No. 24 Falcons Return to MVC Play With Saturday Match at Bradley

Saturday, September 21

Peoria, Ill.

8 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Bradley

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Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

September 20, 2024 | Men's Soccer

BGSU Notes BU Men's Soccer 2024 Record Book Support Falcon Men's Soccer

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

#24 BGSU at BRADLEY
Saturday, Sept. 21 | 8:00 p.m. ET
Shea Stadium | Peoria, Ill.
Video/Web Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: BradleyBraves.com

• The nationally-ranked Bowling Green State University men's soccer team returns to Missouri Valley Conference action this weekend. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons head to Peoria, Ill., for a Saturday (Sept. 21) matchup with Bradley University. First touch is set for 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) at Shea Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The Bradley match will be streamed 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 2024 matches can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on game day.

FALCONS IN THE TOP 25
• The Falcons are ranked 24th in the nation in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, which was released on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 17). It marks BGSU's first time in the poll since the Falcons were tied for 25th in the nation in the 2022 preseason rankings (Aug. 2, 2022).

• BGSU has not been listed higher than 24th in the rankings since the 2021 team rose to 14th in the country (Oct. 19, 2021).

• For the second-straight week, the Falcons are ranked fourth in the West Region, trailing only #3 Denver, #9 Western Michigan and #15 San Diego.

PAINT BY NUMBERS
• Bennett Painter, after a fantastic finish to his freshman campaign, has had a sensational start to his sophomore season. Painter scored both of BGSU's goals, including the winner with just over three minutes left, in the Falcons' 2-1 win over Northern Illinois last Friday night (Sept. 13). The brace lifted his team-leading totals to five goals and 11 points this season.

• Despite being held scoreless on Tuesday at Northern Kentucky, Painter has amassed 19 career points in 20 games, on eight goals and three assists. He has scored all 19 of those points in his last 10 matches, dating to late last season.

• Painter has recorded at least one point in eight of those 10 games, including in five of seven contests this season to date.

• As of Thursday afternoon (Sept. 19), Painter was tied for second in the entire nation in game-winning goals, with three.

ONE AND OH
• Sure, it's only the program's second season as a member of the conference, but the Falcons are off to a 1-0-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play for the first time ever. BGSU's last win in a league opener came in 2021, when the Falcons downed Georgia State and Georgia Southern to get off to a 2-0-0 start in Mid-American Conference action.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green is 5-1-1 on the season, heading into the Bradley match, and the Falcons are off to a 1-0-0 start in MVC play. BGSU opened conference action with a 2-1 win over Northern Illinois last Friday night (Sept. 13) at Cochrane Stadium.

• Most recently, the Falcons battled host Northern Kentucky to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening (Sept. 17).

• The Falcons are currently ranked 24th in the nation and fourth in the West Region, according to the United Soccer Coaches polls. Those rankings came out on Tuesday afternoon.

• The Falcons are 3-0-0 at home this season, with a pair of 3-2 wins over Wright State (Aug. 23) and Butler (Sept. 7) in addition to the NIU match. And, BGSU is 2-1-1 in road games, heading into the Bradley bout.

• BG went on the road and defeated both Michigan State (1-0, Aug. 26) and IU Indy (4-1, Aug. 30-31), before falling to now nationally-ranked Michigan (2-0, Sept. 2).

• The Falcons welcomed back 17 of the 20 players who saw action last season. That group includes nine starters from a 2023 club that went 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-0 in BGSU's first year in the MVC.

• Sophomore Bennett Painter leads the team in scoring, with five goals and 11 points, while junior Trace Terry has nine points, including four goals. Three of Painter's five goals have proven to be the game-winner.

• Junior Andrew Shaffer and senior Alberto Anaya have six points apiece. Shaffer leads the team with four assists, while Anaya is third on the club with two goals. Fifth-year Falcon Kyle Cusimano has four points on the year.

• Another fifth-year Falcon, Brendan Graves, has played all seven matches in goal and has 21 saves, a 1.29 GAA and one shutout. Two of the nine goals BGSU has allowed have come via penalty kicks.

• Graves, Cusimano and Josh Erlandson each have played all 630 minutes this season to date, while Painter and Shaffer have played 628 and 607, respectively.

• Anaya and Terry, BGSU's top-two scorers from a year ago, each were named to the Preseason All-MVC Team in 2024. Both players had 14 points on four goals and six assists last season. Anaya was named to the 2023 All-MVC First Team, with Terry earning all-conference second-team honors.

• In all, BGSU returned six of last year's top-seven scorers.

• Graves is back in goal in '24 after starting every match a year ago. In fact, Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 47 matches, dating to Oct. 22, 2021.

RHYMES WITH SAVES
• Fifth-year Falcon Brendan Graves has had many impressive matches in goal during his tenure in the Orange and Brown, but the performance at Michigan State (Aug. 26) was definitely one of his best. Graves made six saves, with arguably no routine stops among them, in the Falcons' 1-0 win.

• Graves, who has been in goal for every second of every match for more than two years now, recorded the 12th shutout of his Falcon career in the win over MSU. Eight of those 12 clean sheets have come on the road.

• Graves recorded five or more saves in nine matches last season, including in eight of BG's final 12 contests. He has had two such games this season to date, making five stops vs. Butler in addition to his six-save performance vs. the Spartans.

• Entering the Bradley match, Graves has a career goals-against average of 1.27, along with 166 saves and (as mentioned) 12 complete-match shutouts. He finished the 2023 season ranked ninth in the nation in total saves (84) and 16th in saves per game (4.67).

• Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 47 matches, a total of 4,250 minutes. No other BGSU 'keeper has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.

HOME COOKIN'
• Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons have made Cochrane Stadium a difficult place to play for the opponents. In the last decade (plus three games) – since the start of the 2014 season – BGSU has a record of 50-15-15 (.719) in home games.

• Since Nichols took the helm prior to the 2009 season, the Falcons have a record of 66-31-22 at home.

ROAD WARRIORS
• Before the month of August had ended, the Falcons had doubled the road win total for all of last season.

• BGSU went 1-6-2 away from home in 2023, but the '24 Falcons began the road portion of the schedule with a 1-0 win over Michigan State (Aug. 26), then went to IU Indy and came away with a 4-1 victory (Aug. 30-31). BGSU enters the Bradley match with a 2-1-1 road record this season.

A FEW MORE FALCON FACTS
• The Falcons had a very successful year in the classroom in 2023-24. BGSU had a team grade-point average of 3.41 during the '23-24 academic year.

• The 2024 season marks BGSU's second year in the MVC. So far since joining the conference, the Falcons have averaged 2.80 goals per game in home regular-season contests.

• The victory over IU Indy was the Falcons' first win by three or more goals since a 6-0 verdict vs. Northern Illinois on the final night of the 2022 season (Nov. 6, 2022). It was BGSU's first three-goal win on the road since a 3-0 victory at Chicago State earlier in that 2022 season (Oct. 13).

• Senior Alberto Anaya's goal at IU Indy was the 13th of his career, tops among active Falcons. It was also the seventh game-winning goal as a Falcon, moving him into a tie for eighth place on that BGSU career list (BGSU's GWG information is available back to 1987).

• After picking up an assist in the NKU match, Anaya now has 44 career points as a Falcon. He has moved into sole possession of 26th place on that BGSU list.

• Since the start of the 2009 season, BGSU is 92-10-7 when scoring two or more goals in a match.

• Entering the Bradley match, the Falcons have an overall record of 54-34-16 over the last 104 games, dating to midway through the 2018 season. BGSU has 25 multiple-goal victories in that time.

CAPTAINS
• Alberto Anaya, Kyle Cusimano and Brendan Graves are the captains of the 2024 Falcons. All three are captains for the second-straight season.

THE OPPONENT
• Bradley enters Saturday night's match with an overall record of 3-4-1, and the Braves are 0-1-0 in MVC play. BU lost a narrow 1-0 decision on the road at Missouri State Sunday night (Sept. 15), before dropping a 2-0 match at SIUE on Wednesday (Sept. 18). Individually, Mitch Coughlon leads the team in scoring, with three goals and seven points. Drew Berry has started five games in goal and has two shutouts, 24 saves and a GAA of just 1.00. Alex Grow has made three starts and has one clean sheet, 10 saves and a 1.67 GAA. Tim Regan is in his first season as head coach after seven years as an assistant on the staff. The Braves went 5-6-6 overall and 1-6-1 in the MVC last season, and BU returned 27 letterwinners from a year ago.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Bradley, 2-1-0, in the all-time series, but the Falcons picked up a 3-1 win at Cochrane last Sept. 23. Trace Terry scored a pair of goals in that win, including the go-ahead tally in the 83rd minute, while Jake Lane had his first collegiate goal in that contest. Prior to the 2023 meeting, the teams had not clashed since 1999.

UP NEXT
• Following the Bradley match, the Falcons will end the month of September with home games vs. Eastern Illinois (Sept. 24) and Belmont (Sept. 27).

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), and on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.