X Gon' Give It To Ya: Sims, Falcons Rally for 2-1 Win at NKU

Tuesday, September 29

Highland Heights, Ky.

7 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

2-6-2, 0-1-0

Northern Kentucky

1-7-1, 1-2-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Bowling Green	0	2	2
Northern Ky.	1	0	1

Xavier Sims scored the first two goals of his Falcon career in Tuesday night's win at NKU

Photo by: Jake Neary, BGSU Athletics

September 29, 2026 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Sophomore Xavier Sims scored a pair of second-half goals, leading the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 2-1, come-from-behind win over Northern Kentucky University on Tuesday evening (Sept. 29). The non-conference match took place at NKU Soccer Stadium.

The Falcons (2-6-2) trailed early, after Carlos Merce gave the hosts the lead in the seventh minute of the match. But, Sims – who had a goal called back in the first half – scored his two goals just over six minutes apart, with the latter tally holding up as the winner.

It was BGSU's first road victory this season, and the Falcons' first come-from-behind win on the road in over six years.

Sims scored his first collegiate goal with 16:52 remaining in the second half, then struck again with 10:50 on the clock.

The Falcons had advantages of 18-10 in total shot attempts, 7-4 in shots on goal and 9-3 corner kicks. BG, trailing or tied in all three categories (as well as in goals scored) at the half, dominated play in the final 45 minutes.

The Orange and Brown outshot the Norse by a 13-4 count in the second half, with a 4-1 lead in shots on goal and a 6-0 margin in second-half corners.

HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier Sims scored his first collegiate goal in the 74th minute of tonight's win at NKU...#GoFalcons #AyZiggy 🟠🟤 pic.twitter.com/4E8njlTwUd
— BGSU Men's Soccer (@BGSUMSoccer) September 30, 2026

HIGHLIGHTS

Just over 6 minutes after scoring his first collegiate goal, Xavier Sims struck again, with a nifty assist from Aiden Ptacek!#GoFalcons #AyZiggy 🟠🟤 pic.twitter.com/aWgpVUe5rU
— BGSU Men's Soccer (@BGSUMSoccer) September 30, 2026

Merce's goal, at the 6:35 mark, was a well-placed blast into the upper far corner of the net that gave the Norse (1-7-1) the lead. That goal came after the Falcons had seemingly been on the front foot for nearly the entire first six-plus minutes.

The hosts looked to double the lead in the 11th minute, but senior Jason Ball parried a hard shot off the boot of Ibrahim Piracha. Ball had three saves on the night.

In the 24th minute, the Falcons thought they had tied the score. Sims won possession of the ball in the offensive end, and played a short diagonal ball toward the far post. Tyson McCoy and a Norse defender both went to the ground as they vied for the ball, but Aiden Ptacek tracked it down just before it crossed the end line on the left side of the box. Ptacek made a nifty move to elude a defender, then hit a hard shot from the top corner of the six-yard box. Goalkeeper Caleb Pearson deflected Ptacek's blast into the air, and it lofted toward the right post, where Sims headed it into the net.

After the play was reviewed, however, the goal was nullified.

Less than a minute later, the Falcons nearly struck again. Ptacek played a ball from just over midfield, finding Caue Ramos on the right side of the field. Ramos chested the ball down, headed into the penalty area and crossed the ball to Lucas Brinkman. Brinkman got all of his one-time effort, but the blast was blocked by Pearson.

Eight minutes before halftime, after the Falcons played a long ball ahead, Pearson barely beat McCoy to the ball and cleared it out of the NKU end. Pearson's long ball found a Norse forward, who raced past a BG defender and attempted to poke a shot past Ball. But, the Falcon 'keeper came out to the top of the penalty area and blocked the ball, which caromed off of the NKU attacker and went out of bounds for a goal kick.

With three minutes to go in the half, McCoy and Sims worked a combination play. McCoy took the return pass and hit a low cross into the box. Ptacek, who was dangerous all night, laid the ball into the path of Brinkman, but the resulting shot was just wide of the left post.

In the second half, as mentioned, the Falcons dominated the statistical categories and finally broke through.

Six minutes into the half, a shot/cross by Sims rolled just wide of the far post. Then, after BG immediately stole the ensuing goal kick, Ptacek's shot at the top of the 18 was blocked out of play, and a Falcon header off of the resulting corner kick went just wide.

One of the few second-half chances for NKU came in the 55th minute, but Ball made a diving stop of a shot by Piracha. Then, less than 30 seconds later, Brinkman hit a cross into the box from the left side, and Sims ran onto the ball and headed it toward goal. But, the hard shot went just over the bar.

With under 20 minutes to go, Ramos nearly tied the match. He took a pass from McCoy, somehow kept possession of the ball as he worked his way past five NKU players, and hit a shot that eluded the lunging Pearson. But, for the second time in as many matches, Ramos saw a shot carom off the woodwork, and an NKU defender gratefully cleared the ball out of the six-yard box for the time being.

Two and a half minutes later, though, the Falcons indeed tied the score. Aidan Flanders took a throw-in from near the BG bench, and fellow freshman Matheus Filipe moved the ball along with a header. The flick-on found the center of the box, and Sims made no mistake with his shot from just right of the penalty spot. The sophomore's one-time effort found the left side of the net.

Three minutes after that, Ptacek took a pass from Ramos, made a spectacular fake to get a defender to dive to the ground, then hit a shot that was blocked by another backliner in the penalty area.

But, Sims and the Falcons took the lead in the 80th minute. A long Gus Peacock throw-in sailed into the penalty area, where it was deflected by a Norse defender. Just before the ball crossed the end line, however, Ptacek caught up to it, whirling and chipping it into the center of the six-yard box, where Sims headed it into the roof of the net to give the Falcons the lead.

BG nearly extended the lead, as a Brinkman shot was blocked just over a minute after the second Sims goal, and another Brinkman shot, after a long run downfield, was knocked away by Pearson.

STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• Sophomore Xavier Sims, as mentioned, scored the first goal of his career in Tuesday's win. It also marked his first points as a Falcon.
• Six minutes after that goal, Sims had recorded his first career brace. And, when that goal held up as the winner, it was his first game-winning goal as a Falcon.
• Aiden Ptacek had his first point of the second and his second career assist with the helper on the Sims winner.
• Freshman Aidan Flanders recorded his first point with an assist on the first Sims goal of the night. And, on the same play, classmate Matheus Filipe had his second assist of the season.
• The win was BGSU's first road victory since Sept. 23, 2025, when the Orange and Brown picked up a 2-1 victory at DePaul.
• The come-from-behind win was the Falcons' first since last Oct. 10. On that date, BGSU also trailed by a 1-0 score at the half, before rallying for a 3-1 win over Bradley at Cochrane Stadium.
• BG had not recorded a come-from-behind victory on the road in over six years, since a 3-2 victory vs. Dayton in the Falcons' "2020" season opener. In that match, which was played on Feb. 18, 2021, the Falcons rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits for a 3-2 victory.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons return to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend, heading to Peoria, Ill., for a Saturday (Oct. 3) contest vs. Bradley University. That match will begin at 7:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET) at Shea Stadium.
• BG's next home match is set for the following Saturday, Oct. 10, vs. Drake University. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m., and admission is free.

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.