Falcons Head to Windy City for Thursday Meeting with Cougars

Thursday, October 13

Chicago, Ill.

8:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Chicago State

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

October 11, 2022 | Men's Soccer

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#MACtion continues against the MAC's newest member

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FALCONS at CHICAGO STATE – Thursday, October 13
8:00 p.m. ET | Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep | Chicago, Ill.
• Video/Web Stream: FloFC •
• Live Stats: GoCSUCougars.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer •

FIRST TOUCH
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team hits the road for the next two matches, beginning with a trip to the Windy City. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons face the Mid-American Conference's newest member, taking on Chicago State University Thursday night (Oct. 13). First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. locally (8:00 p.m. ET) at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Thursday's CSU matchup will be aired by FloFC (FloSports – fee required). Live stats and Twitter updates (@BGSUmenssoccer), as always, will also be available.

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2022 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.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons are 2-4-4 on the season. BGSU got a goal from freshman Andrew Shaffer midway through the second half, battling #20 Akron to a 1-1 draw Thursday (Oct. 6) at Cochrane Stadium. Eli Shope had the primary assist on the goal, beating a defender to the ball near the end line and sliding it to Shaffer.

• The UA match snapped a two-game losing streak. BGSU fell, 1-0, at Georgetown – a 2021 national semifinalist – on Oct. 1, after suffering a loss by the identical score to Western Michigan in the MAC opener (Sept. 27).

• BGSU has allowed just seven goals in 10 matches this season. The Akron game marked the first time this year that the Brown and Orange surrendered a first-half goal. The Falcons had not given up a goal prior to halftime in 11 consecutive contests, dating to a MAC Tournament match at Northern Illinois last Nov. 11.

• Akron's goal came 10:38 into the match. Each of the other six opponent goals this season have come in the 65th minute or later.

• No fewer than eight of this year's 10 games have been scoreless at the half, with the lone exceptions being the Oakland contest on Sept. 23 and the UA match.

• All four of BGSU's losses – to Loyola (Ill.), Ohio State, WMU and Georgetown – have come by identical 1-0 scores.

• In the Falcons' three draws – scoreless ties at DePaul and Michigan and a 1-1 home outcome vs. Michigan State – BGSU outshot the foes by a combined total of 59-20. The Falcons had a 17-8 lead in shots on goal against those three opponents.

• BGSU's other two contests – wins at Air Force and at home vs. Oakland – saw the Falcons score nine goals in a two-match span. The Falcons downed Air Force, 3-1 (Sept. 17), before posting a 6-0 win over OU six days later at Cochrane.

• Alberto Anaya exploded for a seven-point night in the Oakland match. He was involved in the scoring of five of BGSU's six goals, scoring the first two (just 2:23 apart) and assisting on all three second-half markers.

• Anaya's total of seven points was the highest by a Falcon since 2014, and was the highest against an NCAA Division-I opponent since 1989.

• Sergi Martinez had a three-point night, with a goal and an assist vs. the Golden Grizzlies. Kyle Cusimano had three points in the win at Air Force, scoring BGSU's first goal and assisting on the third.

INDIVIDUALLY...
• Alberto Anaya leads the Falcons in scoring. The 2021 MAC Freshman of the Year has nine points on three goals and three assists.

• Sergi Martinez has five points on a pair of goals and an assist, while Joey Akpunonu and Andrew Shaffer each have four points. Akpunonu has a pair of penalty-kick goals to date, and at the other end of the pitch, Akpunonu had three 'team saves' over the two-match span vs. Air Force and Oakland, including a first-half sequence in the Air Force match in which he blocked back-to-back shots off the goal line.

• Brendan Graves and the BGSU back line have allowed just seven goals – including one on a PK – in 900 minutes of action. Graves has 24 saves and a goals-against average of 0.70 this season. He now has a career GAA of 1.11 and five shutouts in 17 career starts.

• Akpunonu, Anaya, Graves and Martinez each have started all 10 matches this season. Kyle Cusimano, Josh Erlandson, Jensen Lukacsko and Kale Nichols also have started every match, while Amer Dedic and Nathan Masters have made nine starts apiece, Eli Shope six and Jake Bergin five.

THE OPPONENT
• Chicago State enters Thursday's match with an overall record of 1-8-3, and the Cougars are 0-3-0 in MAC play. CSU, a first-year MAC affiliate member for men's soccer, suffered an 8-0 home loss to Akron on Sunday evening (Oct. 9). Danail Sergiev leads the team with six goals and 13 points, while Niall Reid-Stephen has four goals and 10 points. Marco Seyfert has played every second in goal, and has a 3.17 goals-against average along with 40 saves and one shutout. Norris Howze is in his first season as head coach of the Cougars. Last fall, CSU went 2-13-3 overall and 0-9-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons and Chicago State have never met in men's soccer.

UP NEXT
• Following the CSU match, the Falcons will head to Northeast Ohio to meet Akron for the second time in under two weeks. The teams will meet on Monday (Oct. 17), with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will face Chicago State for the second time in eight days, when the Cougars come to Cochrane next Friday (Oct. 21). That match will begin at 7:00 p.m., and it will be Senior Night for the Falcons.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the BGSU 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.

# BGSU FALCON SOCCER #