Falcons Face Raiders on Tuesday Night in Dayton

Tuesday, September 19

Dayton, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Wright State

Rodrigo Montez Silva, Mads Christensen, Saul Rios, Daniel Cerezo

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

September 18, 2023 | Men's Soccer

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BGSU battles WSU in non-conference matchup

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU at WRIGHT STATE
Tuesday, Sept. 19 | 7:00 p.m.
Alumni Field | Dayton, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: None
Live Stats: WSURaiders.com

• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team steps outside of conference play, heading to Dayton for a Tuesday (Sept. 19) matchup against Wright State University. The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols meet the Raiders in a 7:00 p.m. start at Alumni Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Tuesday's WSU matchup is not scheduled to be streamed. Live stats and Twitter/X updates (@BGSUMSoccer), as always, will be available.

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

COMEBACK KIDS
• The Falcons are 3-2-2 on the young season. Two of the three wins have been come-from-behind victories, as BG battled back from deficits to defeat Cleveland State (3-2; Aug. 24) and Northern Kentucky (2-1; Sept. 12).

• BG has posted two come-from-behind victories in a season for the first time since 2016. The Falcons have not recorded more than two comeback wins in the same season in at least the last 25 years (since at least 1997).

ON THE HORIZON
• Wright State will be the third Horizon League opponent the Falcons have faced this season, and BGSU is scheduled to face a fourth in two weeks. The Orange and Brown have defeated HL foes Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky (both in come-from-behind fashion, as mentioned in the previous note), and BG will also meet Detroit Mercy on Oct. 3.

• BGSU's other non-conference opponents include three schools from the Big Ten Conference (Maryland, Michigan and Michigan State) and one each from the Atlantic 10 (Duquesne) and Big East (DePaul).

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons, as mentioned, have an overall record of 3-2-2 this season, and BGSU is 0-1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference action. BG saw a four-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 1-0 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday (Sept. 16), in the first-ever MVC match for both teams. Brendan Graves tied his season and career high with 10 saves, including nine in the first half alone, vs. the Broncos.

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

• After a 3-0 loss at Michigan State (Aug. 28), in which the Spartans scored twice in the final nine minutes to break open a close game, BGSU began the aforementioned four-game unbeaten streak. The Falcons battled Duquesne to a 2-2 draw on the road (Aug. 31), as Kyle Cusimano and Rodrigo Montez Silva each found the back of the net and Brendan Graves made a career-high 10 saves.

• On Labor Day (Sept. 4), Cusimano opened the scoring with a diving header, and Eli Shope scored the game-winning goal midway through the second half as the Falcons topped Michigan, 2-1, at Cochrane Stadium.

• A crowd of 2,012 watched the win over the Wolverines. That is the seventh-largest crowd at Cochrane Stadium in the last quarter century (attendance records are available from 1997 to the present).

• The Falcons battled DePaul to a scoreless draw (Sept. 8) before picking up a 2-1, come-from-behind win over Northern Kentucky last Tuesday (Sept. 12). Taylor Dyson converted a penalty kick late in the first half, and Jake Bergin scored the winning goal midway through the second.

• Nathan Masters was involved in the scoring of both BGSU goals. He was fouled in the box in the first half, leading to Dyson's PK, and he worked a nifty give-and-go with Bergin for what proved to be the GWG in the 71st minute.

• 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. Nichols and his staff have a whopping 14 newcomers on the 2023 roster.

• After 30 seasons of men's soccer in the MAC, BGSU enters the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023. BGSU and fellow MAC institutions Northern Illinois and Western Michigan join the MVC, which also includes Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, UIC and Missouri State.

• The Falcons have been picked to finish third in the MVC race in the 2023 season. Missouri State, the defending MVC regular-season and tournament champion, was picked to win the league title in 2023, with WMU tabbed for second.

INDIVIDUALLY...
• Entering the WSU match, the Falcons have scored nine goals while allowing 10 this fall. Three players – Kyle Cusimano, Andrew Shaffer and Eli Shope – have scored two goals apiece this season. Those three players have four points apiece, while Trace Terry has three points on a team-leading three assists to date.

• Rodrigo Montez Silva, Taylor Dyson and Jake Bergin each have found the back of the net once this year, and Alberto Anaya also has two points on the season, with assists on each of Cusimano's goals.

• 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. Shaffer had eight points and Josh Erlandson seven a year ago, with each player scoring three goals.

• Brendan Graves has played all seven matches in goal this season, and has 34 saves and a goals-against average of 1.43.

• Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 29 matches – a total of 2,630 minutes. No other BGSU player has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.

THE OPPONENT
• Wright State is 1-2-3 overall and 1-1-0 in Horizon League play. The Raiders picked up a 1-0 win over visiting Milwaukee on Saturday evening (Sept. 16). WSU has earned draws against Xavier, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Eastern Illinois, with losses at IUPUI and nationally-ranked Marshall. The Raiders are 1-0-1 at home on the young season. Individually, six different players have scored one goal apiece. Reece Allbaugh leads the team with three points on a goal and an assist. Alessandro Malterer and Natan Admassu each have seen action in four matches in goal. Malterer has 17 saves, one shutout and a GAA of just 0.75 in over 239 minutes. Alex Van der Sluijs is in his first season as WSU's head coach after serving as an assistant coach with the program last season. That 2022 squad went 4-7-6 overall and 4-1-4 in Horizon League action. WSU was picked to finish fourth in the 10-team HL in 2023.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons lead Wright State, 12-7-3, in the all-time series, and BGSU is unbeaten in the last three meetings. The teams' last matchup saw the Orange and Brown pick up a 3-0 home victory two years ago (Sept. 14, 2021). The Falcons captured a 1-0 win in the last visit to Alumni Field, four years ago (Nov. 5, 2019). WSU's last series win came by a 2-0 score in Dayton in 2017. The Falcons are 7-2-3 at home and 5-5-0 on the road vs. the Raiders through the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the WSU match, the Falcons will return home for the next two matches, beginning with a Saturday (Sept. 23) contest vs. Bradley. That MVC matchup will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium. BGSU then ends September by hosting Evansville the following Saturday evening (Sept. 30), in another 7:00 p.m. start.

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.