Late Goal Lifts Loyola Past Falcons, 1-0

Sunday, August 28

Chicago, Ill.

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Loyola Chicago

2-0-0, 0-0-0

Bowling Green

Loyola Chicago

Photo by: Steve Woltmann

August 28, 2022 | Men's Soccer

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BGSU hosts Ohio State Thursday

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

CHICAGO, Ill. – Benni Hofmann's goal with just over five minutes to play lifted Loyola University Chicago to a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Sunday afternoon. The non-conference match was held at Loyola Soccer Park.

With the win, the Ramblers improve to 2-0-0 on the young season, while the Falcons drop to 0-1-1.

The scoring play began on a right-side cross from John Gates. BGSU goalkeeper Brendan Graves came off of his line to punch the ball away as he collided with a Loyola attacker. But, as Graves fell to the ground, the ball went directly to Hofmann on the left side of the six-yard box. Hofmann collected the ball and fired a shot into the far side of the net with 5:14 left in the match.

QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"Losing is hard to handle but it comes with the territory, particularly with such a challenging schedule. But, these challenges are what we want. We can handle any result and we will will continue to grow.

"In terms of the performance, I thought we were really good. I saw a big improvement from Friday. But, against an opponent like Loyola, we needed to take our chances and we didn't.

"But the boys played in tough conditions in front of a big crowd and competed like warriors. We hate losing, but I saw some incredible character today and am excited for more battles ahead."

HIGHLIGHTS
• Before a crowd of 1,163 – believed to be the largest crowd in Loyola Soccer Park history – the Falcons fired the first four shot attempts of the day. Just over five minutes in, an effort by Jensen Lukacsko just outside the box was blocked.
• In the 11th minute, a nifty cross by Eli Shope sailed toward the center of the six-yard box, but a Loyola defender just beat Nathan Masters to the ball.
• Moments later, Alberto Anaya took a free kick from the left side. His diagonal ball went through a maze of players untouched, and the Loyola goalkeeper was forced to make a diving effort to his left, just getting a hand on the ball to tip it wide of the post.
• In the 18th minute, a cross by Kale Nichols was tipped by the 'keeper, Simon Jillson. Jillson was able to pounce on the rebound before a Falcon could arrive.
• One minute later, Shope hit another cross into the area, but the resulting shot went over the goal.
• Midway through the period, Shope hit a dangerous shot from the left side of the six-yard box, forcing Jillson into a point-blank save. Then, Shope hit a volley off of the ensuing corner kick, but that shot was off the mark.
• A counterattack by the Ramblers in the 27th minute resulted in a shot by Fabian Becerra, but BGSU goalkeeper Brendan Graves was in position to make the save.
• Just over 10 minutes remained in the half with Marc Torrellas hit a blast, but Graves was able to tip that shot over the crossbar. The hoss maintained possession after the resulting corner kick, but the BG back line blocked a pair of shots and the Falcons cleared the ball away.
• Six minutes into the second half, another Loyola counter saw Billy Hency hit a hard shot, but the ball was sent directly to Graves. Five minutes later, Hency uncorked a much harder shot, but Graves was again equal to the task, as he parried the ball and then caught it out of the air.
• In the 58th minute, Masters took a pass from Shope and hit a low shot from just outside the box. The shot forced Jillson into a diving save, and the Ramblers were able to clear the ball away.
• With 16 minutes remaining, Shope got his head on an Anaya free kick, but the effort went over the bar.
• The Ramblers threatened several minutes later, with back-to-back corner kicks, but the BG defense dealt with both. Then, with 11 minutes to go, Joey Akpunonu broke up a crossing attempt as he battled for the ball with a Loyola striker, and Graves was able to pounce on the ball.
• Andrew Mitchell's header off of a corner kick was blocked out of play, and after the ensuing corner, a shot by Julian Cisneros rang off the post with 6:50 to go.
• The Ramblers got on the board with just over five minutes left. Graves, as mentioned, came off his line to punch away a cross, but as he fell to the ground, the ball went to Benni Hoffman, who settled it and quickly fired a shot into the far side of the net.
• The Falcons were fouled just outside the penalty area with 1:20 to go, and Akpunonu took the free kick. But, his blast was blocked by a Loyola player in the wall. As BG put the ball back into the penalty area, a foul was called on the Falcons, giving Loyola a free kick and an opportunity to kill most of the remaining time in the match.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Ramblers had a slim 10-9 advantage in total shot attempts, and Loyola had a 7-3 lead in shots on goal.
• Brendan Graves made five saves for the Falcons, who were credited with a 'team save' as well. Simon Jillson had three stops for the hosts.
• Freshman Amer Dedic, who came off the bench to make his BGSU debut in Friday's match at DePaul, made his first collegiate start on Sunday.
• The Falcons have a record of 36-21-8 over the last 65 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Thirteen of the 21 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

UP NEXT
• BGSU's next three matches are against Big Ten Conference opponents, beginning Thursday (Sept. 1). On that night, Ohio State comes to Cochrane Stadium to face BG in the Falcons' home opener, with first touch set for 7:00 p.m.
• Then, the Orange and Brown will head to Ann Arbor to face the University of Michigan on Labor Day afternoon (Sept. 5), before returning home to meet Michigan State University four days later (Friday, Sept. 9) at Cochrane.

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.