Broncos Squeak Past Falcons, 1-0, in MVC Opener

Friday, September 25

Bowling Green, Ohio

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

1-6-2, 0-1-0

Western Michigan

2-6-1, 1-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Western Mich.	1	0	1
Bowling Green	0	0	0

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

September 25, 2026 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Western Michigan University scored off of a corner kick in the game's 28th minute, and the Broncos survived a second-half flurry from the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team on Friday evening (Sept. 25) at Cochrane Stadium. WMU's 1-0 victory came in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.

Joshua NIcholson scored the lone goal of the match for the Broncos (2-6-1, 1-0-0 MVC), the defending conference tournament champions.

The Falcons (1-6-2, 0-1-0 MVC) outshot the visitors, 19-14, in the match, including a 12-3 advantage in the second half, but Bronco goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth made five of his six saves after halftime en route to the clean sheet.

Nicholson's goal, as mentioned, came off of a corner kick. Sahel Yessen took that corner, playing it into the center of the penalty area. Liam Biggers got a head on the ball in traffic, and Nicholson poked it with the outside of his foot into the net for what would prove to be the winner.

BGSU had nearly taken the lead with just under five minutes gone in the match. As the Broncos attempted to clear the ball from their own defensive end, Aiden Ptacek blocked the ball, with the deflection going to Caue Ramos. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ramos fired a hard shot that split several players and rang off of the far post.

The Broncos had first-half advantages in shot attempts, shots on goal and corner kicks in the opening half, with a 7-2 lead in the latter category. But, in the second half, BGSU had a 12-3 lead in total shots, a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 7-1 margin in corners.

The Falcons had all of the momentum early in the second half, but – largely due to the efforts of Lindewirth – could not find the equalizer. Eight minutes into the half, a long throw-in was deflected to Xavier Sims, who quickly fired a shot that was grabbed by the WMU 'keeper.

Just ninety seconds later, a shot by Ptacek forced Lindewirth into a diving stop.

And, less than a minute after that, Luciano Perez-Cernuda worked a combination play with Diego Ramirez, taking the return pass and firing a shot from the left side of the box that Lindewirth somehow got a hand on to force it wide of the net.

With just over 24 minutes to go, after a foul on the Broncos, Ramos got his head on the ensuing Ptacek free kick. But, Lindewirth plucked the ball out of the air with several Falcons lurking nearby.

And, with 17 and a half minutes remaining, a Gus Peacock throw-in was flicked by Sims into the path of Ptacek. Ptacek hit a quick shot from the six-yard line, but Lindewirth somehow was able to tip the ball over the crossbar at the last second.

For the game, the Falcons had an aforementioned advantage of 19-14 in total shot attempts, and BG also had narrow leads of 6-5 in shots on goal and 9-8 in corner kicks. Ball made four saves in his second start of the season.

Ramos had a game-high total of five shot attempts, while Ptacek was the lone player on either team with multiple shots on goal, putting two of his four total shots on frame.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons step outside of MVC play next week, heading to the Greater Cincinnati area for a Tuesday (Sept. 29) matchup against Northern Kentucky. BGSU will meet the Norse in a 7:00 p.m. start at NKU Soccer Stadium.
• Then, next weekend, the Orange and Brown return to conference play with a Saturday (Oct. 3) contest at Bradley.
• BG's next home match is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, vs. Drake.

Gallery: (9-25-2026) 092526 msoc v WMU - Drake Harlett

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.