Falcons Begin Road Portion of Schedule with Monday's MSU Matchup

Monday, August 28

East Lansing, Mich.

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Michigan State

Andrew Shaffer v Cleveland State - Aug 24 2023

Andrew Shaffer scored two second-half goals in Thursday's win over CSU

Photo by: Nathan Kubala, BGSU Athletics

August 26, 2023 | Men's Soccer

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BGSU battles the Spartans in a 7:00 p.m. start

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU at MICHIGAN STATE
Monday, Aug. 28 | 7:00 p.m.
DeMartin Stadium | East Lansing, Mich.
Video/Web Stream: Big Ten Network+
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com

• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after posting a come-from-behind victory in the 2023 season opener, will begin the road portion of the schedule on Monday evening (Aug. 28). Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons head to East Lansing, Mich., to meet Michigan State University, with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Monday's MSU contest will be streamed via Big Ten Network+. Live stats and Twitter/X updates (@BGSUMSoccer), as always, will also be available.

• Links to live audio/video/stats for all 2023 matches can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on game day.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons opened the 2023 season in thrilling fashion, posting a 3-2, come-from-behind win over Cleveland State at Cochrane Stadium on Thursday night (Aug. 24). Sophomore Andrew Shaffer scored a pair of goals less than nine minutes apart to erase a second-half deficit.

• Fifth-year Falcon Eli Shope also found the back of the net for the Falcons, opening the game's scoring in the 16th minute. Sophomore Trace Terry had a pair of assists in the win.

• BGSU held advantages of 17-8 in total shot attempts and 6-3 in shots on goal.

• Bowling Green returned 11 letterwinners, including seven starters, from the 2022 team that went 6-5-5 overall and finished third in the Mid-American Conference with a 4-2-2 league ledger. Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff have a whopping 14 newcomers on the 2023 roster.

FALCON FIRSTS
• A total of five BGSU players made their respective Falcon debuts in the win over Cleveland State. That group included freshmen Mads Christensen, Anthony Hernandez and Bennett Painter, along with transfers Taylor Dyson and Rodrigo Montez Silva. Both Christensen and Dyson were in the starting lineup.

• Sophomore Andrew Shaffer had the first two-goal match of his young career, while Trace Terry recorded his first two-assist match as a Falcon. For Terry, the assists were the first and second, respectively, of his BG career.

• Shaffer's brace marked the first time a BGSU player had scored two goals in a match since ... the Falcons' last game. Sergi.Martinez scored twice in his final collegiate contest, BG's 6-0 win over Northern Illinois last Nov. 6.

• And, Terry recorded the first two-assist game by a Falcon since ... Martinez did so against the Huskies last Nov. 6. Martinez had a six-point match in that BG win.

ADDITIONAL FALCON FACTS
• Thursday's CSU match marked the Falcons' first one-goal win since a 1-0 win at Louisville on Nov. 18, 2021. That win over UofL came in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Championships.

• All six of BGSU's 2022 wins came by two or more goals. In BGSU's five draws last season, the Falcons outshot the foes by a combined total of 71-41.

• After his two-goal performance on Thursday, Andrew Shaffer now has 12 career points in 12 matches. He had eight points on three goals and two assists a year ago, and now has five goals as a Falcon.

• Eli Shope's goal vs. CSU was the second of his BGSU career. He found the back of the net in a win over Chicago State last October.

• Trace Terry had the first two assists of his BG career vs. the Vikings. Terry, who scored a pair of goals last season, now has six career points.

INDIVIDUALLY...
• As mentioned earlier, Alberto Anaya is the Falcons' top returning scorer from a year ago. He had 10 points on three goals and four assists in 2022, despite missing four of BG's 16 matches due to injury.

• Andrew Shaffer had eight points and Josh Erlandson seven a year ago, with each player scoring three goals. Nathan Masters scored five points, while Kyle Cusimano and Trace Terry each had four.

• After one match in 2023, both Shaffer (four points) and Terry (two) are halfway to their point totals for all of '22.

A FEW MORE NOTES AND NUMBERS
• In the Eric Nichols Era, BGSU is now 82-9-6 when scoring two or more goals.

• The Falcons are 58-29-21 in home matches since Nichols took the helm prior to the 2009 season. BG is 54-21-19 at Cochrane since the start of 2011.

• BGSU is 36-11-13 at home since the start of the 2015 season and 30-9-13 (.702) since the beginning of 2016.

• Entering the MSU match, the Falcons have a record of 43-25-12 over the last 80 games, dating to midway through the 2018 season. Sixteen of the 25 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

CAPTAINS
• Alberto Anaya, Kyle Cusimano and Brendan Graves are the captains of the 2023 Falcons.

THE OPPONENT
• Michigan State is 0-0-0 on the season, after Thursday's match vs. Loyola Chicago was halted due to weather and declared a no contest. The Spartans led, 1-0, in the 54th minute when the match was stopped. Jonathan Stout, who had scored the goal vs. Loyola, is the team's top returning scorer with 12 points a year ago en route to Big Ten Co-Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Stout, Greyson Mercer and Jake Spadafora all were named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2023 season. Head coach Damon Rensing's club went 6-9-2 overall and 3-4-1 in Big Ten play in 2022.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Michigan State, 24-17-7, in the all-time series, but BGSU is unbeaten over the last two matches. Last season, the Falcons had a 27-10 advantage in shot attempts, but settled for a 1-1 tie vs. the Spartans at Cochrane (Sept. 9, 2022). Two years ago, the Orange and Brown went to East Lansing and picked up a 3-0 victory, BG's first win over the Spartans since 2001. The Falcons had been 0-16-1 vs. MSU prior to the current two-match unbeaten streak. BGSU is 10-12-3 at home and 7-12-4 on the road vs. Michigan State through the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the MSU match, the Falcons will prepare for a Thursday (Aug. 31) contest at Duquesne, before returning home for a Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 4) matchup with Michigan at Cochrane Stadium. The U-M game begins at 3:00 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on the BGSU men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMSoccer), Instagram (bgfalcons and bgsumsoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer) as well as on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.