Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, August 30
Pittsburgh, PA
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Duquesne
Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications
Falcons Begin 2019 Season in Western Pa. this Weekend
August 29, 2019 | Men's Soccer
BGSU NotesCoach Nichols Interview (Aug. 26)Duquesne NotesRMU Men's SoccerPhoto Gallery - Wednesday practice
BGSU heads to Duquesne, Robert Morris
FALCONS at DUQUESNE – Friday, Aug. 30
7:00 p.m. | Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Video: None | Live Stats: GoDuquesne.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
FALCONS at ROBERT MORRIS – Sunday, Sept. 1
1:00 p.m. | North Athletic Complex | Moon Township, Pa.
• Video: NECFrontRow.com (free)
• Live Stats: RMUColonials.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
 –––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins the 55th season in program history with a road trip to Pennsylvania. The regular season begins on Friday night (Aug. 30), when head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons face Duquesne at 7 p.m.  The Falcons will then travel to Moon Township, Pa., and face Robert Morris Sunday afternoon (Sept. 1) at 1 p.m.
• The Falcons will continue their season on the road when they'll travel to Evanston, Ill., to face a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents in Wisconsin and Northwestern on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, respectively
• BGSU's first home game will be on Friday, Sept. 13, when the Falcons play Ohio State at 7 p.m.  and BG will continue their home stretch with two other games that week.  All seven of the Falcons' home games will be played under the lights at 7 p.m.
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BGSUÂ MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
2019 BGSU Men's Soccer Releases/Notes
2019 Men's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
FALCONS TABBED FOR FIFTH
• The Falcons have been picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference race in 2019. The preseason poll, the result of voting by the conference's six head coaches, was released by the league office on Monday morning (Aug. 26).
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• For coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, being picked to place fifth in the league is nothing new. BGSU has been tabbed to finish fifth in the six-team loop twice in the last three years. In each of those seasons, 2016 and 2018, the Falcons wound up finishing second in the conference. BG had a combined MAC mark of 4-1-5 in those two years.
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START
• The Falcons will be looking to get the season off to a good start, something BG has made a habit of doing in the Eric Nichols Era. In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is 8-1-1 since Nichols assumed the helm. BG scored 17-straight goals in regular-season openers before SIUE, trailing the Falcons by three goals, scored midway through the second half of the 2015 lidlifter at Cochrane.
REGULAR-SEASON OPENERS, NICHOLS ERA
2009Â MARSHALLÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2010Â vs. Appalachian St. TÂ 0-0
2011Â #9 MICHIGANÂ Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2012Â ST. BONAVENTUREÂ Â Â WÂ 3-0
2013Â MALONEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 5-0
2014Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2015Â SIUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 3-1
2016Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 4-0
2017Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2018 Northern Kentucky  L 2-3
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The 2018 season marks the 55th 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 11th 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 2019 campaign with a record of 75-82-29 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 – Sean Teepen, Nate Kopunek and Mac Curran – welcome back 16 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. The Falcons finished with an overall record of 6-7-4 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 2-1-2, placing second in the league standings.
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• The Falcons have a record of 45-37-11 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 advancing 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. The 2016 team matched that nine-win total, going 9-6-4 overall and finishing MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger to place second in the conference.  The 2018 team finished the regular season with a record of 6-7-4 with a conference record of 2-1-2 marking the second time in three years the Falcons finished second in the league. Â
• The Falcons had a balanced scoring attack last fall, and BG returns seven players who scored at least one goal in 2018. Senior Charlie Maciejewski and juniors Chris Sullivan and Vinny Worner each had a pair of goals last year. Sullivan and Worner scored seven points apiece to tie for the scoring lead among returnees, while Maciejewski's two goals each came in overtime, as he recorded a 'Golden Goal' in back-to-back road victories.
• Junior Zach Buescher started all 17 matches, while senior Tom Wrobel, junior Achille Robin and sophomore Jensen Lukacsko each made at least 10 starts in 2018. Senior Chris Brennan, slowed by injury last fall, is the leading career scorer among BG returnees, with 11 goals and 29 points over his first three seasons in the Orange and Brown.
MWEMBIA MAKES HIS MARK
• Senior goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia is back after playing every minute of the 2019 season between the posts. Mwembia had a goals-against average of 1.38 last year, with a GAA of just 0.91 in MAC regular-season action. He has started 52 matches over the last three seasons.
HITTING THE ROAD
• BGSU opens the regular season with four-straight matches away from home, including three true road games and one neutral-site contest. The Falcons went 4-4-1 in true road games last season including going 3-1-0 in the last four regular-season road matches of the year. Â
THE OPPONENTS
• Duquesne went 4-9-3 last season including a 2-4-2 conference record and a 3-4-2 record at home.  Duquesne, which returns eight field players and a goalkeeper who started 10 or more matches last season, was picked to finish tenth in the annual preseason poll of Atlantic 10 men's soccer coaches. Â
• Robert Morris went 6-10-1 last season with a 4-4-0 conference record and a 3-5-0 record at home.  The Colonials were picked to finish sixth in the Northeast Conference in 2019. RMU hosts Oakland on Friday before facing BG Sunday.
THE SERIES
• BGSU and Duquesne are tied, 2-2-1, in the all-time series. The last meeting between the two sides was Sept. 27, 2017, when the Falcons got a 'Golden Goal' for a 1-0 victory at Cochrane Stadium. The last four matches in the series all have gone to double overtime. BG is 1-1-0 in home matches, 0-1-1 in road games and 1-0-0 in neutral-site matchups with the Dukes.
• BGSU and Robert Morris have only played once where the Colonials beat the Falcons 1-0 on Sept. 13, 2015, in a neutral-site meeting in Huntington, W.Va. In that match, the Falcons outshot the Colonials, 27-8, including a 19-3 margin in the second half.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
• The Falcons will continue their season on the road, heading to Evanston, Ill., to face two Big Ten opponents in Wisconsin and Northwestern next Friday (Sept. 6) and Sunday (Sept. 8), respectively. BG opens the home portion of the schedule on Friday, Sept. 13, vs. Ohio State.
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7:00 p.m. | Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Video: None | Live Stats: GoDuquesne.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
FALCONS at ROBERT MORRIS – Sunday, Sept. 1
1:00 p.m. | North Athletic Complex | Moon Township, Pa.
• Video: NECFrontRow.com (free)
• Live Stats: RMUColonials.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
 –––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins the 55th season in program history with a road trip to Pennsylvania. The regular season begins on Friday night (Aug. 30), when head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons face Duquesne at 7 p.m.  The Falcons will then travel to Moon Township, Pa., and face Robert Morris Sunday afternoon (Sept. 1) at 1 p.m.
• The Falcons will continue their season on the road when they'll travel to Evanston, Ill., to face a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents in Wisconsin and Northwestern on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, respectively
• BGSU's first home game will be on Friday, Sept. 13, when the Falcons play Ohio State at 7 p.m.  and BG will continue their home stretch with two other games that week.  All seven of the Falcons' home games will be played under the lights at 7 p.m.
Â
BGSUÂ MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
2019 BGSU Men's Soccer Releases/Notes
2019 Men's Soccer... Schedule | Roster | Media Guide/Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
FALCONS TABBED FOR FIFTH
• The Falcons have been picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference race in 2019. The preseason poll, the result of voting by the conference's six head coaches, was released by the league office on Monday morning (Aug. 26).
Â
• For coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, being picked to place fifth in the league is nothing new. BGSU has been tabbed to finish fifth in the six-team loop twice in the last three years. In each of those seasons, 2016 and 2018, the Falcons wound up finishing second in the conference. BG had a combined MAC mark of 4-1-5 in those two years.
LOOKING FOR A(NOTHER) STRONG START
• The Falcons will be looking to get the season off to a good start, something BG has made a habit of doing in the Eric Nichols Era. In overall regular-season openers, BGSU is 8-1-1 since Nichols assumed the helm. BG scored 17-straight goals in regular-season openers before SIUE, trailing the Falcons by three goals, scored midway through the second half of the 2015 lidlifter at Cochrane.
REGULAR-SEASON OPENERS, NICHOLS ERA
2009Â MARSHALLÂ Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2010Â vs. Appalachian St. TÂ 0-0
2011Â #9 MICHIGANÂ Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2012Â ST. BONAVENTUREÂ Â Â WÂ 3-0
2013Â MALONEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 5-0
2014Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2015Â SIUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 3-1
2016Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 4-0
2017Â IUPUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â WÂ 2-0
2018 Northern Kentucky  L 2-3
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The 2018 season marks the 55th 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 11th 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 2019 campaign with a record of 75-82-29 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 – Sean Teepen, Nate Kopunek and Mac Curran – welcome back 16 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's club. The Falcons finished with an overall record of 6-7-4 and a Mid-American Conference mark of 2-1-2, placing second in the league standings.
 Â
• The Falcons have a record of 45-37-11 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 advancing 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. The 2016 team matched that nine-win total, going 9-6-4 overall and finishing MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger to place second in the conference.  The 2018 team finished the regular season with a record of 6-7-4 with a conference record of 2-1-2 marking the second time in three years the Falcons finished second in the league. Â
• The Falcons had a balanced scoring attack last fall, and BG returns seven players who scored at least one goal in 2018. Senior Charlie Maciejewski and juniors Chris Sullivan and Vinny Worner each had a pair of goals last year. Sullivan and Worner scored seven points apiece to tie for the scoring lead among returnees, while Maciejewski's two goals each came in overtime, as he recorded a 'Golden Goal' in back-to-back road victories.
• Junior Zach Buescher started all 17 matches, while senior Tom Wrobel, junior Achille Robin and sophomore Jensen Lukacsko each made at least 10 starts in 2018. Senior Chris Brennan, slowed by injury last fall, is the leading career scorer among BG returnees, with 11 goals and 29 points over his first three seasons in the Orange and Brown.
MWEMBIA MAKES HIS MARK
• Senior goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia is back after playing every minute of the 2019 season between the posts. Mwembia had a goals-against average of 1.38 last year, with a GAA of just 0.91 in MAC regular-season action. He has started 52 matches over the last three seasons.
HITTING THE ROAD
• BGSU opens the regular season with four-straight matches away from home, including three true road games and one neutral-site contest. The Falcons went 4-4-1 in true road games last season including going 3-1-0 in the last four regular-season road matches of the year. Â
THE OPPONENTS
• Duquesne went 4-9-3 last season including a 2-4-2 conference record and a 3-4-2 record at home.  Duquesne, which returns eight field players and a goalkeeper who started 10 or more matches last season, was picked to finish tenth in the annual preseason poll of Atlantic 10 men's soccer coaches. Â
• Robert Morris went 6-10-1 last season with a 4-4-0 conference record and a 3-5-0 record at home.  The Colonials were picked to finish sixth in the Northeast Conference in 2019. RMU hosts Oakland on Friday before facing BG Sunday.
THE SERIES
• BGSU and Duquesne are tied, 2-2-1, in the all-time series. The last meeting between the two sides was Sept. 27, 2017, when the Falcons got a 'Golden Goal' for a 1-0 victory at Cochrane Stadium. The last four matches in the series all have gone to double overtime. BG is 1-1-0 in home matches, 0-1-1 in road games and 1-0-0 in neutral-site matchups with the Dukes.
• BGSU and Robert Morris have only played once where the Colonials beat the Falcons 1-0 on Sept. 13, 2015, in a neutral-site meeting in Huntington, W.Va. In that match, the Falcons outshot the Colonials, 27-8, including a 19-3 margin in the second half.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
• The Falcons will continue their season on the road, heading to Evanston, Ill., to face two Big Ten opponents in Wisconsin and Northwestern next Friday (Sept. 6) and Sunday (Sept. 8), respectively. BG opens the home portion of the schedule on Friday, Sept. 13, vs. Ohio State.
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# B G S U Â M E N ' S Â S O C C E R #
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's SoccerJason Ball Post-Match Interview (Sept. 30, 2025)
Wednesday, October 01
Eric Nichols Post-Match Interview (Sept. 30, 2025)
Wednesday, October 01
Bennett Painter Post-Match Interview (Sept. 30, 2025)
Wednesday, October 01
Andrew Shaffer Post-Match Interview (Sept. 26, 2025)
Saturday, September 27