross by senior Brad Macomber found the head of Brennan, who redirected it toward junior Peter Pugliese. Pugliese put his ensuing shot just wide of the mark.
11' – A minute later, sophomore Robert Miller III laid the ball into the path of the onrushing Tate Robertson. The junior's blast from the top of the 18-yard box went just high.
18' – A ball into the box at the other end found Drexel's Laolu Daranijo. His header was on target – Drexel's first shot of the match – but it was hit directly at Mwembia.
21' – Robertson's free kick found Mustafa, who headed the ball back across the box. Souahy was at the other end, but his effort sailed high.
24' – DU had a dangerous-looking chance, as a diagonal ball from the left side found the head of Erik Alexandersson near the far post. His shot was on frame, headed toward the lower-right corner, but Mwembia grabbed it on the short hop.
39' – Mwembia made a stellar save on a shot by Daranijo from point-blank range. Off of an Anthony Amore corner kick, the ball was headed to Daranijo, who hit a turnaround one-timer, but Mwembia was in position to make the reaction save. The teams combined for three more shots over the final five-plus minutes, but none were on target.

SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS

54' – Mwembia's second save in a three-minute span, this time against Alexandersson, kept the Falcons in front by a goal. BG would soon double that lead.
56' – Peter Pugliese played a diagonal ball from the left side of the pitch into the penalty area. The ball found the head of the onrushing Mustafa, who put his shot back toward the left side of the net. DU goalkeeper Jacob Jordan was able to get a glove on the ball, but was unable to keep it from crossing the goal line. The two-goal match was the first of Mustafa's career.
59' – The Falcons had a whopping eight shots in a span of just over four minutes, with the second and seventh of those shots finding the net. After a corner kick by freshman Chris Sullivan, Brennan played a ball across the box from the left side. The cross found the feet of freshman Zach Buescher, and Buescher's shot from the right side hit the near goalpost and caromed into the path of Souahy in the center of the six-yard box. The defender banged it home for the Falcons' third goal of the night.
70' – Freshman Marshall Mast played a low ball to junior Dominic Grida, stationed on the 18-yard line, just left of the goal. Grida's ensuing shot forced Jordan to make a spectacular leaping save, as the DU 'keeper tipped the ball over the crossbar. Off of the ensuing corner kick, Souahy's shot went just wide.
86' – After a flick-on header from Souahy, Jordan made a nifty save to deny Sullivan and keep it a three-goal game.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"Playing on the road is difficult, so I was really pleased with the professional approach the guys took with the preparations for this game. We were dialed in from the opening whistle, and with the exception of a few flat periods, it was a solid performance."

"Moe is going to get some praise for this goals, but I think he had an even bigger impact defensively. He was massive for us, and along with Alexis (Souahy) and Tom (Wrobel) really held things together."

"We didn't give up a lot of chances, but the ones we did were dangerous and they were at key moments in the game. We relied on Anthony (Mwembia) to make big plays to keep us in control of the match, and he did just that."

STATISTICS

The Falcons had 21 shots, including 10 on goal, in the win. BGSU held a 21-12 advantage in total shot attempts and a 10-6 lead in shots on goal.
Mwembia, as mentioned, made six saves for the second-straight game.
Jordan had seven stops for the Dragons.
A total of 12 different Falcons had at least one shot attempt. Mustafa, Robertson and Souahy each had three total shots and two shots on goal, with Mustafa scoring on both SOG.

FALCON NOTES

The Falcons are off to a 3-0 start for the fourth-straight season.
BGSU is 17-0-2 when scoring two goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are now 47-4-6 in such matches in the Eric Nichols Era.
BGSU has posted three consecutive shutouts for the first time since the 2014 season. That year, the Falcons had two such streaks, blanking IUPUI, Findlay and Niagara to begin the year, and St. Bonaventure, IPFW and Cleveland State from Sept. 28-Oct. 7. The Falcons have not had four-straight shutouts in almost two decades, since November of 1997.
Friday's win marked the first time BGSU scored three goals in a match in just under a year, since a 3-0 home win over Marshall last season (Sept. 2, 2016).
As mentioned earlier, Friday marked the first time the Falcons scored three goals on the road since a 3-2 win at Wright State on Oct. 27, 2015. It was BG's first three-goal margin in true road game in nearly six years, since a 4-1 win at Detroit on Sept. 21, 2011.
BG now leads the series with Drexel, 2-0-0, with both wins coming by shutout. The Falcons posted a 1-0 win over the Dragons two years ago at Cochrane Stadium.
The Falcons now are 7-2-2 all-time in matches played in the state of Pennsylvania.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES AND NUMBERS

Junior Moe Mustafa had the first two-goal game of his collegiate career. He had three points in his first two years with the Falcons, but has seven points through three games this season.
Mustafa's three goals this season have included a pair of game-winning scores, vs. IUPUI and Drexel.
Mustafa now has 10 career points, becoming the fifth current Falcon to reach double digits in that category.
Senior Alexis Souahy's goal at Drexel was his first of the season and the fourth of his career. He now has 12 career points at BGSU, ranking second among active Falcons in that category.
BGSU's active career scoring leader is sophomore Chris Brennan. After recording the assist on Mustafa's first goal of the night, Brennan now has 16 career points on six goals and four assists.
Freshman Zach Buescher had an assist on Souahy's goal, for the first point of his BGSU career.
Junior Peter Pugliese's assist on Mustafa's second goal was his first of the year and the fourth of his BGSU career.
Sophomore Anthony Mwembia's shutout was the 11th of his 21-match BGSU career. His career goals-against average dropped to 0.63.
Freshmen Erik Horvath and Vinny Worner each saw the first action of their respective collegiate careers. Horvath played 14 minutes and Worner five against the Dragons

UP NEXT

The Falcons remain in Philadelphia to face Penn on Sunday night (Sept. 3). That match will begin at 7:00 p.m. Then, BGSU returns home for the team's lone afternoon match at Cochrane Stadium this season. The Brown and Orange will face Western Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 9, in a 12:00 p.m. start.

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.

GOALLLL!!!!! MOE MUSTAFA AGAIN!!!! P. Pugliese sends a cross into the box that finds the noggin of Mustafa. Falcons now lead 2-0 pic.twitter.com/6BSDqfk0rA
— BGSU Men's Soccer (@BGSUmenssoccer) September 2, 2017