Falcons Rally Past Georgia State, 3-2, in MAC Opener

Thursday, October 7

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

8-2-1, 1-0-0

Georgia State

7-3-0, 0-1-0

Georgia St.

Bowling Green

Alberto Anaya (17) scored BG's first goal & assisted on the winner

Photo by: Larry Clapper

October 07, 2021 | Men's Soccer

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Nichols, Erlandson score second-half goals as BG improves to 8-2-1

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Kale Nichols and Jacob Erlandson scored second-half goals, propelling the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 3-2, come-from-behind win over Georgia State University on Thursday night (Oct. 7). The match, the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, was held at Cochrane Stadium.

Alberto Anaya had a goal and an assist for the Falcons (8-2-1, 1-0-0 MAC), who are ranked 23rd in the nation in this week's College Soccer News poll.

The Panthers (7-3-0, 0-1-0 MAC) were playing in their first-ever MAC match. GSU, along with Georgia Southern, joined the conference as an affiliate member for men's soccer in May of 2021.

Anaya gave the Falcons the lead midway through the opening half, but Ross Finnie scored on a long free kick to knot the score in the 37th minute, and Matthew Fearnley gave the Panthers the lead with just 103 seconds gone after halftime.

Nichols bent a shot just inside the far post in the 54th minute to tie the score, however, and Erlandson headed home an Anaya free kick just over six minutes later.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU won the MAC title in the spring of 2021, but the Falcons scored as many as three goals only once in 13 matches.
• This season, the Falcons have scored three goals in a match four times in 11 contests.
• BG scored three goals in a MAC match for the first time in nearly two years, since a 3-0 victory over West Virginia on Oct. 26, 2019.

FALCONS REACT
"This was a typical MAC game, I think. We know it's probably going to be a one-goal game, one way or the other, and there are a lot of moments you need to respond to. I felt like we were really good in the first half -- we maybe could have one or two more goals, which would have been great -- and then they got one, kind of against the run. And then, to concede a goal so quickly to start the second half, but the guys rallied, responded well and just kept playing our game." – Head Coach Eric Nichols

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Six minutes into the match, the Falcons strung together several nifty passes to work the ball into the penalty area. Kyle Cusimano slid a pass to Alberto Anaya, who played the ball toward Sergi Martinez on the far side of the six-yard box. Martinez quickly fired a shot, but the ball went wide left.
• In the 11th minute, Cusimano laid the ball off for Martinez, who struck another hard shot. The ball was blocked by a defender and popped into the air, and GSU goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg grabbed it near the goal line.
• Midway through the half, the Falcons had a flurry, but Zach Buescher's shot was blocked, and moments later an Anaya shot went wide.
• GOAL | Anaya and the Falcons broke on top with just over 24 minutes gone. Jensen Lukacsko's pass found Anaya just outside the box. Anaya hit a blast that actually glanced off of the back of teammate Nathan Masters before finding the net.
• With 10 minutes left in the half, GSU's Ross Finnie came up with a steal and quickly put the ball ahead to Salar Faryar. Faryar fired a shot, but it was hit directly at BGSU goalkeeper Logan Kowalczyk.
• GOAL | Just over a minute later, however, Finnie and the Panthers got on the board. After a BGSU foul, Finnie's long free kick hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down and into the net, tying the score.
• GOAL | And, the Panthers took the lead just 1:43 into the second half. A long free kick by George Proctor sailed toward the top of the 18-yard box, where Simon Carlson was waiting. Carlson laid the ball into the path of Matthew Fearnley, who hit a shot that found the left side of the net and put the visitors on top.
• GOAL | But, in the 54th minute, the Falcons equalized. After a corner kick, Zach Buescher wound up with the ball and found Kale Nichols with a pass. Nichols, from the right side of the box, hit a perfectly-placed shot that curved just inside the far post.
• GOAL | And, the Falcons took the lead for good with just under an hour gone. After a GSU foul, Anaya's free kick found the head of Jacob Erlandson. Erlandon, facing away from goal, flicked the ball behind him and into the far corner of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
• The visitors had just three shots over the final 30 minutes. Kowalczyk made one save during that stretch, while two other efforts were off the mark.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU had a 13-8 lead in total shot attempts, and the Falcons had a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.
• Logan Kowalczyk made two saves for the home side, while Gunther Rankenburg made four stops.
• Alberto Anaya had a three-point night, scoring the Falcons' first goal and assisting on the third. He now has 10 points on the season to tie for the team lead.
• Anaya is tied with Kyle Cusimano, who had his team-leading sixth assist of the year on Thursday night and now has 10 points this fall as well.
• Jacob Erlandson scored his fourth goal of the year, tying him for the team lead. He is tied with Anaya and Cusimano for the team points lead with 10. Erlandson's GWG was his second of the season.
• Kale Nichols scored his first goal of the season, and is the ninth different Falcon to find the back of the net this year to date.
• BGSU now has eight wins, topping the total for all of the 2020-21 season. The Falcons went 7-5-1 in the spring.
• The Falcons now have a record of 33-16-5 over the last 54 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Twelve of the 16 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are back in action on Saturday night (Oct. 9), taking on the MAC's other first-year member. BGSU will meet Georgia Southern in a 7:00 p.m. start, on Senior Night at Cochrane Stadium.
• Then, the Falcons will return to the road for the next four matches, facing Northern Illinois (Oct. 16), Purdue Fort Wayne (Oct. 19), Akron (Oct. 22) and Oakland (Oct. 26).

Gallery: (10-7-2021) M.Soccer v Georgia State - Oct. 7 2021

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUmenssoccer), Instagram (bgsumenssoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.