Falcons Venture to NE Ohio for Rematch with No. 20 Zips

Monday, October 17

Akron, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Akron

Josh Erlandson at Michigan - Sept 5 2022

Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics

October 16, 2022 | Men's Soccer

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By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

FALCONS at AKRON – Monday, October 17
7:00 p.m. | FirstEnergy Stadium | Akron, Ohio
• Video/Web Stream: ESPN+ •
• Live Stats: GoZips.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer •

FIRST TOUCH
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team heads to Northeast Ohio to wrap up the first half of the Mid-American Conference schedule. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons meet the University of Akron in a Monday evening matchup (Oct. 17). First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Monday's Akron contest will be aired by ESPN+. 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 3-4-4 on the season, and BGSU is 1-1-1 in MAC play after a 3-0 win at Chicago State on Thursday night (Oct. 13). Joey Akpunonu, Andrew Shaffer and Eli Shope each scored for the Falcons, with Sergi Martinez assisting on all three goals. Brendan Graves made two saves en route to the shutout.

• BGSU had gone nearly nine years without having a player record three assists in a match, but now it has happened twice in under a month. Martinez had the primary assist on all three goals in the Windy City, falling just one helper shy of the school single-game record.

• Alberto Anaya also has had a three-assist game this fall, as he turned the trick in BGSU's home win over Oakland on Sept. 23. Prior to Anaya's feat, no Falcon had recorded a three-assist match since November of 2013.

. Prior to the Chicago State match, the Falcons played #20 Akron to a 1-1 draw at Cochrane Stadium (Oct. 6). BGSU got a goal from Shaffer midway through the second half. 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 11 matches this season. The first 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-straight 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 nine of this year's 11 games have been scoreless at the half, with the lone exceptions being the Oakland (BG led, 3-0) and Akron (BG trailed, 1-0) matches at Cochrane.

• The Falcons have kept the opponent off of the scoreboard in the first half in 12 of the last 13 matches, dating to last November.

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

• In the Falcons' four draws – scoreless ties at DePaul and Michigan and 1-1 home outcomes vs. Michigan State and UA – BG outshot the foes by a combined total of 69-29. The Falcons had a 20-12 lead in shots on goal against those four 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.

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 eight points on a pair of goals and a team-high four assists, while Joey Akpunonu and Andrew Shaffer each have six points. Akpunonu has three goals, including the game-winning marker at Chicago State, 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.

• Shaffer has three goals to tie Anaya and Akpunonu for the team lead. He has found the back of the net in each of BGSU's last two games, and has two of the Falcons' four goals in MAC play to date.

• Brendan Graves and the BGSU back line have allowed just seven goals – including one on a PK – in 990 minutes of action. Graves has 26 saves and a goals-against average of 0.64 this season. He now has a career GAA of 1.05 and six shutouts in 18 career starts.

• Akpunonu, Graves and Martinez each have started all 11 matches this season. Kyle Cusimano, Josh Erlandson, Jensen Lukacsko and Kale Nichols also have started every match, while Anaya, Amer Dedic and Nathan Masters have made 10 starts apiece and Eli Shope seven.

THE OPPONENT
• Akron enters Monday's match with an overall record of 8-2-3, and the Zips are 3-0-1 in MAC play. UA won a pair of road matches last week, 8-0 at Chicago State and 1-0 at Western Michigan. The Zips are ranked No. 20 in the nation in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. Dyson Clapier has a team-high 16 points, including six goals, while Jason Shokalook has 15 points on five goals and five assists. Mitch Budler has played every second in goal, and has a 1.23 goals-against average along with 37 saves and four shutouts. Head coach Jared Embick's 2021 club went 9-6-3 overall and 2-3-1 in the MAC, advancing to the NCAA Championships.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Akron, 50-10-6, in the all-time series. The teams tied this year's first meeting (1-1 on Oct. 6) after splitting the previous four matchups. The Zips captured last year's lone meeting by a 5-1 final in the Rubber City (Oct. 22, 2021). The Falcons' last road win over UA was a 1-0 triumph in the semifinals of the 2019 MAC Tournament. BG is 4-19-5 at home, 4-29-1 on the road and 2-2-0 at neutral sites vs. the Zips over the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the UA match, the Falcons will face Chicago State for the second time in eight days, when the Cougars come to Cochrane 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 #