Brandon Silva - Men's Soccer Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Brandon Silva

Title:
Volunteer Assistant Men's Soccer Coach
Email:
bsilva@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7071

After wrapping up a stellar career on the pitch and in the classroom, former BGSU men’s soccer standout Brandon Silva embarks upon his second season on the bench. Silva joined the staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the Brown and Orange in 2014.

During his first five seasons in BG, Silva has helped Nichols and their fellow players and coaches slowly but surely return the BGSU men's soccer program to relevance in the MAC and the region.

The Falcons were picked to finish fifth in the six-team MAC in the 2014 campaign. But, that 2014 team put together one of the most successful seasons in the last few decades. The Falcons went 14-6-1 overall and tied for third in the MAC with a 2-2-1 league ledger.

In 2014, the Falcons finished with a winning record for the first time in 14 years, and the overall win total was the program's highest in 17 seasons. BGSU more than doubled the previous season's win total, and the Falcons advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2003.

In the classroom, the Falcons received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for the fifth consecutive season. The award is given to programs that have achieved a minimum team GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

The BGSU staff has worked tirelessly at making Cochrane Stadium an entertaining place to be for soccer fans, as well as a difficult place to play for the road team. BGSU's attendance numbers have steadily increased during his tenure, and the Falcons have had multiple crowds of over 2,000 fill the stadium over the last three seasons, including throngs of 3,126 vs. Ohio State and 2,273 against Michigan in 2013.

Silva was a three-time team captain for the Falcons, and was named an Academic All-American as a senior in 2013. He played a total of 74 matches, starting all of them, during his four years at BGSU. The lone match he missed was due to injury.

A native of Columbus, Ohio (Worthington Kilbourne H.S.), Silva scored a total of 17 points in his Falcon career, with six goals and five assists. He was an All-MAC Second-Team selection as a senior, and earned a veritable plethora of academic honors.

Silva became BGSU men’s soccer’s first Academic All-American in four years, being named to the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team in 2013. That came after he earned all-district first-team accolades several weeks prior.

In the 2013-14 academic year, Silva was the male recipient of BGSU’s Falcon Medal of Honor Award. The Falcon Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the BGSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, is given to one male and female student-athlete each year who embody the essence of the qualities BGSU Athletics holds important for all student-athletes – scholarship, athletics, leadership and service. As a junior, Silva was named BGSU’s Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, receiving another award that is given to just one male and one female student-athlete each year.

On the pitch, Silva started all 19 matches in his senior year, playing all but 20 of the team’s 1,866 minutes, and had six points on two goals and two assists. BGSU was 2-0-2 when he scored at least one point. His goals came in home wins over Malone and IPFW, and the only time he spent on the bench came in those two blowout wins. Silva picked up assists in conference matches vs. Hartwick and West Virginia.

As a junior, Silva started all 20 matches, and played all but eight-plus minutes. He scored in the Falcons’ season-opening win over St. Bonaventure, and had an assist on the winning goal vs. Buffalo. Silva’s sophomore season of 2011 saw him named a team tri-captain for the first of three consecutive seasons. He started 17 matches that year, with seven points on three goals and an assist. His first collegiate goal came vs. Cleveland State in early September of that year.

In his freshman campaign of 2010, Silva started all 18 matches, playing 1,660 of a possible 1,688 minutes. His first collegiate point came on an assist at Michigan. A three-time Academic All-MAC Team selection, Silva also was named to the Academic All-Ohio Team on two occasions.

Silva came to BGSU in the spring of 2010 after spending the fall of 2009 at the University of Akron. He was on the Zips’ men’s soccer team, but did not see action and was redshirted.

A three-year varsity starter at Worthington Kilbourne H.S., Silva was a team captain and helped the team to a pair of trips to the regional finals. He earned team MVP and all-district first-team honors as a senior in 2008, scoring four goals and adding three assists. Silva had 13 career goals, including five game winners, along with seven assists, and was a four-year academic honor student who was inducted into the National Honor Society.

Silva earned his undergraduate degree at BGSU in May of 2013, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, a minor in Spanish and a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA. He is currently enrolled in graduate school at BGSU as a kinesiology major, and has a 4.00 GPA through the Spring 2014 semester.