Falcons Face Unbeaten Bradley in First-Ever MVC Home Match

Saturday, September 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Bradley

Photo by: Daniel Carlson, BGSU Athletics

September 22, 2023 | Men's Soccer

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BGSU battles the Braves Saturday night at Cochrane

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BGSU vs. BRADLEY
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 7:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Video/Web Stream: BCSN/ESPN+
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com

• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team prepares for the first Missouri Valley Conference home match in program history this weekend. The Falcons of head coach Eric Nichols face undefeated Bradley University on Saturday evening (Sept. 23), with first touch set for 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Saturday's Bradley bout will be aired by BCSN in the Toledo area, and also will be available via both the BCSN App and on ESPN+. Live stats and Twitter/X updates (@BGSUMSoccer), as always, will also 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.

FASCINATING FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons have an overall record of 3-3-2 this season, and BGSU is 0-1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference action. BG is looking to snap a two-match losing streak after going unbeaten in the previous four games.

• The Falcons dropped a 3-0 decision at Wright State on Tuesday night (Sept. 19) in Dayton. BGSU played without five starters in the match, which was tied with 12 minutes to go before the Raiders scored on a goalmouth scramble, then tacked on two more goals with the Falcons putting numbers forward.

• The Wright State match came after the Brown and Orange suffered 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.

• The Falcons have wins over Cleveland State, Michigan and Northern Kentucky this season to date.

• 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.

INDIVIDUALLY...
• Entering the Bradley match, the Falcons have scored nine goals while allowing 13 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 eight matches in goal this season, and has 40 saves and a goals-against average of 1.63.

• Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 30 matches – a total of 2,720 minutes. No other BGSU player has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.

• A total of 17 different Falcons have started at least one match this season. Only four players – Graves, Terry, Kyle Blasingame and Mads Christensen – have been in the Starting XI for all eight contests.

• Graves, as mentioned, has played every second so far this season. Blasingame leads the field players in minutes played, having been on the pitch for 666 of the 720 total minutes. Masters (571), Montez Silva (566) and Christensen (565) each have played over 55 minutes this year to date.

A FEW MORE NOTES AND NUMBERS
• Since the start of the 2009 season, BGSU is 84-9-7 when scoring two or more goals in a match. In fact, even when scoring just one goal, the Falcons are unbeaten in the last 13 matches (10-0-3) dating to late in the 2021 season.

• The Falcons are 60-29-22 in home matches since Eric Nichols took the helm prior to the 2009 season. BG is 56-21-20 at Cochrane since the start of 2011.

• BGSU is 38-11-14 at home since the start of the 2015 season and 32-9-14 (.709) since the beginning of 2016. The Falcons are 3-0-1 at home so far in 2023.

• Entering the Bradley match, the Falcons have an overall record of 45-28-14 over the last 87 games, dating to midway through the 2018 season. BGSU has 20 multiple-goal victories and 11 multi-goal losses in that time.

THE OPPONENT
• Bradley is 4-0-4 overall, and Saturday will mark the Braves' first MVC match of the season. BU has gone 4-0-0 on the road and 0-0-4 at home to date. The team's last three matches all have resulted in draws, against Mercer, SIUE and Green Bay. Individually, Kevin Mejias leads the team with three goals and seven points, while DJ Koulai has five points, including a team-best three assists. In goal, Drew Barry and Alex Grow each have started four matches. Each 'keeper is 2-0-2 with a GAA of just 0.50 and two shutouts. Head coach Jim DeRose welcomed back 12 letterwinners, including just two starters, from a 2022 team that went 5-11-3 overall and 1-6-1 in the MVC.

THE SERIES
• The Falcons trail Bradley, 2-0-0, in the all-time series, and the teams will be meeting for the first time in close to a quarter century. The Braves posted a 1-0 win at Cochrane Stadium on Sept. 20, 1998, and BU then picked up a 4-1 victory the following year (Sept. 11, 1999) in Peoria.

UP NEXT
• Following the Bradley match, the Falcons will play at home for the second-straight Saturday, when Evansville comes to town next weekend (Sept. 30), in another 7:00 p.m. start. Then, the Orange and Brown will begin the month of October with three-straight road games, against Detroit Mercy (Oct. 3), Maryland (Oct. 7) and Belmont (Oct. 14).

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 right here at BGSUFalcons.com.