Falcons Host Michigan in Labor Day Matinee

Monday, September 4

Bowling Green, Ohio

3 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Michigan

Kyle Blasingame & the Falcons host Michigan on Monday afternoon

Photo by: Lauren Laudato, BGSU Athletics

September 02, 2023 | Men's Soccer

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Free admission as U-M comes to Cochrane for a 3:00 p.m. start

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU vs. MICHIGAN
Monday, Sept. 4 | 3:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: WBGU-TV (YouTube)
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com

• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team begins a three-match homestand on Labor Day afternoon (Sept. 4). The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols face the University of Michigan in a Monday matinee, with first touch set for 3:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Monday's Michigan matchup will be streamed on YouTube, free of charge, and produced by WBGU-TV. 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 are 1-1-1 on the young season. 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.

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

• For his heroics in that win, Shaffer was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.

• On Monday night (Aug. 28), Michigan State scored two goals in the final nine minutes to break open a close game and down the Falcons, 3-0. BGSU played a man down for the last 46-plus minutes.

• Then, on Thursday evening (Aug. 31), the Falcons battled Duquesne to a 2-2 draw on the road. Kyle Cusimano and Rodrigo Montez Silva found the back of the net for the Orange and Brown, while Brendan Graves made a career-high 10 saves, including several world-class stops.

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.

• Those five Falcons all saw action at Michigan State as well, along with Daniel Cerezo, who made his BGSU debut vs. the Spartans.

• Sophomore Andrew Shaffer had the first two-goal match of his young career vs. CSU, 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 made the first start of his career on Thursday at Duquesne, while Montez Silva, a transfer from Keiser University, made his first start as a Falcon vs. the Dukes.

A FEW MORE NOTES AND NUMBERS
• Since the start of the 2009 season, BGSU is now 82-9-7 when scoring two or more goals in a match.

• The Falcons are 58-29-21 in home matches since Eric 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 Michigan match, the Falcons have a record of 43-26-13 over the last 81 games, dating to midway through the 2018 season. Sixteen of the 26 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.

THE OPPONENT
• Michigan is undefeated, as the Wolverines will bring a 1-0-2 record into the Bowling Green match. Monday's contest will be the first road game of the season for U-M. The Wolverines have posted 1-1 draws with Loyola Marymount and No. 9 Akron, sandwiched around a 2-0 win over California Baptist. Four different players have scored one goal apiece for Michigan in the season's early going. Hayden Evans has played every second in net and has eight saves, one shutout and a GAA of just 0.67. Head coach Chaka Daley welcomed back 16 letterwinners from a 2022 team that went 4-10-3 overall and 1-6-1 in Big Ten Conference play.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Michigan, 6-5-2, in the all-time series, but BGSU is unbeaten (3-0-2) over the last five matches vs. the Wolverines. Last season, in another Labor Day afternoon matchup (Sept. 5, 2022), the teams battled to a scoreless draw in Ann Arbor, with the Falcons owning a 15-5 shots advantage. That was the teams' first meeting since a 1-0 BG victory in 2014. The Wolverines' last visit to Cochrane Stadium came 10 years (plus two days) prior to this year's meeting, and saw the clubs battle to a 1-1, double-overtime draw. BGSU is 2-1-1 at home and 3-5-1 on the road vs. U-M over the years.

UP NEXT
• Following the Michigan match, the Falcons will remain at home for the next two games, beginning with a Friday (Sept. 8) contest vs. DePaul. That match begins at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and is part of the BGSU men's soccer program's Alumni Weekend festivities.

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.