Friday, August 26
Bowling Green, Ohio
6:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
2
vs
0
Michigan
Fans rush the field after BGSU's 2-0 win over ninth-ranked Michigan (photo by John Enright)
Falcons Down No. 9 Michigan, 2-0, on Historic Night at Cochrane
August 26, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Baraldi, Snashall score in BGSU's season-opening win
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team began the season in style, scoring a pair of second-half goals to post a 2-0 win over the ninth-ranked University of Michigan Friday evening (Aug. 26). The non-conference match, the regular-season opener for both teams, was held before a capacity crowd at Cochrane Field.
FINAL STATS: PDF | HTML
PHOTO GALLERY - photos by John Enright
PHOTO GALLERY II - photos by James Morrison
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS: Eric Nichols | Michael Wiest | Ryan Snashall *
VIDEO: Brief video of Friday night's crowd
* Postgame interviews can also be found by scrolling down to the bottom of this page
Freshman Danny Baraldi scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal midway through the second period, and sophomore Ryan Snashall fired home the clinching goal with just two-and-a-half minutes remaining. The goals were the first of each player's collegiate career.
Sophomore Michael Wiest, making his first collegiate start, made five saves to earn both his first win and his first shutout as a Falcon. Three of Wiest's stops came in the second half, including two with the home team leading by a single goal.
The win was the Falcons' first over a nationally-ranked team since the 2005 season. And, a crowd of 2,133 was on hand to witness the victory, more than triple the previous largest crowd at Cochrane Field in the last 15 years.
The Wolverines, ranked ninth in the nation in the NSCAA's preseason poll, had a 16-11 advantage in total shot attempts, and had five shots on goal to the Falcons' four.
Michigan won 17 matches and advanced to the national semifinals a year ago. The Wolverines posted four-goal wins over the Falcons in both 2009 and '10.
The first half of Friday's match featured numerous offensive chances, but very few shots, for both teams.
With just under eight minutes gone, the Falcons made a foray into the U-M end of the pitch. Sophomore Zach Schewee poked the ball away from a Michigan player, directing it to junior Rodcliff Hall as Hall headed into the penalty area. Hall attempted to tip the ball past Michigan goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, who had vacated his net, but was unable to do so, and the Wolverines cleared the ball out of danger.
The Falcons held the ball for the majority of the first 30 minutes, but had very few shot attempts to show for it. Meanwhile, Michigan had a shot in the first minute of the match, then went nearly 23 minutes without another attempt. With nearly 30 minutes gone, however, the Wolverines had a dangerous chance.
Latif Alashe fired a long shot for the visitors, but Wiest was able to leap and deflect the blast over the crossbar. The shot was the first shot on goal of the match, and the save was the first of Wiest's collegiate career.
Wiest made a save on Fabio Pereira several minutes later. Pereira led all players with seven total shot attempts on the night. Then, late in the first half, the Falcons were able to string together several passes, with senior Colin Armstrong and redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva helping to build the attack. Baraldi laid the ball off for the onrushing Zach Lemke, but the redshirt junior's shot was wide of the target.
Only two minutes remained in the period when a U-M defender pulled Armstrong down as he headed toward goal. A yellow card was displayed, and the Falcons had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. But, the kick was blocked by the defensive wall, and the teams went to the half knotted in a scoreless draw.
Less than one minute into the second half, the Wolverines' Dylan Mencia received a red card, forcing Michigan to play with 10 men the rest of the way.
BGSU's first shot on goal came several moments later. Baraldi played a short corner kick to sophomore Matt Griesinger, who knocked a diagonal ball into the box. The ball found the head of senior Tanner Fink, who redirected his shot on goal, but right at Grinwis.
With 28 minutes left, a Baraldi pass found Armstrong in the penalty area. The senior turned and fired, but his shot was stopped by Grinwis, and a BGSU follow try sailed high. But, just two minutes later, the Falcons would strike.
Sophomore Sam Galloway stole the ball from a Michigan player deep in the Wolverines' end of the pitch, and quickly poked the ball to Baraldi. From approximately 15 yards out, Baraldi turned and fired, and his one-timer beat Grinwis and found the lower left-hand corner of the net. Galloway drew the lone assist on Baraldi's goal, which came at the 63:26 mark.
After the BGSU goal, Michigan turned up the intensity a notch, and the Wolverines nearly equalized with just under 19 minutes remaining. Off of a corner kick from the right side of the field, Malcolm Miller headed the ball back toward the lower right-hand corner of the frame. Wiest got a hand on the shot, and the ball was then cleared off of the line by a BG defender.
Schewee made a long run downfield with 17 minutes left, collecting the ball near midfield and heading past several would-be defenders all the way into the 18-yard box. Schewee fired a shot that sailed wide.
Two minutes later, Wiest gathered in a ball and uncorked a long punt. The ball went to Hall, who worked a give-and-go play with Galloway. Hall took the return pass and neared the penalty area, but the BGSU player went to the ground and the Wolverines were able to clear.
With under nine minutes remaining, Pereira blasted a shot on net, but it was right at Wiest, who parried the shot and then grabbed the ball before any U-M player could reach it. Pereira had another chance 90 seconds later, but fired a free kick over the net.
Six minutes remained when a long pass found Tyler Arnone streaking into the area. From the left side of the box, the U-M striker took a shot, but it rolled just wide right.
U-M then had three corner kicks in a span of just 1:12, before a BGSU counterattack settled matters. After the third corner kick in that stretch, the Falcons cleared the ball, and Schewee took possession near midfield. He took several dribbles and played a through ball to fellow sophomore Ryan Comiskey, who was heading into the penalty area on the left side of the field. Comiskey slid a pass to Snashall, who fired it into the net, just inside the left post, with only 2:28 remaining. Comiskey and Schewee each earned assists on the goal, which proved to be the final shot of the game for either team.
The Falcons will continue a three-game homestand on Wednesday evening (Aug. 31), hosting IPFW. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field. Then, BGSU will face Cleveland State three days later (Saturday, Sept. 3) in a 5:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane.
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons' win snapped a six-game losing streak to Michigan ... BGSU's last win over the Wolverines came in the 2001 season ... the Wolverines had scored at least four goals in each of the previous five series meetings, including 5-1 victories in Ann Arbor in each of the last two seasons.
* Friday's win was the Falcons' first over a nationally-ranked team in nearly six years ... BGSU's last win over a ranked team was a 3-2, double-overtime victory over No. 11 Ohio State on Sept. 23, 2005.
* Friday night's match marked the first collegiate start for several Falcons, including freshmen Danny Baraldi and Alex Bechtol and sophomore Michael Wiest ... additionally, junior Rodcliff Hall made his first start at BGSU ... Hall is in his first season with the Falcons after playing the previous two seasons at Owens CC.
* Wiest played all 90 minutes after playing a total of 29:16 during all of last season ... his only appearance of 2010 came in the Falcons' match at Michigan ... he did not face a shot in that relief stint.
* The crowd of 2,133, as mentioned, was the largest for a BGSU home match since at least the 1996 season ... over the last decade-and-a-half, the Falcons' largest attendance was 650, for a match vs. Miami on Oct. 12, 1997.
FINAL STATS: PDF | HTML
PHOTO GALLERY - photos by John Enright
PHOTO GALLERY II - photos by James Morrison
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS: Eric Nichols | Michael Wiest | Ryan Snashall *
VIDEO: Brief video of Friday night's crowd
* Postgame interviews can also be found by scrolling down to the bottom of this page
Freshman Danny Baraldi scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal midway through the second period, and sophomore Ryan Snashall fired home the clinching goal with just two-and-a-half minutes remaining. The goals were the first of each player's collegiate career.
Sophomore Michael Wiest, making his first collegiate start, made five saves to earn both his first win and his first shutout as a Falcon. Three of Wiest's stops came in the second half, including two with the home team leading by a single goal.
The Wolverines, ranked ninth in the nation in the NSCAA's preseason poll, had a 16-11 advantage in total shot attempts, and had five shots on goal to the Falcons' four.
Michigan won 17 matches and advanced to the national semifinals a year ago. The Wolverines posted four-goal wins over the Falcons in both 2009 and '10.
The first half of Friday's match featured numerous offensive chances, but very few shots, for both teams.
With just under eight minutes gone, the Falcons made a foray into the U-M end of the pitch. Sophomore Zach Schewee poked the ball away from a Michigan player, directing it to junior Rodcliff Hall as Hall headed into the penalty area. Hall attempted to tip the ball past Michigan goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, who had vacated his net, but was unable to do so, and the Wolverines cleared the ball out of danger.
The Falcons held the ball for the majority of the first 30 minutes, but had very few shot attempts to show for it. Meanwhile, Michigan had a shot in the first minute of the match, then went nearly 23 minutes without another attempt. With nearly 30 minutes gone, however, the Wolverines had a dangerous chance.
Latif Alashe fired a long shot for the visitors, but Wiest was able to leap and deflect the blast over the crossbar. The shot was the first shot on goal of the match, and the save was the first of Wiest's collegiate career.
Wiest made a save on Fabio Pereira several minutes later. Pereira led all players with seven total shot attempts on the night. Then, late in the first half, the Falcons were able to string together several passes, with senior Colin Armstrong and redshirt sophomore Brandon Silva helping to build the attack. Baraldi laid the ball off for the onrushing Zach Lemke, but the redshirt junior's shot was wide of the target.
Only two minutes remained in the period when a U-M defender pulled Armstrong down as he headed toward goal. A yellow card was displayed, and the Falcons had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. But, the kick was blocked by the defensive wall, and the teams went to the half knotted in a scoreless draw.
Less than one minute into the second half, the Wolverines' Dylan Mencia received a red card, forcing Michigan to play with 10 men the rest of the way.
BGSU's first shot on goal came several moments later. Baraldi played a short corner kick to sophomore Matt Griesinger, who knocked a diagonal ball into the box. The ball found the head of senior Tanner Fink, who redirected his shot on goal, but right at Grinwis.
With 28 minutes left, a Baraldi pass found Armstrong in the penalty area. The senior turned and fired, but his shot was stopped by Grinwis, and a BGSU follow try sailed high. But, just two minutes later, the Falcons would strike.
Sophomore Sam Galloway stole the ball from a Michigan player deep in the Wolverines' end of the pitch, and quickly poked the ball to Baraldi. From approximately 15 yards out, Baraldi turned and fired, and his one-timer beat Grinwis and found the lower left-hand corner of the net. Galloway drew the lone assist on Baraldi's goal, which came at the 63:26 mark.
After the BGSU goal, Michigan turned up the intensity a notch, and the Wolverines nearly equalized with just under 19 minutes remaining. Off of a corner kick from the right side of the field, Malcolm Miller headed the ball back toward the lower right-hand corner of the frame. Wiest got a hand on the shot, and the ball was then cleared off of the line by a BG defender.
Schewee made a long run downfield with 17 minutes left, collecting the ball near midfield and heading past several would-be defenders all the way into the 18-yard box. Schewee fired a shot that sailed wide.
Two minutes later, Wiest gathered in a ball and uncorked a long punt. The ball went to Hall, who worked a give-and-go play with Galloway. Hall took the return pass and neared the penalty area, but the BGSU player went to the ground and the Wolverines were able to clear.
With under nine minutes remaining, Pereira blasted a shot on net, but it was right at Wiest, who parried the shot and then grabbed the ball before any U-M player could reach it. Pereira had another chance 90 seconds later, but fired a free kick over the net.
Six minutes remained when a long pass found Tyler Arnone streaking into the area. From the left side of the box, the U-M striker took a shot, but it rolled just wide right.
U-M then had three corner kicks in a span of just 1:12, before a BGSU counterattack settled matters. After the third corner kick in that stretch, the Falcons cleared the ball, and Schewee took possession near midfield. He took several dribbles and played a through ball to fellow sophomore Ryan Comiskey, who was heading into the penalty area on the left side of the field. Comiskey slid a pass to Snashall, who fired it into the net, just inside the left post, with only 2:28 remaining. Comiskey and Schewee each earned assists on the goal, which proved to be the final shot of the game for either team.
The Falcons will continue a three-game homestand on Wednesday evening (Aug. 31), hosting IPFW. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field. Then, BGSU will face Cleveland State three days later (Saturday, Sept. 3) in a 5:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane.
FALCON NOTES
* The Falcons' win snapped a six-game losing streak to Michigan ... BGSU's last win over the Wolverines came in the 2001 season ... the Wolverines had scored at least four goals in each of the previous five series meetings, including 5-1 victories in Ann Arbor in each of the last two seasons.
* Friday's win was the Falcons' first over a nationally-ranked team in nearly six years ... BGSU's last win over a ranked team was a 3-2, double-overtime victory over No. 11 Ohio State on Sept. 23, 2005.
* Friday night's match marked the first collegiate start for several Falcons, including freshmen Danny Baraldi and Alex Bechtol and sophomore Michael Wiest ... additionally, junior Rodcliff Hall made his first start at BGSU ... Hall is in his first season with the Falcons after playing the previous two seasons at Owens CC.
* Wiest played all 90 minutes after playing a total of 29:16 during all of last season ... his only appearance of 2010 came in the Falcons' match at Michigan ... he did not face a shot in that relief stint.
* The crowd of 2,133, as mentioned, was the largest for a BGSU home match since at least the 1996 season ... over the last decade-and-a-half, the Falcons' largest attendance was 650, for a match vs. Miami on Oct. 12, 1997.
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