Falcons Head to Akron for MAC Tourney Semifinals

FALCONS at AKRON – Friday, Nov. 15
MAC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL
6:00 p.m. | FirstEnergy Stadium | Akron, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN+
• Live Stats: GoZips.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 at BGSUFalcons.com on match day

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UP NEXT IN FALCON FUTBOL
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after picking up an overtime win to begin Mid-American Conference Tournament action, heads to Northeast Ohio for the semifinal round Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, the number-four seed for the MAC Tournament, will face the top-seeded University of Akron on Friday evening (Nov. 15). First touch is set for 6:00 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium.

• The BGSU-Akron matchup is the second semifinal of the day in the Rubber City, as second-seeded Western Michigan will face sixth-seeded West Virginia at 3:00 p.m. The survivors of Friday's two contests will return to FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 17) for the league tournament championship match.

FRIDAY PARKING
• Fans attending Friday's semifinal matches at Akron are asked to park in the following lots (highlighted in purple on the "FRIDAY PARKING" map at right) in order to avoid lot restrictions and parking fees with basketball games on the day at James A. Rhodes Arena; Lot 9 (surface lot behind InfoCision Stadium at Corner of Spicer & E. Exchange Streets) or Lot 36 (Parking Deck off of E. Exchange Street).

FIVE FASCINATING FALCON FACTS: THE FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• The Falcons posted a 2-1 win over Northern Illinois in overtime on Tuesday night (Nov. 12) at a frigid Cochrane Stadium. Freshman Michael Montemurri scored just seven minutes in, and after the Huskies tied the contest midway through the first half, neither team scored until junior Achille Robin converted a penalty kick in the 95th minute. Senior Anthony Mwembia made eight saves in the victory.

• BGSU has advanced to the semifinal round of the MAC Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. However, Tuesday's win was BG's first MAC Tournament victory in five years, since another overtime win (3-2 over West Virginia in the 2014 semifinals at Akron).

• The NIU match marked BGSU's first MAC Tournament contest at Cochrane Stadium in 12 years, since another quarterfinal-round match vs. NIU, in 2007. The Falcons are 5-3-0 in home tourney matches through the years, and BGSU is 6-5-0 in the quarterfinal round.

• BG qualified for the MAC Tournament in each of the first 15 years in which it was held (1994-2008), and also advanced to the tourney every other year over the past decade (2010, '12, '14, '16 and '18).

• The Falcons won three-straight league tourney titles from 1995-97, part of a run in which the Brown and Orange advanced to the championship match in five consecutive seasons between 1994 and '98. BG got back to the final in 2000, 2002, 2003 and most recently in 2014.

(Note: For many more fun Falcon facts, click on the PDF version of these notes near the top of the page)

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters Friday's Akron match with an all-time record of 19-17-0 in the MAC Tournament. Following the win over Northern Illinois, the Falcons are now 7-5-0 in quarterfinal-round matches.

• The Falcons are 9-6-0 in semifinal-round matchups, and BGSU is 3-6-0 in the championship match through the years.

• BG has a record of 5-2-0 in overtime contests in the league tournament.

• BG is now 6-3-0 at Cochrane Stadium in MAC Tournament action. The Falcons are 4-6-0 in true road matches, and BG is 9-8-0 in neutral-site games.

• Tuesday's match marked the third time the Falcons have hosted a MAC Tournament quarterfinal-round match, and all three have come against NIU. BG downed the Huskies, 2-1, in the 2003 tournament, but NIU picked up a 3-0 victory over the Falcons in '07.

• All three of those home contests vs. the Huskies came with BGSU as the tournament's number-four seed and NIU as the fifth seed for the tourney.

• BGSU is 4-4-0 all-time when playing a MAC Tournament match as the number-four seed. The Falcons are 3-5-0 in matches against the number-one seed.

FALCONS VS. AKRON IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters Friday's match with a record of 3-6-0 vs. Akron in the MAC Tournament. The 2019 season marks the fourth time the teams have met in the semifinal round.

• BGSU won the first three league tourney meetings with the Zips, but Akron has captured the last six matchups. Most recently, UA got a late goal to down the Falcons, 2-1, in the 2014 championship match at FirstEnergy Stadium.

• BGSU is 0-1-0 in home matches, 1-3-0 in road contests and 2-2-0 in neutral-site meetings with the Zips in the league tourney. The Falcons are 0-1 in the quarterfinals, 1-2 in semifinal-round meetings and 2-3 in the final against Akron over the years.

FALCONS. ZIPS. TOURNEY TIME.
(BGSU's meetings with Akron in the league tourney)
Year Seeds* Round Site Result
1994 3-2   Semis Away W 1-0
1995 2-1   Final N (Kalamazoo, Mich.) W 2-0
1997 3-1   Final N (Oxford, Ohio) W 1-0
1998 4-1   Final Away L 1-4
2002 1-2   Final Home L 1-4
2004 7-2   Quarters N (Kalamazoo, Mich.) L 0-1
2006 6-2   Semis N (DeKalb, Ill.) L 2-8
2012 4-1   Semis Away L 0-2
2014 3-1   Final Away L 1-2
* BG's seed listed first, then UA's seed

THE OPPONENT
• Akron is 6-9-2 on the season, but the Zips went 4-0-1 in MAC play to capture the league regular season title. After a 1-8-1 start to the season, UA is 5-1-1 over the last seven matches. The Zips enter Friday's matchup on a two-game winning streak, with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Northern Illinois and a 1-0 victory at West Virginia to close the regular season. Akron is 5-2-1 at home and 1-7-1 on the road this season. David Egbo leads the Zips with seven goals and 18 points on the year. In goal, Tor Saunders has played in 11 matches, including three MAC contests. He has 27 saves and a 1.43 GAA. Joe Bowles has made six appearances (two in the MAC) and has 18 stops and a GAA of 0.91. Last year, the Zips went 1-2-1 in conference play, finishing fourth in the regular-season standings. But, Akron won the MAC Tournament, then picked up five-straight wins in the NCAA Tournament to advance all the way to the national championship match. The 2018 Zips finished 15-7-2 overall.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Akron, 48-8-5, in the all-time series, but the teams' last four contests all have been decided by one goal or less. A month ago, the Zips captured a 2-1 win in Akron in the MAC opener for both teams. In 2018, the teams battled to a scoreless draw at Cochrane. BGSU's last win over UA was a 1-0 decision at home late in the 2002 season.

DOWN THE ROAD...
• The BGSU-UA survivor will return to FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 17), meeting either Western Michigan or West Virginia in the MAC Tournament's championship match. That contest will begin at 1:00 p.m.

• Sunday's winner earns the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

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Michael Montemurri

Anthony Mwembia

Achille Robin

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