Falcons Battle DePaul to Scoreless Stalemate

Friday, August 26

Chicago, Ill.

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-0-1, 0-0-0

DePaul

0-0-1, 0-0-0

Bowling Green

DePaul

Brendan Graves made three saves en route to the shutout on Friday

Photo by: Steve Woltmann

August 26, 2022 | Men's Soccer

Box Score BGSU-DePaul Stats Support Our Student-Athletes

Graves makes three saves to earn third career shutout

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team opened the 2022 regular-season schedule by battling DePaul University to a scoreless draw Friday afternoon (Aug. 26). The match was held at Wish Field.

Brendan Graves made three saves in goal to earn the third shutout of his collegiate career for the 25th-ranked Falcons.

BGSU, ranked 25th in the nation in two polls, had advantages of 17-5 in total shot attempts, 6-3 in shots on goal and 7-1 in corner kicks against the Blue Demons, but the Falcons could not get a shot past DU goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz.

Kyle Cusimano, one of six Falcons to play all 90 minutes, singlehandedly outshot the opponents with a total of eight shot attempts on Friday.

FALCONS REACT
"I am quite pleased with the way we defended, I thought we created enough chances, and I really liked the mentality. We are disappointed not to get a win today, but we have to give credit to DePaul for the way they defended and their goalkeeper in particular for some big saves.

"We know this is how soccer can be, and we must grow and move on to the next challenge." -- head coach Eric Nichols

HIGHLIGHTS
• BGSU outshot DePaul, 7-2, in the first half, but the only two shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes belonged to the Blue Demons.
• In the 15th minute, a Falcon flurry in the box led to a BG corner kick. Shots by Kyle Cusimano and Eli Shope were blocked, but the latter shot went out over the end line.
• Midway through the half, Alberto Anaya was fouled and the ensuing free kick was bandied about in the box. A hard shot/cross by the Falcons went dangerously through the penalty area, but out the other side.
• Another DePaul foul led to a free kick in the 33rd minute. Anaya slid a ball to Nathan Masters, who uncorked a hard shot that hit the head of a DU defender. Play was momentarily halted due to injury, but the DePaul player was able to remain in the match.
• Early in the second half, a forward ball put Cusimano through, but his shot was stopped by DU goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz near the top of the box.
• Just over a moment later, the hosts had a chance at the other end. A shot by Will Stroud was blocked, but the rebound fell to Michael Anderson in the box. Anderson, however, shot the ball over the bar.
• Cusimano was fouled in the 55th minute, and the free kick found Sergi Martinez charging into the box on the right side. But, Cruz was able to grab his low cross.
• Several minutes later, Joey Akpunonu knocked a DePaul cross out of the other penalty area, and Brendan Graves made a headlong dive to grab another cross seconds later.
• Midway through the half, Akpunonu uncorked an absolute blast, but Cruz was able to make a diving save to tip the ball wide of the post. Off of the ensuing corner kick, a Falcon got a head on the ball in the box, and it glanced off the crossbar.
• Under 20 minutes remained when Graves made a spectacular diving grab of a left-side diagonal ball in traffic.
• A Martinez shot was parried away, and moments later, a Cusimano scissors kick went over the bar. BGSU immediately stole the ball back off of the goal kick, and Cusimano saw another shot roll just wide of the far post.
• With under a minute to go, BGSU won a corner kick. That boot by Anaya found the head of Trace Terry, but Terry's shot sailed high.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Brendan Graves kept the third clean sheet of his BGSU career. All three of his shutouts have come on the road, including wins at Oakland and Louisville last season. The latter match came in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
• Both Gaetano D'Argento and Eli Shope made the first starts of their respective collegiate careers on Friday. Josh Erlandson made his second start as a Falcon.
• A pair of Falcons, Amer Dedic and Tracy Terry, came off the bench to make their BGSU debuts.
• The Falcons have opened the season with a scoreless draw for the second-straight season. Exactly one year ago (Aug. 26, 2021), BGSU and IUPUI battled to a 0-0 stalemate at Cochrane Field. The Falcons responded by winning the next three matches en route to a 7-1-1 start.
• The Falcons now have a record of 36-20-8 over the last 64 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Twelve of the 20 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

UP NEXT
• BGSU remains in the Windy City for the weekend, as the Falcons take on Loyola University Chicago on Sunday (Aug. 28). That match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET at Loyola Soccer Park.

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.