Falcons Gear Up for Big Ten Opponents this Weekend

FALCONS vs. WISCONSIN – Friday, Sept. 6
5:00 p.m. CT (6:00 p.m. ET) | Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium | Evanston, Ill.
• Video: None | Live Stats: NUSportscom | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer

FALCONS at NORTHWESTERN – Sunday, Sept. 8
4:00 p.m. CT (5:00 p.m. ET) | Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium | Evanston, Ill.
• Video: Big Ten Network + (fee required)
• Live Stats: NUSports.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 will hit the road for the second consecutive weekend. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons will travel to Evanston, Ill., for a pair of matches vs. Big Ten Conference foes. BG meets the University of Wisconsin on Friday evening (Sept. 6), before facing Northwestern University on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 8).

• The UW match begins at 6:00 p.m. ET, with the NU contest starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. Both matches will take place at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium.

• The Brown and Orange played three games against Big Ten teams last year. BG's 0-2-1 record in those matches included a 1-1 draw at Ohio State. The Falcons will face the Buckeyes next weekend in the home opener.

• That OSU match is set for Friday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. and BG will continue their home stretch with two other games in the following week. All seven of the Falcons' home games this season will begin at 7:00 p.m.

ERIC NICHOLS INTERVIEW (Sept. 4, 2019)

B!G LIFE. B!G STAGE. B!G MATCHES FOR BG
• Beginning Friday, BGSU soccer teams will play a combined total of five matches vs. Big Ten Conference schools in an eight-day span. The BG women face Michigan on Sunday, then meet Michigan State in East Lansing next Thursday (Sept. 12).

• The men's soccer Falcons play three-straight matches vs. Big Ten foes, meeting Wisconsin (Friday) and Northwestern (Sunday) this weekend in Evanston, before opening the home schedule vs. Ohio State (Sept. 13).

FALCON NEWS AND NOTES
• The Falcons are 1-0-1 on the young season. BG headed to Western Pennsylvania last weekend, earning a 1-1 draw at Duquesne before downing Robert Morris, 2-0.

• BGSU scored a trio of goals last weekend with senior Chris Brennan, junior Chris Sullivan and freshman Colin Iverson all finding the back of the net. Iverson's goal vs. Robert Morris was the first of his collegiate career, and he made the first two starts of his collegiate career this past weekend.

• Junior Achille Robin assisted Iverson on his goal for the first assist of the season for BG and the second of his career. Both the Sullivan and Brennan goals were unassisted.

• The Sullivan (DU) and Iverson (RMU) goals each were scored in the 7th minute of their respective matches.

• Sullivan was tied for the lead among returning players with seven total points last season as well as two goals.

• Brennan was slowed by an injury a season ago, but now has 31 total points in his career. The senior has taken five shots in each of the first two matches of the 2019 season.

• Anthony Mwembia has played all 200 minutes of the season for the Falcons where he's recorded five saves. The senior goalkeeper picked up his 20th career clean sheet in the 2-0 win vs. Robert Morris where he was called upon to make just one stop. He has a goals-against average of 0.45 on the young season.

• Robin, fellow junior Zach Buescher and sophomore Jensen Lukacsko are the three field players that have played all 200 minutes of action so far this season for the Falcons.

• Through two games the Falcons are ahead in the shots on goal category (15-7) as well as corner kicks (12-11). BG outperformed both Duquesne and Robert Morris in each category.

FALCON FRESHMEN FLOURISH
• As mentioned earlier, freshman Colin Iverson made his first two collegiate appearances last weekend, starting both matches and scoring his first collegiate goal vs. Robert Morris in the 7th minute. Iverson has played 92 minutes for the Falcons on the young season and has recorded three shots on goal.

• Fellow freshmen Eli Shope and Abdi Faqi made their collegiate debuts for the Falcons this weekend. Shope played 93 minutes over the two matches and recorded one shot. Faqi played 21 minutes vs. Robert Morris.

A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The 2019 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 often 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 – has a record of 76-82-30 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have posted a winning record since the start of the 2010 campaign.

• Nichols and his staff – Sean Teepen, Nate Kopunek and Mac Curran – welcomed 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 in 2018, placing second in the league standings.

• The Falcons have a record of 46-37-12 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.

• 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 top career scorer among BG returnees, with 12 goals and 31 points over his first three-plus seasons in the Orange and Brown.

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.

THE OPPONENTS
• Wisconsin is 1-1-0 on the season and will be playing their first matches away from home this weekend. The Badgers defeated UAB, 2-1, and lost to UC Davis by a 2-0 count last weekend. UW was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Conference in the league's preseason poll, and the Badgers had a trio of senior players named to the 2019 Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Honors List in Dean Cowdroy, Noah Leibold and Robin Olofsson. Olofsson and Noah Leibold have scored one goal apiece. Cowdroy has a goals against average of 1.50 and has made seven saves. The Badgers went 10-6-2 a season ago and finished second in the conference.

• Northwestern is 1-1-0 on the year after beating Pittsburgh, 1-0, and losing to UCLA, 1-0. The Wildcats will be playing their first home game of the year on Friday, when NU faces Lehigh. The 'Cats were picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten in the league's preseason poll, and three players were named to the 2019 Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Honors List in Richie Bennett, Mac Mazzola and Ty Seager. The Wildcats went 6-9-5 in the Big Ten last season and finished in seventh place. Sophomore Bardia Kimiavi scored the winner vs. Pitt last weekend. Junior goalkeeper Miha Miskovic has had success in goal thus far this season, with a GAA of just 0.49 along with 10 saves and one clean sheet.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Wisconsin, 4-1-0, in the all-time series, but the teams have not met in nearly a quarter of a century. The most recent matchup came in the 1995 NCAA Tournament, with the host Badgers posting a 2-0 win. BG won four one-goal decisions prior to that, including three wins at neutral sites and an overtime victory in Madison in 1992.

• BGSU has faced Northwestern only once, back in 1986. The Falcons posted a 2-0 win at Cochrane Field in the Toledo Trust/BGSU Soccer Cup.

DOWN THE ROAD...
• Following this weekend's two matches in Evanston, the Falcons will continue their stretch vs. Big Ten opponents, facing Ohio State next Friday (Sept. 13) in the home opener. That contest is the first of three-straight matches at Cochrane Stadium, as Cleveland State (Sept. 17) and Cincinnati (Sept. 21) also come to town. All of BGSU's home matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Brennan

Zach Buescher

Abdi Faqi

Colin Iverson

Jensen Lukacsko

Charlie Maciejewski

Anthony Mwembia

Achille Robin

Eli Shope

Chris Sullivan

Vinny Worner

Tom Wrobel

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