Falcons Wrap Up Regular-Season Schedule vs. SIUE Saturday Night

FALCONS vs. SIUE – Saturday, Nov. 3
• 7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video: WBGU-TV | Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.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

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The Opponent: SIUE
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UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, in the hunt for a top-two finish in the Mid-American Conference standings, closes out the regular-season schedule with a home game this weekend. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, currently tied for second in the MAC, face SIUE on Saturday evening (Nov. 3). Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission to the Senior Night match is free.

SENIOR NIGHT
• Saturday will be Senior Night for the BGSU men's soccer program, with the Falcons' four seniors recognized in ceremonies prior to the match. That quartet includes Ebenezer Ackon, Moe Mustafa, Peter Pugliese and Tate Robertson.

• The Falcons are 4-3-2 in Senior Day/Night matches at Cochrane Stadium since Eric Nichols became head coach, and the Falcons are unbeaten in the last five such games, outscoring opponents by an 8-3 count in those five contests.
SENIOR DAY/NIGHT MATCHES, NICHOLS ERA
2017 Northern Illinois W 3-1
2016 Buffalo (2-OT) T 0-0
2015 West Virginia W 2-0
2014 Western Mich. (OT)   W 2-1
2013 Hartwick (2-OT) T 1-1
2012 West Virginia L 0-1
2011 Northern Illinois L 0-3
2010 #10 Michigan State   L 1-2
2009 Florida Atlantic W 3-0

MAC STANDINGS & REMAINING SCHEDULE
Team W-L-T Pts. Saturday
1. West Virginia (12-5-0) 4-0-0 12 @NIU
2. Bowling Green (5-6-4) 1-1-2   5 v SIUE
Western Michigan (9-5-3) 1-1-2   5 @Akron
4. Akron (7-6-2) 1-2-1 4 v WMU
SIUE (9-3-4) 1-2-1   4 @BGSU
6. Northern Illinois (8-7-1) 1-3-0   3 v WVU
teams earn 3 pts for a win, 1 for a tie – complete list of MAC results on page 7 of the PDF

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC RACE
• With just one match remaining for each MAC team, the Falcons' fate is unknown, to say the least. BGSU still could finish in second place, which would give the team a first-round bye for the conference tournament. The Falcons also could finish as low as a tie for fifth place, which would send the team on the road for that first round.

• While West Virginia has clinched the regular-season title and the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament, the other five teams are separated by just two points. BGSU is currently deadlocked for second place with Western MIchigan, as both the Falcons and Broncos have five points. Akron and SIUE have four points apiece, while Northern Illinois has three.

• For the first time in a decade, every school qualifies for the MAC Tournament. First-round (quarterfinal) matches will be held at campus sites on Tuesday (Nov. 6), with the third- and fourth-seeded teams hosting matches on that evening. The top-two seeds will earn byes. WVU, having clinched the regular-season championship, will host the semifinals (Friday, Nov. 9) and final (Sunday, Nov. 11).

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
• BGSU has come away with a result in two-thirds of this season's home matches, with a win and three ties so far in 2018. The Falcons went 5-2-1 at home last fall, and BG is now 11-4-8 at Cochrane Stadium since the start of the 2016 season. BGSU has outscored the opposition, 35-19, in those 23 matches.

• Since the start of the 2014 season, BGSU has a record of 23-8-9 at Cochrane. The Falcons went 6-2-0 at home in 2015 and 6-2-1 in '14.

• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 79-32, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season. BG has scored at least two goals in 24 of the 41 home matches in that time, with three or more goals in 11 of those games.

LOOKING TO START A NEW STREAK
• Last weekend's narrow 3-2 loss at West Virginia snapped the Falcons' unbeaten streak at six matches. BGSU had been 4-0-2 since a Sept. 22 loss on an overtime penalty kick at Purdue Fort Wayne.

• The win over the Falcons vaulted the Mountaineers to 16th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll, released Tuesday (Oct. 30). WVU had been receiving votes in the previous week's poll.

• The Falcons' six-match unbeaten streak was the program's longest in over two decades, since the 1997 team reeled off an 11-match unbeaten streak (all wins) which took that club all the way to the second round of the NCAA Championships.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
• The Falcons have scored at least two goals on eight occasions this year, the team's highest total since the 2015 season. However, the Falcons have lost three of those eight games.

• 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, including a 39-1-4 mark in the last six years (2011-17). But, the Falcons are now 5-3-0 when scoring two or more goals this fall.

• Overall, BG is now 55-7-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.

A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU enters the SIUE match with a record of 5-6-4 on the season, and the Falcons are 1-1-2 in MAC play. BG is tied for second place in the conference, with the second- through sixth-place teams separated by just two points.

• The Falcons, as mentioned, saw a six-match unbeaten streak snapped last weekend, with a 3-2 loss at West Virginia (Oct. 26). During that six-match stretch, four consecutive contests went to overtime, including a scoreless draw with Akron (Oct. 6) and road wins vs. IUPUI (3-2; Oct. 9) and Northern Illinois (2-1; Oct. 13). BG tied Western Michigan, 1-1, at Cochrane Stadium (Oct. 20) before going to Cincinnati and closing out the non-conference schedule with a 2-0 win (Oct. 23).

• The Falcons are 1-2-3 at home and 4-4-1 on the road. BGSU has scored 20 goals and allowed 23 this season to date. The Falcons have scored two or more goals in six of the last eight contests.

• BGSU began the season with a 1-5-2 record, but among those results was a scoreless draw with Wright State. That result has proven to be more impressive as time has passed, as the Raiders are now 12-1-2 and ranked 17th in the nation.

• Senior Tate Robertson leads the Falcons with 17 points, and has been involved in the scoring of 13 of BGSU's 20 goals this fall. Robertson has four goals, including two game-winning goals, and nine assists. He leads BG in assists and points, and is tied for the team lead in goals and GWG.

• Robertson had 12 points during the Falcons' six-game unbeaten streak.

• Senior Ebenezer Ackon has nine points on the year, including four goals to tie Robertson for the BG lead. Sophomores Chris Sullivan and Vinny Worner each have seven points, on two goals and three helpers apiece.

• Three Falcons – senior Moe Mustafa and Peter Pugliese and junior Charlie Maciejewski – each have five points this season. Mustafa scored just 3:45 into the WVU match, and now has two goals and an assist on the year.

• Maciejewski scored overtime winners in back-to-back road matches, vs. IUPUI and NIU. 'Charlile Magic' is the first Falcon with two Golden Goals in a season since 2014. All five of Pugliese's points have come on assists, as he ranks second on the team in that category.

• Junior Anthony Mwembia has played all 15 matches in goal, and has 49 total saves, three shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.43.

• In BG's 15 matches, the Falcons have been shut out five times, scored one goal on two occasions, and scored two or more goals eight times.

• Four different Falcons have started all 15 games this fall. That list includes Mwembia, Robertson, Sullivan and sophomore Zach Buescher. A total of 16 Falcons have made at least one start this season, and 13 different players have started at least nine matches to date.

• Mwembia has been on the pitch for every second of every match so far, while Buescher has played 1416 of the 1448-plus minutes. Sullivan (1396), Mustafa (1368) and Robertson (1363) are close behind.

THE OPPONENTS
• SIUE is 9-3-4 overall, and the Cougars are 1-2-1 in MAC play. With four points in the league, SIUE is tied with Akron for fourth place entering the final night of the regular season. The Cougars began the year with a 9-1-2 record, but are looking to snap a four-match winless streak. After draws vs. Western Michigan and Evansville, the Cougars lost at West Virginia to see an eight-match unbeaten streak snapped, and SIUE dropped a 1-0 home match to Akron on Saturday (Oct. 27). The Cougars are 6-2-1 at home and 3-1-3 on the road. Lachlan McLean and Jorge Gonzalez have combined for 17 of the team's 24 goals, as McLean has nine goals and 23 points, while Gonzalez has eight goals and 17 points. Noah Heim has played every second in goal, with six clean sheets and a GAA of just 1.11. Last year, coach Mario Sanchez and the Cougars went 7-10-1 overall and 2-3-0 in the MAC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail SIUE, 4-1-0, in the all-time series between the teams. BGSU's lone win came three years ago (Aug. 28, 2015), a 3-1 decision in the regular-season opener at Cochrane Stadium. Last year, in SIUE's first year in the MAC, the Cougars picked up a 3-1 win over BG in the MAC opener in Edwardsville. BG faced the Cougars twice in the late 1970s, and the teams also met in 1988. The Falcons are 1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site meetings with the Cougars.

DOWN THE ROAD...
• Following the SIUE match, the Falcons will begin MAC Tournament play on either Tuesday (Nov. 6 –quarterfinals) or Friday (Nov. 9 – semifinals), with opponent and site still to be determined.

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