Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, October 13
DeKalb, IL
7:00 PM CT (8:00 PM ET)
Bowling Green State University
at
Northern Illinois
Naperville, Ill., native Chris Sullivan & the Falcons face NIU Saturday evening
Falcons Head to DeKalb as MAC Schedule Rolls Along
October 11, 2018 | Men's Soccer
BGSU faces the Huskies on Saturday night
FALCONS at NORTHERN ILLINOIS – Saturday, Oct. 13
• 7:00 p.m. CT (8:00 p.m. ET) | NIU Soccer Complex | DeKalb, Ill.
• Video: NIU All-Access | Live Stats: NIUHuskies.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
MATCH DAY / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• 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
BGSU MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
This Week's BGSU Notes
2018 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
The Opponents: NIU
2018 Men's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, looking to extend a three-match unbeaten streak, returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons venture to DeKalb, Ill., for a Saturday (Oct. 13) matchup with Northern Illinois University. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) at the NIU Soccer Complex.
CHARLIE MAGIC (also titled, "YOU GET A PK, AND YOU GET A PK, AND...")
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are unbeaten in the last three matches. BGSU's most recent contest was a 3-2 overtime win over IUPUI Tuesday night (Oct. 9), in a somewhat surreal match in downtown Indianapolis.
• Junior Charlie Maciejewski scored the winning goal with just 3.5 seconds left in the first scheduled overtime period, while senior Tate Robertson and sophomore Chris Sullivan also found the back of the net in the win. Robertson had a three-point night, with an assist on Sullivan's goal.
• Robertson's goal came on a penalty kick, as – believe it or not – a total of four PKs were awarded in the match. Both of IUPUI's goals came from the spot.
AMAZING ANTHONY AGGRAVATES AKRON
• Three days before the IUPUI match, the Falcons opened the conference portion of the schedule with a scoreless draw vs. Akron at Cochrane Stadium on Saturday night (Oct. 6). The match included a 59-minute weather delay late in the first half.
• Junior Anthony Mwembia made a career-high 10 saves, including several spectacular stops, en route to a shutout vs. the Zips. The clean sheet was his second of the season and the 17th of his career. Mwembia earned honorable mention on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after the UA match.
TWO FOR TATE
• The Falcons' current unbeaten streak began with a 2-1 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Cochrane Stadium. Senior Tate Robertson scored two goals just over seven minutes apart in the first half of that win. It was the first two-goal match of Robertson's career.
• For his efforts, Robertson was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 1. Then, 24 hours later, he was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week, earning that honor for the third time in his BGSU career.
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU enters the NIU match with a record of 3-5-3 on the season, and the Falcons are 0-0-1 in MAC play. BG, as mentioned, is coming off of a 3-2 win at IUPUI on Tuesday night (Oct. 9).
• The Falcons' current unbeaten streak also includes a 2-1 win over Valparaiso (Sept. 29) and a scoreless draw vs. Akron in the MAC opener on Saturday (Oct. 6).
• The Falcons are 1-2-2 at home and 2-3-1 on the road. BGSU has scored 13 goals and allowed 18 this season to date.
• The Falcons have scored two or more goals in three of the last four contests, including the wins over Valpo and IUPUI and a 3-2 overtime loss at Purdue Fort Wayne (a team ranked eighth in the country in RPI at that time).
• BG began the season with a pair of one-goal losses to Northern Kentucky (3-2)and Penn State (1-0), and BG then battled Wright State to a scoreless draw on August 31 before picking up a 3-2 win at Western Illinois two days later.
• The Wright State result has looked more and more impressive with each passing day, as the Raiders are now 9-1-2 on the season, with the only loss coming on the road against No. 6 Virginia. WSU is ranked No. 19 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer poll and No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Raiders, shut out by the BG defense, are averaging 2.90 goals per match in the other 11 contests.
• No. 3 Michigan State broke open a close match with two goals in the last 10 minutes to down the Falcons, 3-0, at Cochrane (Sept. 7). Then, BG battled Ohio State to a 1-1, double-OT draw in Columbus (Sept. 11). The Falcons outshot the Buckeyes, 16-5, after halftime, and BG tied the match on sophomore Zach Buescher's goal with just nine seconds to go.
• The Falcons' match at Wofford, scheduled for Sept. 15, was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence and the weather forecast in the Carolinas. BG then lost at Cleveland State (Sept. 18) before falling at PFW on an overtime penalty kick.
• Senior Tate Robertson leads the Falcons with 12 points, and has been involved in the scoring of nine of BGSU's 13 goals this fall. Robertson has a BG-best three goals and a team-leading six assists, and has had the primary assist on five of the Falcons' goals.
• Sophomores Chris Sullivan and Vinny Worner have scored six and five points, respectively, on the year. Sullivan has two goals and two assists, while Worner had a goal and three helpers.
• Senior Ebenezer Ackon has four points on the year, and has two goals to tie Worner for second on the team in that category. Ackon's two goals came just 75 seconds apart in the NKU match. Classmate Peter Pugliese also has four points, all coming on assists. He ranks second on the Falcons in the assists department.
• Four Falcons – Buescher, juniors Chris Brennan and Charlie Maciejewski and freshman Jensen Lukacsko – have three points apiece.
• Junior Anthony Mwembia has played all 11 matches in goal, and has 35 total saves, two shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.53.
• In BG's 11 matches, the Falcons have been shut out five times, scored one goal on one occasion, and scored two or more goals five times.
• Five different Falcons have started all 11 games this fall. That list includes Buescher, Mwembia, Peter Pugliese, Robertson and Sullivan. A total of 13 different players have started at least six matches to date.
• Mwembia has been on the pitch for every second of every match so far, while Buescher has played 1049 of the 1062-plus minutes. Sullivan (1014) and Robertson (1000) each have played at least 1000 minutes this fall as well, with Mustafa (981) and Worner (942) close behind.
TWO GOALS (USUALLY) DOES THE TRICK
• Prior to this season, the Falcons had a record of 50-4-6 when scoring two goals in a match in the Eric Nichols Era. BGSU has lost twice this year when doing so, however, and the Falcons are 3-2-0 in such matches this season to date.
• The season opener vs. Northern Kentucky marked the first time BGSU had lost when scoring two or more goals in a match since an OT loss to Duquesne in 2014, and was the Falcons' first such loss in regulation since the Belmont match of 2011.
• BG found the back of the net three times en route to victory at WIU, but suffered a 3-2 setback in Fort Wayne. After scoring at least twice in the wins over Valparaiso and IUPUI, BGSU is now 53-6-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BROWN AND ORANGE FOR YOUR BROADCAST, WEB STREAM, ARTICLE OR MYSPACE PAGE
• The 2018 season marks the 54th 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.
• Eric Nichols, now in his 10th 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 coached the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the NIU match with a record of 72-80-28 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record since the start of the 2010 campaign.
• Nichols and his staff – Zach Mason, Sean Teepen and Oliver Harris – welcomed back 13 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's team. BG finished the 2017 season with a 7-9-1 overall record and a MAC ledger of 1-3-1. Five of the team's setbacks came by one goal on the road to nationally-ranked opponents.
• Nichols returned a total of four players who started at least 16 of the Falcons' 17 matches last year, including juniors Chris Brennan and Anthony Mwembia. Brennan led a balanced scoring attack with five goals and 14 points a season ago, en route to All-MAC Second-Team honors. Mwembia played every second of every match in goal and had a 1.04 GAA, a saves percentage of .780 and seven shutouts. He was named to the All-Ohio Team.
• Senior Tate Robertson started every match last fall, and finished second on the team in scoring. Robertson's 11 points included a BG-best seven assists in 2017.
• In addition to the aforementioned trio, seniors Moe Mustafa and Peter Pugliese, junior Tom Wrobel and sophomores Zach Buescher and Chris Sullivan each made at least 11 starts a year ago.
THE OPPONENT
• Northern Illinois enters the BGSU with an overall record of 7-4-0 on the year, and the Huskies have more than doubled last year's victory total. NIU, after a 7-2-0 start, is looking to snap a two-match losing streak, after falling on the road vs. No. 13 Portland (3-0) and in the MAC opener against SIUE (3-2 in OT). Twin brothers Nick Markanich and Anthony Markanich are tied for the team scoring lead with 10 points apiece, while three of their teammates have nine points each. In goal, Konrad Dziedzic has played in 10 of the 11 matches, and has five shutouts and a 1.18 GAA. Last year, in Ryan Swan's first season at the Huskie helm, NIU went 3-11-1 overall and 0-4-1 in MAC play.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Northern Illinois, 17-11-1, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Falcons have captured the last two meetings. BGSU downed Northern by a 3-1 score on Senior Night at Cochrane last season, and the Falcons picked up a 1-0 win in DeKalb two years ago. After dropping six-straight meetings with NIU from 2007-11, the Falcons are now 4-1-1 vs. the Huskies in the last six meetings. BG is 8-7-0 at home, 3-9-1 on the road and 0-1-0 in neutral-site meetings with NIU through the years.
DOWN THE ROAD...
• Following the NIU matchup, the Falcons will return home to face Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 20. That match begins at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane, and admission is free to all BGSU soccer regular-season home matches.
• After closing the non-league schedule at Cincinnati (Oct. 23), the Falcons will face West Virginia in Morgantown (Oct. 26) before ending the regular season by facing SIUE (Nov. 3) at Cochrane Stadium.
• 7:00 p.m. CT (8:00 p.m. ET) | NIU Soccer Complex | DeKalb, Ill.
• Video: NIU All-Access | Live Stats: NIUHuskies.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
MATCH DAY / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• 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
BGSU MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
This Week's BGSU Notes
2018 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
The Opponents: NIU
2018 Men's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, looking to extend a three-match unbeaten streak, returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons venture to DeKalb, Ill., for a Saturday (Oct. 13) matchup with Northern Illinois University. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) at the NIU Soccer Complex.
CHARLIE MAGIC (also titled, "YOU GET A PK, AND YOU GET A PK, AND...")
• The Falcons, as mentioned, are unbeaten in the last three matches. BGSU's most recent contest was a 3-2 overtime win over IUPUI Tuesday night (Oct. 9), in a somewhat surreal match in downtown Indianapolis.
• Junior Charlie Maciejewski scored the winning goal with just 3.5 seconds left in the first scheduled overtime period, while senior Tate Robertson and sophomore Chris Sullivan also found the back of the net in the win. Robertson had a three-point night, with an assist on Sullivan's goal.
• Robertson's goal came on a penalty kick, as – believe it or not – a total of four PKs were awarded in the match. Both of IUPUI's goals came from the spot.
AMAZING ANTHONY AGGRAVATES AKRON
• Three days before the IUPUI match, the Falcons opened the conference portion of the schedule with a scoreless draw vs. Akron at Cochrane Stadium on Saturday night (Oct. 6). The match included a 59-minute weather delay late in the first half.
• Junior Anthony Mwembia made a career-high 10 saves, including several spectacular stops, en route to a shutout vs. the Zips. The clean sheet was his second of the season and the 17th of his career. Mwembia earned honorable mention on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after the UA match.
TWO FOR TATE
• The Falcons' current unbeaten streak began with a 2-1 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Cochrane Stadium. Senior Tate Robertson scored two goals just over seven minutes apart in the first half of that win. It was the first two-goal match of Robertson's career.
• For his efforts, Robertson was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 1. Then, 24 hours later, he was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week, earning that honor for the third time in his BGSU career.
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU enters the NIU match with a record of 3-5-3 on the season, and the Falcons are 0-0-1 in MAC play. BG, as mentioned, is coming off of a 3-2 win at IUPUI on Tuesday night (Oct. 9).
• The Falcons' current unbeaten streak also includes a 2-1 win over Valparaiso (Sept. 29) and a scoreless draw vs. Akron in the MAC opener on Saturday (Oct. 6).
• The Falcons are 1-2-2 at home and 2-3-1 on the road. BGSU has scored 13 goals and allowed 18 this season to date.
• The Falcons have scored two or more goals in three of the last four contests, including the wins over Valpo and IUPUI and a 3-2 overtime loss at Purdue Fort Wayne (a team ranked eighth in the country in RPI at that time).
• BG began the season with a pair of one-goal losses to Northern Kentucky (3-2)and Penn State (1-0), and BG then battled Wright State to a scoreless draw on August 31 before picking up a 3-2 win at Western Illinois two days later.
• The Wright State result has looked more and more impressive with each passing day, as the Raiders are now 9-1-2 on the season, with the only loss coming on the road against No. 6 Virginia. WSU is ranked No. 19 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer poll and No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Raiders, shut out by the BG defense, are averaging 2.90 goals per match in the other 11 contests.
• No. 3 Michigan State broke open a close match with two goals in the last 10 minutes to down the Falcons, 3-0, at Cochrane (Sept. 7). Then, BG battled Ohio State to a 1-1, double-OT draw in Columbus (Sept. 11). The Falcons outshot the Buckeyes, 16-5, after halftime, and BG tied the match on sophomore Zach Buescher's goal with just nine seconds to go.
• The Falcons' match at Wofford, scheduled for Sept. 15, was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence and the weather forecast in the Carolinas. BG then lost at Cleveland State (Sept. 18) before falling at PFW on an overtime penalty kick.
• Senior Tate Robertson leads the Falcons with 12 points, and has been involved in the scoring of nine of BGSU's 13 goals this fall. Robertson has a BG-best three goals and a team-leading six assists, and has had the primary assist on five of the Falcons' goals.
• Sophomores Chris Sullivan and Vinny Worner have scored six and five points, respectively, on the year. Sullivan has two goals and two assists, while Worner had a goal and three helpers.
• Senior Ebenezer Ackon has four points on the year, and has two goals to tie Worner for second on the team in that category. Ackon's two goals came just 75 seconds apart in the NKU match. Classmate Peter Pugliese also has four points, all coming on assists. He ranks second on the Falcons in the assists department.
• Four Falcons – Buescher, juniors Chris Brennan and Charlie Maciejewski and freshman Jensen Lukacsko – have three points apiece.
• Junior Anthony Mwembia has played all 11 matches in goal, and has 35 total saves, two shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.53.
• In BG's 11 matches, the Falcons have been shut out five times, scored one goal on one occasion, and scored two or more goals five times.
• Five different Falcons have started all 11 games this fall. That list includes Buescher, Mwembia, Peter Pugliese, Robertson and Sullivan. A total of 13 different players have started at least six matches to date.
• Mwembia has been on the pitch for every second of every match so far, while Buescher has played 1049 of the 1062-plus minutes. Sullivan (1014) and Robertson (1000) each have played at least 1000 minutes this fall as well, with Mustafa (981) and Worner (942) close behind.
TWO GOALS (USUALLY) DOES THE TRICK
• Prior to this season, the Falcons had a record of 50-4-6 when scoring two goals in a match in the Eric Nichols Era. BGSU has lost twice this year when doing so, however, and the Falcons are 3-2-0 in such matches this season to date.
• The season opener vs. Northern Kentucky marked the first time BGSU had lost when scoring two or more goals in a match since an OT loss to Duquesne in 2014, and was the Falcons' first such loss in regulation since the Belmont match of 2011.
• BG found the back of the net three times en route to victory at WIU, but suffered a 3-2 setback in Fort Wayne. After scoring at least twice in the wins over Valparaiso and IUPUI, BGSU is now 53-6-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BROWN AND ORANGE FOR YOUR BROADCAST, WEB STREAM, ARTICLE OR MYSPACE PAGE
• The 2018 season marks the 54th 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.
• Eric Nichols, now in his 10th 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 coached the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the NIU match with a record of 72-80-28 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record since the start of the 2010 campaign.
• Nichols and his staff – Zach Mason, Sean Teepen and Oliver Harris – welcomed back 13 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's team. BG finished the 2017 season with a 7-9-1 overall record and a MAC ledger of 1-3-1. Five of the team's setbacks came by one goal on the road to nationally-ranked opponents.
• Nichols returned a total of four players who started at least 16 of the Falcons' 17 matches last year, including juniors Chris Brennan and Anthony Mwembia. Brennan led a balanced scoring attack with five goals and 14 points a season ago, en route to All-MAC Second-Team honors. Mwembia played every second of every match in goal and had a 1.04 GAA, a saves percentage of .780 and seven shutouts. He was named to the All-Ohio Team.
• Senior Tate Robertson started every match last fall, and finished second on the team in scoring. Robertson's 11 points included a BG-best seven assists in 2017.
• In addition to the aforementioned trio, seniors Moe Mustafa and Peter Pugliese, junior Tom Wrobel and sophomores Zach Buescher and Chris Sullivan each made at least 11 starts a year ago.
THE OPPONENT
• Northern Illinois enters the BGSU with an overall record of 7-4-0 on the year, and the Huskies have more than doubled last year's victory total. NIU, after a 7-2-0 start, is looking to snap a two-match losing streak, after falling on the road vs. No. 13 Portland (3-0) and in the MAC opener against SIUE (3-2 in OT). Twin brothers Nick Markanich and Anthony Markanich are tied for the team scoring lead with 10 points apiece, while three of their teammates have nine points each. In goal, Konrad Dziedzic has played in 10 of the 11 matches, and has five shutouts and a 1.18 GAA. Last year, in Ryan Swan's first season at the Huskie helm, NIU went 3-11-1 overall and 0-4-1 in MAC play.
THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Northern Illinois, 17-11-1, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Falcons have captured the last two meetings. BGSU downed Northern by a 3-1 score on Senior Night at Cochrane last season, and the Falcons picked up a 1-0 win in DeKalb two years ago. After dropping six-straight meetings with NIU from 2007-11, the Falcons are now 4-1-1 vs. the Huskies in the last six meetings. BG is 8-7-0 at home, 3-9-1 on the road and 0-1-0 in neutral-site meetings with NIU through the years.
DOWN THE ROAD...
• Following the NIU matchup, the Falcons will return home to face Western Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 20. That match begins at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane, and admission is free to all BGSU soccer regular-season home matches.
• After closing the non-league schedule at Cincinnati (Oct. 23), the Falcons will face West Virginia in Morgantown (Oct. 26) before ending the regular season by facing SIUE (Nov. 3) at Cochrane Stadium.
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