Sullivan's Golden Goal Caps Falcons' Return to Cochrane

Sunday, March 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-3-0, 1-1-0

SIUE

4-1-0, 1-1-0

SIUE

Bowling Green

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

March 14, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-SIUE Stats Sullivan Post-Match Interview Coach Nichols Post-Match Interview Photo Gallery

95th-minute header lifts BGSU to 1-0 win over #25 SIUE in first home match in 16 months

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Chris Sullivan headed home a cross in the 95th minute, lifting the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over #25 SIUE Sunday afternoon (March 14). The Mid-American Conference match was the Falcons' first home game in over 16 months.

The win was the Falcons' first over a nationally-ranked team since October of 2016.

Jensen Lukacsko played the cross to Sullivan for the winning header. Lukacsko received a return pass from Jacob Erlandson after a combination play. Erlandson's pass gave Lukacsko space on the right side of the penalty area, and he lifted the ball into the center of the box. Sullivan headed it back the other way, threading the needle between a pair of SIUE defenders and putting it just out of reach of Cougar goalkeeper Lluis Martorell and into the lower right-hand corner of the net.

The Falcons (3-3-0, 1-1-0 MAC) controlled play for nearly the entire afternoon. BGSU had a 19-1 advantage in total shot attempts and a 7-0 lead in shots on goal.

BGSU also hit the crossbar twice. Martorell blocked a first-half shot by Roberto Fernandez Garrido, with the ball caroming off of the SIUE 'keeper and hitting the bar. In the second half, Kale Nichols put a shot off the woodwork after a BGSU throw-in was headed into his path.

SIUE (4-1-0, 1-1-0 MAC) entered the match unbeaten and ranked #25 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• The games came 16 months apart, but BGSU now has won two-straight overtime matches at Cochrane Stadium. The Falcons' last home contest was a 2-1 OT win over Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament on Nov. 12, 2019.

⚽ GOLDEN GOAL!! ⚽

Nothing like an OT win in your first home match in 16 months! Great job by @C_S_5_ & @BGSUmenssoccer today!#AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/cvn2POTei9
— BGSU Athletics (@BGathletics) March 14, 2021

INTERVIEWS

GOALS / KEY MOMENTS
• 12' | SIUE took the first shot attempt of the afternoon, as an effort by Jack Edwards was blocked by a BGSU defender. That would be the Cougars' lone shot of the entire game.
• 23' | BGSU's first shot on goal came from Nathan Masters. After a free kick was played into the box, Kale Nichols and Achille Robin combined to get the ball to Masters on the left side of the six-yard box, but his one-time effort was gathered in by goalkeeper Lluis Martorell.
• 44' | Roberto Fernandez Garrido, making his BGSU debut on Sunday, wasted little time in making an impact. Zach Buescher received a right-side cross and knocked the ball toward goal. It was blocked by a defender, but Fernandez Garrido made a lunging effort to put the ball on frame. It was blocked by Martorell and caromed off of the crossbar.
• 54' | Off of a long Buescher throw-in in the SIUE end, Robin nodded the ball toward the center of the pitch. Nichols hit a one-timer from near the penalty spot, and the ball glanced off the top of the crossbar.
• 57' | A BGSU free kick was played into the box, and Vinny Worner headed it back into the center of the penalty area. Robin got his head on the ball and put it on target, but Martorell was able to grab the shot.
• 61' | In a crowded penalty area, several players got a head on the ball before Robin put a bicycle kick on target. It took a spectacular leaping play by Martorell to prevent a spectacular goal by Robin, as the SIUE 'keeper was somehow able to tip the ball over the bar.
• 65' | Buescher and the Falcons had four shot attempts in a span of just over three minutes. Buescher fired a shot just high after a BG corner kick, and Masters had a shot blocked several minutes later, with Sullivan putting the rebound try wide. Another Buescher effort in the 68th minute was blocked.
• 73' | After a foul on SIUE, a BG free kick was played into the box, and Jacob Erlandson redirected the diagonal ball on target, but Martorell made another tremendous save to keep the match scoreless.
• 76' | A Sullivan effort was saved by the SIUE 'keeper. That shot, with 14:50 on the clock, would prove to be the last shot attempt of regulation.
• 93' | The Falcons stole a goal kick by the Cougars, and Sullivan hit a shot that was blocked by a defender. The ball caromed high into the air and went over the end line for a BGSU corner kick.
• 95' | GOAL | After the combination play by Erlandson and Lukacsko, Lukacsko put the ball into the mixer, leading to the Sullivan winner.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Falcons, as mentioned, had lopsided advantages of 19-1 in total shot attempts and 7-0 in shots on goal. Sullivan led the way with five shots, while Buescher fired four and Masters three.
• Martorell made six saves for the visitors, while Logan Kowalczyk and the BGSU back line did not allow a single shot on frame.
• BGSU had a 6-1 lead in corner kicks.
• For Kowalczyk, the shutout was the first of his collegiate career.
• The win was BGSU's first victory over a nationally-ranked team in over four years, since the Falcons posted a 1-0 win on the road against #22 West Virginia (Oct. 7, 2016).
• SIUE was the fourth consecutive nationally-ranked team the Falcons have faced, joining Marshall, Kentucky and Akron.
• Sunday's match was BGSU's first at Cochrane Stadium in 488 days, since a 2-1 win in overtime vs. Northern Illinois in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 MAC Tournament.
• Sullivan now has team-leading totals of two goals and eight points this season. He has 43 career points on 13 goals and 17 assists.
• Lukacsko now has four assists and six points in his BGSU career.
• Erlandson, in his first season as a Falcon, is tied for second on the team with four points, and is second behind Sullivan with two assists on the year.
• In the last two home matches vs. SIUE, BGSU has had a 34-6 advantage in total shot attempts and a 14-1 lead in shots on goal. BGSU surrendered just one shot on target in the Cougars' last trip to Cochrane, a 2-0 Falcon win on the final night of the 2018 regular season (Nov. 3, 2018).
• The Falcons now have a record of 21-12-3 over the last 36 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eight of the 12 setbacks have come by a single goal.

UP NEXT
• BGSU now returns to the road for the next two matches. The Falcons will face West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon (March 17) in Morgantown, with first touch set for 3:00 p.m. Then, the Brown and Orange will face Northern Illinois next Sunday afternoon (March 21) in DeKalb.
• BG's next home game will be in two weeks – on Sunday, March 28 – when WVU comes to Cochrane Stadium.

Gallery: (3-14-2021) M.Soccer v SIUE - March 14 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.