Falcons Post Comprehensive 3-0 Win in Cleveland

Friday, September 3

Cleveland, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

2-0-1, 0-0-0

Cleveland State

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Bowling Green

Cleveland St.

Sergi Martinez (10) had a goal & an assist in Friday's win at CSU

Photo by: Brendan Ross, XU Athletics

September 03, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-CSU 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

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team dominated in all facets of the game on Friday evening (Sept. 3), posting a 3-0 win over Cleveland State University. The non-conference match was held at Krenzler Field.

Sergi Martinez had a three-point night, assisting on BGSU's first goal and scoring the third. Alberto Anaya recorded the game-winning goal for the Falcons (2-0-1) for the second consecutive match, opening the scoring with just over 15 minutes gone.

Michael Montemurri also scored, converting a penalty kick just before halftime. Jensen Lukacsko assisted on the Martinez goal, capping the scoring early in the second half.

The Falcons had advantages of 19-2 in total shot attempts and 10-0 in shots on goal.

Omeed Naeemy made seven saves for the Vikings (0-2-0). Logan Kowalczyk was not called upon to make a save for the Orange and Brown.

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU won by three goals for the first time in nearly two years, since a 3-0 victory vs. West Virginia at Cochrane Field on Oct. 26, 2019.
• The Falcons had not won by three goals on the road since earlier that season (Sept. 8, 2019), when the Brown and Orange picked up a 3-0 victory at Northwestern.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons were on the front foot from the very beginning. Just over a minute into the match, Nathan Masters blocked an attempted clearance by a CSU player, and the ball caromed to Kyle Cusimano in the box. Cusimano's quick shot, however, was stopped by CSU goalkeeper Omeed Naeemy.
• BGSU had three shot attempts within approximately one minute, but a Cusimano shot curved wide, a Sergi Martinez effort was blocked out of play, and off of the ensuing corner kick, a Jacob Erlandson header went wide.
• Alberto Anaya put a shot on frame in the 14th minute, and two minutes later, he gave the Falcons the lead for good. BG built the attack, and Martinez won a challenge, got past another player and slid the ball to Anaya on his right. Anaya received the pass, took one touch and fired a shot from the semicircle at the top of the 18-yard box. The shot curved away from Naeemy and nestled into the lower left corner of the goal.
• Kale Nichols and Anaya each put shots on frame just over 40 seconds apart, and the Vikings then had their lone shot attempt of the half, as a Bojan Kolevski effort in the box was blocked by a BG defender.
• In the 38th minute, Masters played a nifty pass through a pair of defenders to the onrushing Roberto Fernandez Garrido, but Fernandez Garrido's shot was saved by Naeemy, and Buescher's follow-up shot went over the bar.
• BGSU doubled the lead with just 56 seconds left in the half, as Masters was taken down in the corner of the penalty area. Montemurri stepped up and converted the ensuing PK, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead at the break.
• CSU's Jannis Schmidt hit a shot that was off the mark just under two minutes after the intermission. That would prove to be the Vikings' only shot attempt of the second half.
• BG completed the scoring in the 50th minute. The Falcons nearly lost the ball just outside the CSU penalty area, but Jensen Lukacsko regained possession, took two dribbles and slid a ball to Martinez in the box. Martinez made a nifty move to settle the ball and, from the six-yard line, quickly fired a shot that beat Naeemy near post.
• A CSU player received his second yellow card of the night on a foul against Gaetano D'Argento in the 79th minute, and the Vikings played the final 11:32 with 10 men.
• WIth just under two minutes remaining, Eli Shope split two defenderw with a pass to the onrushing Fernandez Garrido, but his hard shot was off that mark. That was the Falcons' final shot attempt of the match.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"The mentality was really good tonight. From the opening whistle all the way through, the guys were locked in on both sides of the ball."

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU, as mentioned, had a 19-2 lead in total shot attempts, and the Falcons had a 10-0 lead in shots on goal.
• The Falcons also had an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.
• BGSU, as mentioned, won by three goals for the first time since the 2019 season.
• It was the Falcons' first multiple-goal win since that aforementioned West Virginia match on Oct. 26, 2019. All seven of the Falcons' wins in 2020(-21), along with the final four victories of '19, all came by a single goal.
• BGSU led by two goals on only one occasion last season. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead against Syracuse (Feb. 23, 2021) before winning by a 2-1 final.
• BG now leads Cleveland State, 19-16-1, in the series, and the Falcons have won six of the last seven meetings.
• A pair of Falcons – Gaetano D'Argento and Daniel Lacerda – made their respective BGSU debuts in the second half.
• Anaya's goal was his second in as many matches. He scored the overtime winner at Gonzaga on Sunday night before recording the winner in the 16th minute in Cleveland.
• Sergi Martinez, who picked up his first point as a Falcons in that Gonzaga match, scored his first BG goal against the Vikings, and had an assist for the second-straight game. Martinez, a transfer from Hartford, had 19 points (six goals, seven assists) in three seasons with the Hawks.
• The Falcons have a record of 27-14-5 over the last 46 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 concludes on Monday afternoon (Sept. 6) at Michigan State, with the Labor Day match beginning at 2:00 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.
• Then, BGSU will return home to face defending national champion Marshall on Saturday, Sept. 11. That contest will begin at 8:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

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.