What To Watch For: #23 Falcons Home Thursday, Saturday as MAC Play Commences

Thursday, October 7

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Georgia State

Photo by: Lindy Feider

What To Watch For: #23 Falcons Home Thursday, Saturday as MAC Play Commences

October 06, 2021 | Men's Soccer

BGSU Notes Watch BGSU-Georgia State Watch BGSU-Georgia Southern BGSU Men's Soccer Schedule (with links to web streams & live stats)BGSU Men's Soccer on Twitter BGSU Men's Soccer Media Guide / Record Book Give to the Falcon Club Get your Nike Sideline Gear

BGSU faces Georgia State, Georgia Southern under the lights at Cochrane

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

#23 FALCONS vs. GEORGIA STATE – Thursday, October 7
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer •

#23 FALCONS vs. GEORGIA SOUTHERN – Saturday, October 9
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer •

WHAT TO WATCH FOR...
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins Mid-American Conference play this week, taking on the league's two newest members. Head coach Eric Nichols and the defending MAC champions open the conference slate with a Thursday (Oct. 7) contest vs. Georgia State. First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• Then, on Saturday night (Oct. 9), the Orange and Brown will meet Georgia Southern in another 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane. It will be Senior Night for the Falcons.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Both of this week's matches will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. Live stats for both matches will be available, and twitter updates will be available at @BGSUmenssoccer.

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2021 matches can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com (on the men's soccer schedule page as well as at the top of the main page) on game day.

• Admission is free to all home regular-season matches.

SENIOR NIGHT
• Saturday's Georgia Southern match will be Senior Night, with five members of the program recognized in ceremonies prior to the match. That group includes Zach Buescher, Jacob Erlandson, Roberto Fernandez Garrido, Colin McCort and Alec Srodawa.

• The Falcons are 7-3-2 in Senior Day/Night matches at Cochrane Stadium since Eric Nichols became head coach. BG is unbeaten in the last eight such games, having outscored opponents by a 14-3 count while going 6-0-2 in those eight contests. The complete list of Senior Day/Night contests in the Nichols Era can be found on page 1 of the PDF version of these very notes.

FALCONS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Falcons are currently ranked 23rd in the nation in the College Soccer News poll, and BGSU is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

• Two weeks ago, the Falcons broke into the national rankings for the first time in two years. On Sept. 20, BGSU checked into the CSN poll at No. 24. The following day, the Falcons were ranked No. 17 by the United Soccer Coaches.

• Last week, BGSU was again ranked 17th by United Soccer Coaches, and the Falcons were 22nd in the CSN poll.

• The Falcons were ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches North Region in each of the last two weeks, before dropping to fourth on Tuesday (Oct. 5).

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons are 7-2-1 on the season, but BGSU saw a four-match winning streak snapped with a 2-1 loss at Ohio State in double overtime last week. After battling IUPUI to a scoreless draw in the season opener at Cochrane, BG went on the road and won three consecutive matches. Those victories came against Gonzaga (2-1 in OT), Cleveland State (3-0) and Michigan State (also 3-0).

• Then #6/7 Marshall got a goal with just 93 seconds left in the second half as the defending national champions downed the Falcons, 1-0, on Sept. 11. But, the Orange and Brown bounced back with three shutout wins, downing Wright State by a 3-0 score before posting 2-0 victories vs. FIU and Detroit Mercy and a 2-1 triumph at Canisius.

• BGSU led by two goals on only one occasion during all of last season, and the Falcons never led by three (BG took a 2-0 lead against Syracuse [Feb. 23, 2021] before winning by a 2-1 final). But, BG has led – and won – by two or more goals in six of the last eight matches.

• BGSU scored as many as two goals in a match only three times in 13 games in the spring. But, the Falcons have scored two or more goals seven times in 10 matches this season to date.

• The Falcons have recorded three three-goal games this year after doing so only once in those 13 spring matches.

• BGSU is now 72-8-6 when scoring two or more goals in a match in the Eric Nichols Era.

• BG is 3-1-1 at home and 4-1-0 on the road, and the Falcons have topped the road win total for all of last season. BGSU has outscored opponents by an 18-5 count this season.

• Sergi Martinez and Kyle Cusimano lead a balanced Falcon scoring attack with nine points apiece, while Roberto Fernandez Garrido and Jacob Erlandson each have eight points. Martinez, who has three goals and three assists on the season, was chosen as the United Soccer Coaches Division I Player of the Week on Sept. 22. Cusimano scored the winning goal at Canisius, and now has two goals to go along with a team-high five assists.

• Fernandez Garrido has a BG-leading four goals, and came off the bench to score a goal in three-straight matches during BGSU's winning streak. Erlandson had a three-point outing vs. Detroit Mercy, and also scored a goal at Ohio State.

• Alberto Anaya has seven points, including three assists in the last two matches, while Nathan Masters has five points this fall.

• Logan Kowalczyk has played every second between the posts this fall, and has six shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.48. Kowalczyk has kept 11 clean sheets in 22 career starts at BGSU.

• Entering the Georgia State contest, the Falcons have an overall record of 32-16-5 over the last 53 games, dating to late in the 2018 season. Twelve of the 16 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

LOOKING TO MAINTAIN THAT HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
• The Falcons certainly have given fans their money's worth at Cochrane Stadium (especially since admission is free!). BGSU finished the 2020(-21) season with a record of 3-0-1 at home, and the Falcons allowed only one goal at Cochrane Stadium in those four matches.

• BGSU is 11-1-2 in the last 14 matches at Cochrane, with the loss to Marshall the only setback in that time. The Marshall match was the eighth-straight home contest to have been decided by one goal or fewer, with six of those games requiring overtime. That streak ended with the three-goal win over WSU.

• BGSU is 12-3-2 at home in the last two-plus seasons, having outscored the opponents by a 30-10 count during that time.

• Taking it back a few more years, BG is 24-7-10 at Cochrane Stadium since the start of the 2016 season, and the Falcons have a home record of 36-11-11 since the beginning of the 2014 campaign. The Falcons have outscored the opposition, 111-42, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season.

CAPTAINS
• Zach Buescher, Jacob Erlandson and Jensen Lukacsko are the captains of the 2021 Falcons.

THE OPPONENTS
• Georgia State enters Thursday's match with an overall record of 7-2-0, and the Panthers have won four consecutive matches. Most recently, GSU picked up a 3-1 win at UAB on Sept. 28. Ethan Sassine leads the team with four goals and eight points, while Justin Guest has seven points, including three goals. In net, Gunther Rankenburg has played every second, and has 26 saves, three shutouts and a 1.09 GAA. The Panthers are 2-1-0 at home and 5-1-0 on the road this season to date.

• Georgia Southern is 4-5-0 on the season, heading into a Thursday match at Akron. The Eagles defeated the College of Charleston, 3-0, before falling at Stetson by a 1-0 score in double OT last time out. Adam Davie and Mauro Gutierrez-Solis each have two goals and six points on the year to tie for the team lead in the latter category. Jokull Blaengsson has started seven of the nine matches in net, and has 22 saves, a pair of shutouts and a GAA of 1.82.

THE SERIES
• BGSU will be meeting both Georgia State and Georgia Southern for the first time in men's soccer.

UP NEXT
• Following this weekend's two matches, the Falcons will return to the road for four consecutive contests, beginning with a match at Northern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 16.

• BGSU then plays road matches against Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 19), Akron (Oct. 22) and Oakland (Oct. 26) before returning to Cochrane to face Western Michigan on Saturday night, Oct. 30.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #