Falcons are Golden at Gonzaga

Sunday, August 29

Spokane, WA

7:00 PM PT

Bowling Green State University

1-0-1, 0-0-0

Gonzaga

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Bowling Green

Gonzaga

Photo by: Brendan Ross, XU Athletics

August 30, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-Gonzaga Stats Give to the Falcon Club Get your Nike Sideline Gear

Anaya's first collegiate goal lifts BGSU to 2-1 OT win

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Athletics

SPOKANE, Wash. – Freshman Alberto Anaya's goal in the 93rd minute lifted the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Gonzaga University on Sunday evening (Aug. 29). The non-conference overtime match was held at Luger Field

Nathan Masters also scored for the Falcons, helping the defending Mid-American Conference champions improve to 1-0-1 on the young season.

The 'Golden Goal' was the first collegiate goal for Anaya. He received a left-side cross from Michael Montemurri, took one touch and fired a left-footed blast from the 18-yard line that beat GU goalkeeper Johan Garibay and found the right side of the net.

Demitrius Kigeya scored for the Zags (0-2-0), tying the contest in the 61st minute after Masters had opened the scoring in the 48th.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• Sunday night's match marked BGSU's 10th consecutive contest that was decided by one goal or fewer. Each of the final eight contests last season, as well as the first two matches this season, have either finished in a drew on a one-goal result.
• Six of those 10 matches, including both contests this season to date, have gone to overtime.
• The Falcons are 6-2-2 in that 10-game span, and BG is 4-0-2 in the OT contests during that time.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons controlled play for most of the night, with numerous scoring chances in the contest.
• In the 15th minute, Nathan Masters was fouled deep in the Gonzaga end of the pitch, and Alberto Anaya's ensuing free kick sailed into the box. Jacob Erlandson met that kick with a header, but his shot was just wide left.
• Just over a half hour into the match, Jake Bergin lofted a short diagonal ball over the GU back line. Kyle Cusimano, racing in from the right side, put a diving header on frame, but Johan Garibay was able to make the save for the hosts.
• Sergi Martinez had several key plays in the opening half. He worked a combination play with Zach Buescher, receiving Buescher's nifty backheel pass in the box and poking a shot on target. But, Garibay was there to make the stop. Garibay also was able to make a diving save after Martinez cut a ball back to his right and fired a shot that was curving toward the far-side netting.
• Early in the second half, the Falcons got on the board. After a short corner kick, Martinez beat his would-be defender on the end line and played a low cross into the center of the box. Masters, in the center of the six-yard box, quickly redirected the ball into the back of the net to give the Falcons the lead.
• Moments later, Kale Nichols slid a ball toward Buescher, who ran onto it near the 18-yard line. Buescher's curving shot, however, was just over the bar.
• Cusimano's backheel pass freed Nichols on the right side of the box, and Nichols' diagonal ball was knocked home by Masters, but the play was whistled down due to an offside call on the Falcons.
• Less than a minute later, the Zags equalized. Demitrius Kigeya scored after a flurry in the penalty area off of a corner kick. The match was tied at the 60:50 mark.
• BG had several chances in the next few minutes after the Kigeya goal, but after an Erlandson flick-on, a Masters header at the far post went wide. Then, after a nice hustle play by Roberto Fernandez Garrido enabled him to save a ball near the end line, his cross found Martinez in the box, but a Martinez header was just off the mark.
• GU had three shots, including two on goal, in the final five minutes, but Logan Kowalczyk stopped both of the on-target shots.
• Anaya ended the contest at the 92:18 mark. Michael Montemurri took the ball down the left side and hit a cross that found Anaya just to the right of center. Anaya took one touch to his left, and – from the 18-yard line – hit a hard shot that curved into the right side of the net, sparking a wild BG celebration.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"Gonzaga is a very good side and they had a fantastic crowd behind them, so we were tested in some different ways and I am really pleased with how the team stepped up to the challenge."

"We played well in our first game (vs. IUPUI), but we needed to improve in a couple specific areas, and we made good progress tonight."

"I'm really happy for Beto (Anaya). He's a special player and his best is still to come."

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU had advantages of 17-8 in total shot attempts, 8-5 in shots on goal and 6-2 in corner kicks.
• Logan Kowalczyk made four saves, all in the second half, to earn the win for the Falcons. Johan Garibay had six stops for the hosts.
• BGSU had a 9-1 advantage in shots in the first half, but each team fired seven shots in the second. Anaya's winner was the only shot for either team in the OT period.
• Anaya's goal, as mentioned, was his first as a Falcon (and came in his second collegiate match).
• Sergi Martinez, also playing in his second game as a Falcon, picked up his first point at BG, with an assist on Nathan Masters' first-half goal. Martinez, a transfer from Hartford, had 19 points (six goals, seven assists) in three seasons with the Hawks.
• Masters' goal was his third as a Falcon. He now has nine career points on three goals and three assists.
• Michael Montemurri's assist on the hwinning goal was his second career helper.
• The Falcons have a record of 26-14-5 over the last 45 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Ten of the 14 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons' three-match road swing continues on Friday (Sept. 3), when BGSU faces Cleveland State in a 7:00 p.m. start.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will meet Michigan State in East Lansing on Monday, Sept. 6. The Labor Day match will begin at 2:00 p.m.
• BGSU's next home match is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, when defending national champion Marshll comes to Cochrane Stadium for an 8:00 p.m. matchup.

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.