Falcons Face Aces in MVC Tourney Title Rematch

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 | 7:00 P.M. | COCHRANE STADIUM | BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

BOWLING GREEN
FALCONS
(3-3-2, 0-0 MVC)

vs.

EVANSVILLE
PURPLE ACES
(2-2-5, 0-0 MVC)


WATCH: WBGU-TV/YouTube \| LIVE STATS: BGSU v UE \| TWITTER/X: @BGSUMSoccer \| INSTAGRAM: bgsumsoccer

SETTING THE SCENE / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team closes the month of September with a pair of home matches, beginning Friday night (Sept. 26). Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons open Missouri Valley Conference play by taking on the University of Evansville, in a rematch of the 2024 MVC Tournament Championship game. Friday's match begins at 7:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium, and admission is free to all home soccer action.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will step outside of conference play for a Tuesday (Sept. 30) meeting with Northern Kentucky University. That contest is also set for a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane.

WHERE TO WATCH
• Friday's Evansville match and Tuesday's NKU meeting each will be streamed on YouTube, and produced by WBGU-TV.

FRIDAY FESTIVITIES
• Friday's UE match is part of the men's soccer program's Alumni Weekend, with a large number of men's soccer greats expected to be on hand. Additionally, former Falcon soccer and lacrosse coach Mickey Cochrane will be recognized prior to the match for his recent induction into the Ohio Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The 1995 championship team will also be recognized, and many former Falcon lacrosse greats are scheduled to be in town as well.

STATS & SOCIAL MEDIA
• Links to live stats (as well as to any available audio/video) for all 2025 matches can always be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com – both on the men's soccer schedule page and in the right column on the main page – on match day.

THE STARTING XI
I – The Falcons are 3-3-2 on the season after Tuesday's (Sept. 23) win at DePaul. Senior Trace Terry and junior Bennett Painter scored goals just 2:19 apart in the second half vs. the Blue Demons.

II – Prior to the DePaul match, the Falcons suffered a 3-0 loss to Bellarmine Saturday (Sept. 20), snapping an 11-match home unbeaten streak. BGSU had been 9-0-2 in home games, including 8-0-2 at Cochrane Stadium, since a 2-1 setback to Northern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Nov. 5, 2023.

III – Terry has scored a goal in three of the last four matches, and leads the Falcons with five goals and 10 points this season. Painter now has three goals and eight points this season. Senior Andrew Shaffer picked up an assist in the DePaul contest, and has two on the season, tying him with Painter for the team lead.

IV – Terry has moved into a tie for 12th place on the BGSU career goals list, and he is now deadlocked for 14th in career points. The striker has 23 goals and 57 points.

V – Painter has scored 46 points in 41 career matches. He now has 19 career goals to rank 18th on that BG chart, and the junior is now 28th in career points.

VI – Junior goalkeeper Enzo Gil has played every second in goal, and has 47 saves, a goals-against average of 1.00 and a pair of clean sheets. Gill, who has been named MVC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, is tied for first in the entire nation in total saves, and he is fifth in the country in saves per game (5.88) and 22nd in save percentage (.855).

VII – Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Gonzalo Carranza, Jack Bennett and Ryan James – have a total of 12 returning student-athletes on the 2025 roster. That group includes six starters from a year ago. A whopping 15 newcomers joined the Falcons in 2025.

VIII – BGSU finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 12-6-2, and the Falcons went 4-3-1 in their second season in the MVC, tying for third place in the then nine-team league. The Orange and Brown picked up wins over UIC and Drake to advance to the championship match of the MVC Tournament, before falling in overtime to Evansville.

IX – Four of the top-six point-scorers from the 2024 club returned. The returnees include a pair of forwards in Painter (13 goals, 30 points) and Terry (12 goals, 29 points) who combined for a whopping 25 goals and 59 points last fall. The duo combined for nine GWG. Terry was named to the All-MVC First Team, and Painter earned all-league second-team honors.

X – Terry was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team last season, and also was chosen to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI Third Team. Terry was named to the TDS Preseason Best XI Third Team in 2025.

XI – Last December, Terry was chosen by Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft. He is the first player in program history to return to the Falcons after being drafted, and is the fifth player in history (and the first since 1999) to come back for another season after being named an All-American.

XII (off the bench) – Terry was named to the United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch list this season – one of just 20 players to be so honored. Additionally, the Falcons were picked to finish second in the MVC in 2025, and Painter, Shaffer and Terry all were named to the Preseason All-MVC Team.

BGSU MSOC FEATURE & LINKS
Sept. 27 - BG Falcon Media - Falcons Honor Mickey Cochrane, Recognize 1995 Championship Team During Alumni Weekend
Sept. 26 - BG Falcon Media - From Brazil to Bowling Green: Men's Soccer's New Brazilian Influence
Sept. 22 - BG Falcon Media - Turning Setbacks into Strengths: The Resilient Journey of Amer Dedic
Sept. 16 - BG Falcon Media - When Passion Meets Opportunity: Michael Lindh's D1 Soccer Breakthrough
Sept. 1 - BG Falcon Media - Zig Zone One on One: Trace Terry

THE BLUE DEMONS / THE SERIES
• Evansville is 2-2-5 on the season after a 2-1 win over Butler on Tuesday night, and the Purple Aces are unbeaten in the last four matches. UE's only losses have come at North Carolina (2-0) and Lindenwood (1-0). Evansville has played two one-goal games in addition to the five draws this season to date. Andres Escudero leads the team with five goals and 10 points, after scoring both goals against Butler. Devin Shepherd has six points on three goals. Michal Mroz, who was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team, has played every second in goal, and has 23 saves, two clean sheets and a 1.11 goals-against average. Last season, head coach Robbe Tarver's club went 11-7-3 overall and 4-3-1 in conference play. UE tied BGSU (and Western Michigan) for third place in the regular-season standings, then won the MVC Tournament title, defeating the Falcons in overtime in the final.

• The Falcons trail Evansville, 12-4-0, in the all-time series, and the Aces captured both of last year's meetings, with a 1-0 home win during the regular season (Oct. 25, 2024) and a 3-2 overtime victory in the league tourney final (Nov. 16, 2024). The teams' last meeting at Cochrane saw the Falcons pick up a 4-2 win two years ago (Sept. 30, 2023), with Trace Terry scoring twice and Andrew Shaffer finding the back of the net as well. The Falcons are 2-5-0 at home, 0-6-0 on the road and 2-1-0 in neutral-site matches vs. the Aces through the years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on BGSU men's soccer, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMSoccer), Instagram (bgfalcons and bgsumsoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer), and on the web at BGSUFalcons.com.

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