Falcons Take Care of Business Against Belmont, 1-0

Friday, September 27

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

8-1-1, 3-0-0

Belmont

2-4-3, 0-2-1

Belmont

Bowling Green

Photo by: Avery Zuercher, BGSU Athletics

September 27, 2024 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)Support BGSU Men's Soccer Photo Gallery

BGSU tops last year's overall win total, moves to 3-0-0 in the MVC

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Junior Trace Terry scored a world-class goal as the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team took care of business with a 1-0 win over Belmont University Friday night (Sept. 27). The Missouri Valley Conference match was held at Cochrane Stadium.

Brendan Graves made three saves, all in the second half, en route to a second shutout in as many matches.

With the win, the Falcons (8-1-1, 3-0-0 MVC) have topped the overall win total for all of last season. BGSU is off to the best start to a season since 1995.

BGSU, receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll, outshot Belmont by a 14-8 count on the night, and the Falcons had an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Terry's goal came with exactly six minutes left in the first half. Sophomore Jake Lane brought the ball down the left side of the field and fired a line-drive cross toward the center. Terry, located in the half-circle just outside the 18-yard line, redirected the cross past BU goalkeeper Grant Calvert and into the right side of the net.

The Falcons enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the first half, but the visitors applied pressure in the second half, particularly in the last 25-30 minutes. But, Graves and the defense stood tall and preserved the one-goal lead, the shutout and the win.

Calvert made seven saves for the Bruins.

(Post-match interviews with Graves, Terry and head coach Eric Nichols, as well as a photo gallery, can be found below)

NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• As mentioned, the Falcons have topped the win total for all of last season. The 2023 club finished with a 7-8-3 overall record.

• And, the 2024 team's record through 10 games is the Falcons' best since 1995. That '95 club got off to a 9-1-0 start en route to a 16-3-2 record and a trip to the NCAA Championships.

ALSO NOTEWORTHY
• BGSU is off to a 3-0-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 1996 team finished the regular season with a 5-0-0 Mid-American Conference mark. Several other teams have been unbeaten after three conference matches since '96, including the 2016 (2-0-1), 2018 (1-0-2) and 2021 (2-0-1) clubs.

• Trace Terry now has nine goals on the season, the highest total by a Falcon since Pat Flynn scored nine goals in the 2015 campaign. The last player with a double-digit single-season goal total was Flynn, who found the back of the net 14 times in 2014.

• Terry has scored at least one goal in four consecutive games. He is the second Falcon in as many seasons to do so, joining Alberto Anaya, who had a four-game goal-scoring streak late in the 2023 campaign. Prior to Anaya's feat, no Falcon had had a longer streak since Omari Aldridge found the back of the net in five-straight contests in 2005.

• BGSU is now 5-0-0 in 'home' games this season, including a 4-0-0 mark at Cochrane Stadium. The Falcons now have a record of 51-15-15 at Cochrane since the start of the 2014 campaign.

Gallery: (9-27-2024) 092724 msoc v Belmont - Avery Zuercher

UP NEXT
• The Falcons are off until next weekend, when BGSU will begin the October portion of the schedule with a trip to Chicago. The Falcons will face UIC on Saturday, Oct. 5, with first touch set for 8:00 p.m. ET.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will return to Cochrane Stadium three days later (Tuesday, Oct. 8), meeting Detroit Mercy in a 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 right here at BGSUFalcons.com.