What To Watch For: Falcons Host Another Nationally-Ranked Foe

Friday, September 17

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

#13/17 FIU

Goal celeb - Lukacsko Masters Jacob Erlandson

Photo by: Stephen Linsky, BGSU Athletics

September 16, 2021 | Men's Soccer

BGSU Notes Watch BGSU-FIU 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

#13/17 FIU comes to Cochrane Friday as homestand rolls on

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FALCONS vs. #13/17 FIU – Friday, September 17
7:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube) •
• Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer •

FALCONS vs. DETROIT MERCY – Tuesday, September 21
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 season-long four-match homestand, welcoming a nationally-ranked team to town for the second time in under a week. Head coach Eric Nichols and the defending Mid-American Conference champions face #13/17 FIU on Friday evening (Sept. 17), with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

• Then, on Tuesday (Sept. 21), the Falcons will meet the University of Detroit Mercy in another 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Both the FIU and UDM 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.

NICHOLS NEARS 100 WINS
• Tuesday's (Sept. 14) win over Wright State was the Falcons' 99th win since Eric Nichols took the helm. Nichols has a 99-95-32 record since coming to BG prior to the 2009 season.

• There have been only five head coaches in the history of the BGSU program, which is now in its 57th season. Nichols is looking to become the third of those five coaches to reach the 100-win mark. He would join Gary Palmisano (172 wins at BGSU) and Mel Mahler (111) on that list.

IN THE POLLS
• FIU, as mentioned, will be the second nationally-ranked opponent for the men's soccer Falcons in under a week. The Panthers are ranked 13th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll, and FIU is ranked 17th by College Soccer News and 23rd by Top Drawer Soccer.

• BGSU is receiving votes in both the CSN and United Soccer Coaches polls, earning three votes in the latter poll (the CSN poll does not list total votes for the teams listed under 'also receiving votes'). For the third-straight week, BG is ranked fifth in the North Region in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons are 4-1-1 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.

• #6/7 Marshall got a goal with just 93 seconds left on Saturday night (Sept. 11), and the defending national champions downed the Falcons, 1-0. BGSU rallied for an emphatic 3-0 victory vs. Wright State on Tuesday (Sept. 14).

• 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 now led – and won – by three goals in three of the last four 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 four times in six matches this season to date.

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

• BGSU is now 69-8-6 when scoring two or more goals in a match in the Eric Nichols Era.

• BG is 1-1-1 at home and a perfect 3-0-0 on the road, and the Falcons have topped the road win total for all of last season. BGSU has outscored opponents by an 11-2 count this season.

• Sergi Martinez and Kyle Cusimano have six points apiece this fall. Martinez has two goals and two assists after finding the back of the net vs. both Michigan State and Wright State. Cusimano had his second two-assist game in three matches with a pair of helpers vs. WSU. He was involved in the scoring of all three goals at MSU.

• Nathan Masters now has five points, while Alberto Anaya and Roberto Fernandez Garrido have four apiece. Masters opened the scoring vs. Wright State, picking up his first game-winning goal as a Falcon.

• Anaya scored the GWG in back-to-back road victories, vs. Gonzaga and Cleveland State. Fernandez Garrido found the net in both the MSU and WSU contests.

• Logan Kowalczyk has played every second between the posts this fall, and has allowed just two goals to date. He has four shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.32. Kowalczyk has kept nine clean sheets in 18 career starts at BGSU.

• Entering the FIU match, the Falcons have an overall record of 29-15-5 over the last 49 games, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eleven of the 15 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

A FEW FACTS ABOUT BGSU'S MAC CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON (FOR YOUR BROADCAST, BLOG OR MYSPACE PAGE)
• 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.

• The Falcons went 3-0-1 in home matches, 2-4-0 in road contests and 2-1-0 in neutral-site action last season. As mentioned, all four of BGSU's home games went to overtime. BG allowed just one goal at Cochrane Stadium in those four matches.

• BGSU had six players named to the All-MAC Team last season, tying the school record. Among the returnees, Jacob Erlandson was named to the all-league first team, while Zach Buescher, Logan Kowalczyk and Nathan Masters all earned second-team honors.

• Erlandson is the top returning scorer, having registered eight points on three goals and two assists a year ago. Masters and Cusimano each had five points including a pair of goals.

• Kowalczyk had a GAA of 0.80 last season. In MAC matches, he went 5-2-1 with a GAA of just 0.59. Kowalczyk and the Falcons posted five shutouts in MAC play, the program's highest total since 1998.

• BGSU's total of five MAC wins was the program's highest since the 1997 team went 5-2-0. Only the 1996 (5-0-0), '97 and 2020-21 teams have won as many as five league matches.

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 9-1-2 in the last 12 matches at Cochrane, with last weekend's loss to Marshall the only loss 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 10-3-2 at home in the last two-plus seasons, having outscored the opponents by a 26-10 count during that time.

• Taking it back a few more years, BG is 22-7-10 at Cochrane Stadium since the start of the 2016 season, and the Falcons have a home record of 34-11-11 since the beginning of the 2014 campaign. The Falcons have outscored the opposition, 107-42, 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
• FIU enters Friday's match with an overall record of 4-0-1, and as mentioned, the Panthers are BG's second nationally-ranked opponent in under a week. FIU has defeated UCF, Florida Gulf Coast, VCU and UT Rio Grande Valley while tying North Florida. David Garcia has seven points to lead the Panthers' scoring attack, while Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro has six. Both players have three goals on the young season. Grant Makela has played every match in goal and has 12 saves and a GAA of just 0.57.

• Detroit Mercy is 1-1-2 on the young season, heading into a Saturday match at Cleveland State. The Titans have beaten Chicago State, tied both Michigan and Incarnate Word and lost to Dayton. Demetri Pliakos has a team-leading three points, and is one of three Titans to have found the back of the net in the early going. Jonathan Kliewer has a GAA of 0.87 between the posts for head coach Nicholas Deren.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails FIU, 1-0-1, in the all-time series, but the teams have not met in 14 years. Both prior meetings took place in Miami, with the Panthers capturing a 2-1 win in 1988 and the teams battling to a scoreless draw in 2007.

• The Falcons lead Detroit Mercy, 18-8-2, in that series, and BG has captured the last two meetings. The Falcons took a 1-0 decision in the Motor City in October of 2019. In the last meeting at Cochrane, UDM picked up a 2-1 victory in 2013. Fun fact: the home team has gone 0-7-1 in the last eight BGSU-UDM meetings, since a 2-1 Falcon win in 2007 at Cochrane. BGSU is 8-4-1 and 10-4-1 on the road vs. the Titans over the years. Since Eric Nichols became head coach, the Falcons are 4-3-0 vs. UDM.

UP NEXT
• Following the UDM contest, the Falcons will head to Western New York to face Canisius on Friday, Sept. 24. That match is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.

• Then, BG ends the month of September by taking on Ohio State in Columbus on Sept. 29. The Falcons will begin the MAC schedule at home vs. Georgia State on Thursday night, Oct. 7.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #