Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tuesday, September 14
Bowling Green, OH
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Wright State
Photo by: Larry Clapper
What To Watch For: Falcons Face WSU Tuesday in Battle for I-75 Cup
September 13, 2021 | Men's Soccer
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BGSU takes on the Raiders as four-match homestand rolls on
FALCONS vs. WRIGHT STATE – Tuesday, September 14
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 continues a four-match homestand on Tuesday night (Sept. 14). Head coach Eric Nichols and the defending Mid-American Conference champions will face Wright State in the latest battle for the I-75 Cup, with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
• Then, on Friday (Sept. 17), nationally-ranked FIU comes to town. That matchup also will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The WSU match will be streamed on YouTube, and produced by WBGU-TV, with live stats available as well. Twitter updates can be found 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.
THE I-75 CUP
• The Falcons and Raiders will vie for the I-75 Cup on Tuesday night. The cup, which goes to the winner of the BGSU-WSU game each year, was instituted by Falcon coach Eric Nichols and then-WSU coach Bryan Davis. BGSU is 7-2-1 vs. the Raiders since the two coaches came up with the idea for the cup prior to the 2010 season.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons are 3-1-1 on the young season. BGSU battled IUPUI to a scoreless, double-overtime draw in the season opener at Cochrane, before going on the road and recording three-straight victories. Those wins included a 2-1 OT triumph at Gonzaga and back-to-back 3-0 wins at Cleveland State and Michigan State.
• The latter win was BGSU's first over MSU in 20 years. The Falcons had gone 0-16-1 against the Spartans since a 3-1 victory in East Lansing in September of 2001.
• The Falcons dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to the defending national champions on Saturday evening, as #6/7 Marshall got a goal with just 93 seconds left.
• Sophomore Kyle Cusimano was involved in the scoring of all three goals for the Falcons at Michigan State. He scored BG's second goal of the afternoon while assisting on the other two. Jacob Erlandson and Roberto Fernandez Garrido also found the back of the net vs. the Spartans.
• Less than 72 hours earlier, Sergi Martinez recorded a three-point night in Cleveland, assisting on BGSU's first goal and scoring the third. Alberto Anaya recorded the game-winning goal for the second consecutive match, opening the scoring with just over 15 minutes gone. Anaya had scored in overtime at Gonzaga.
• Entering the WSU match, the Falcons have an overall record of 28-15-5 over the last 48 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eleven of the 15 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
• Anaya, Cusimano and Martinez each have four points to lead a balanced scoring attack in the season's early going. Nathan Masters and Michael Montemurri each have three points.
• Logan Kowalczyk has played every second between the posts this fall, and has allowed just two goals to date. He has three shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.38. Kowalczyk has kept eight clean sheets in 17 career starts at BGSU.
• BGSU returned 15 of last season's 18 letterwinners, including eight of the 11 starters from the spring. The 2020(-21) Falcons went 7-5-1 overall and 5-2-1 in MAC play, winning the conference regular-season title and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in school history, but the first time since 1997.
• The Falcons won the MAC regular-season crown outright for the first time since 1996, and for just the second time since the MAC began sponsoring the sport of men's soccer in 1993 (BG tied for first in the final league regular-season standings in both 2000 and 2002).
• By winning the MAC, BGSU finished as the number-one team in the number-one conference in the country, in terms of RPI rankings. The MAC ended the 2020-21 season as the top-rated conference in the final RPI, and four of the conference's six teams – West Virginia (12th), BGSU (27th), Western Michigan (33rd) and Akron (39th) – were ranked among the top-40 teams in the nation.
LOOKING TO MAINTAIN THAT HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
• The loss to Marshall snapped the Falcons' 10-match home unbeaten streak. BGSU went 8-0-2 in that span. Including the MU match, each of the last eight home matches has been decided by one goal or fewer, with six of those contests at Cochrane requiring overtime.
• Marshall dealt the Falcons their first home loss since a 4-3 OT setback vs. Cincinnati on Sept. 17, 2019.
• BGSU is now 9-3-2 at home in the last two-plus seasons, having outscored the opponents by a 23-10 count during that time.
• Taking it back a few more years, BG is 21-7-10 at Cochrane Stadium since the start of the 2016 season, and the Falcons have a home record of 33-11-11 since the beginning of the 2014 campaign. The Falcons have outscored the opposition, 104-42, 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 OPPONENT
• Wright State is 1-3-0 on the young season. The Raiders dropped road matches to Akron and Kentucky before picking up a 2-1 win over Bradley in the home opener. On Saturday, WSU suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at IUPUI. Joe Kouadio has scored two of the team's three goals, while Sebastian Jimenez has started each of the last three matches in goal and has a 1.67 GAA.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Wright State, 11-7-3, in the all-time series, and BG won the most recent meeting, a 1-0 road triumph in November of 2019. The teams battled to a scoreless draw in the last meeting at Cochrane (Aug. 31, 2018). BGSU is 6-2-3 at home and 5-5-0 on the road vs. the Raiders. Since Eric Nichols became head coach, the Falcons are 7-3-1 vs. the Raiders, including 4-0-1 at home.
UP NEXT
• Following the WSU contest, the Falcons will continue the four-match homestand with contests vs. nationally-ranked FIU Friday (Sept. 17) and Detroit Mercy next Tuesday (Sept. 21). BGSU's next road game is Friday, Sept. 24, against Canisius.
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 continues a four-match homestand on Tuesday night (Sept. 14). Head coach Eric Nichols and the defending Mid-American Conference champions will face Wright State in the latest battle for the I-75 Cup, with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
• Then, on Friday (Sept. 17), nationally-ranked FIU comes to town. That matchup also will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The WSU match will be streamed on YouTube, and produced by WBGU-TV, with live stats available as well. Twitter updates can be found 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.
THE I-75 CUP
• The Falcons and Raiders will vie for the I-75 Cup on Tuesday night. The cup, which goes to the winner of the BGSU-WSU game each year, was instituted by Falcon coach Eric Nichols and then-WSU coach Bryan Davis. BGSU is 7-2-1 vs. the Raiders since the two coaches came up with the idea for the cup prior to the 2010 season.
FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons are 3-1-1 on the young season. BGSU battled IUPUI to a scoreless, double-overtime draw in the season opener at Cochrane, before going on the road and recording three-straight victories. Those wins included a 2-1 OT triumph at Gonzaga and back-to-back 3-0 wins at Cleveland State and Michigan State.
• The latter win was BGSU's first over MSU in 20 years. The Falcons had gone 0-16-1 against the Spartans since a 3-1 victory in East Lansing in September of 2001.
• The Falcons dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to the defending national champions on Saturday evening, as #6/7 Marshall got a goal with just 93 seconds left.
• Sophomore Kyle Cusimano was involved in the scoring of all three goals for the Falcons at Michigan State. He scored BG's second goal of the afternoon while assisting on the other two. Jacob Erlandson and Roberto Fernandez Garrido also found the back of the net vs. the Spartans.
• Less than 72 hours earlier, Sergi Martinez recorded a three-point night in Cleveland, assisting on BGSU's first goal and scoring the third. Alberto Anaya recorded the game-winning goal for the second consecutive match, opening the scoring with just over 15 minutes gone. Anaya had scored in overtime at Gonzaga.
• Entering the WSU match, the Falcons have an overall record of 28-15-5 over the last 48 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eleven of the 15 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
• Anaya, Cusimano and Martinez each have four points to lead a balanced scoring attack in the season's early going. Nathan Masters and Michael Montemurri each have three points.
• Logan Kowalczyk has played every second between the posts this fall, and has allowed just two goals to date. He has three shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.38. Kowalczyk has kept eight clean sheets in 17 career starts at BGSU.
• BGSU returned 15 of last season's 18 letterwinners, including eight of the 11 starters from the spring. The 2020(-21) Falcons went 7-5-1 overall and 5-2-1 in MAC play, winning the conference regular-season title and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in school history, but the first time since 1997.
• The Falcons won the MAC regular-season crown outright for the first time since 1996, and for just the second time since the MAC began sponsoring the sport of men's soccer in 1993 (BG tied for first in the final league regular-season standings in both 2000 and 2002).
• By winning the MAC, BGSU finished as the number-one team in the number-one conference in the country, in terms of RPI rankings. The MAC ended the 2020-21 season as the top-rated conference in the final RPI, and four of the conference's six teams – West Virginia (12th), BGSU (27th), Western Michigan (33rd) and Akron (39th) – were ranked among the top-40 teams in the nation.
LOOKING TO MAINTAIN THAT HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
• The loss to Marshall snapped the Falcons' 10-match home unbeaten streak. BGSU went 8-0-2 in that span. Including the MU match, each of the last eight home matches has been decided by one goal or fewer, with six of those contests at Cochrane requiring overtime.
• Marshall dealt the Falcons their first home loss since a 4-3 OT setback vs. Cincinnati on Sept. 17, 2019.
• BGSU is now 9-3-2 at home in the last two-plus seasons, having outscored the opponents by a 23-10 count during that time.
• Taking it back a few more years, BG is 21-7-10 at Cochrane Stadium since the start of the 2016 season, and the Falcons have a home record of 33-11-11 since the beginning of the 2014 campaign. The Falcons have outscored the opposition, 104-42, 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 OPPONENT
• Wright State is 1-3-0 on the young season. The Raiders dropped road matches to Akron and Kentucky before picking up a 2-1 win over Bradley in the home opener. On Saturday, WSU suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at IUPUI. Joe Kouadio has scored two of the team's three goals, while Sebastian Jimenez has started each of the last three matches in goal and has a 1.67 GAA.
THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Wright State, 11-7-3, in the all-time series, and BG won the most recent meeting, a 1-0 road triumph in November of 2019. The teams battled to a scoreless draw in the last meeting at Cochrane (Aug. 31, 2018). BGSU is 6-2-3 at home and 5-5-0 on the road vs. the Raiders. Since Eric Nichols became head coach, the Falcons are 7-3-1 vs. the Raiders, including 4-0-1 at home.
UP NEXT
• Following the WSU contest, the Falcons will continue the four-match homestand with contests vs. nationally-ranked FIU Friday (Sept. 17) and Detroit Mercy next Tuesday (Sept. 21). BGSU's next road game is Friday, Sept. 24, against Canisius.
# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #
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