Auden, Genrich & James to Captain Falcons
July 31, 2015 | Men's Soccer
Veteran trio leads BGSU into the 2015 preseason
Seniors Jake Genrich and Ryan James and redshirt junior Max Auden will serve as tri-captains of the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team in the coming season. The trio and their teammates officially begin preseason preparations for the 2015 campaign in under two weeks.
The captains were chosen by a vote of team members.
2015 BGSU Men's Soccer Quick Facts - PDF
"Our program is in a good place in terms of leadership in that we have a number of guys who have taken leadership roles from a variety of angles," said head coach Eric Nichols. "The three guys who have been chosen as captains are exceptional young men who lead by example, but more importantly they follow it up and hold their teammates responsible for the things that our team values. These three are overtly committed to high standards and doing whatever they can to help their teammates to operate with those same standards."
Auden, a native of Naperville, Ill. (North), was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team last fall, and also was named an all-conference first-team selection by the College Sports Madness web site. Auden started all 21 matches, and scored 15 points on six goals and three assists, in 2014. He stepped up his scoring rate late in the season, as four of his six goals came in the month of November. In fact, Auden scored the match-winning goal in each of BGSU's three victories (two regular-season, one tournament) against MAC opponents on the season. Those goals came on back-to-back-to-back weekends, as BG downed Western Michigan (Nov. 1), Northern Illinois (Nov. 8) and West Virginia (Nov. 14). The goals vs. both WMU and WVU came in overtime. He scored both goals vs. the Broncos in a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Cochrane Field. And, he scored early in the OT period vs. the Mountaineers, sending the Falcons to the MAC Tournament championship match for the first time in over a decade. Auden was named to both the Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Ohio teams, and he was named a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete in the first year of that award's existence.Â
Genrich, from Plymouth, Mich. (Salem), is a BGSU tri-captain for the second consecutive year. An All-MAC Second-Team selection last year, he started all 21 matches at a center-back position, playing every second of every match. He helped the Falcons post eight shutouts, and BGSU allowed just 20 total goals in those 21 games. Genrich was named to the Academic All-MAC Team, and was also named a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete in the first year of that award's existence. Additionally, Genrich was named to the Academic All-Ohio Second Team by the OCSA, and he -- like Auden -- was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, in March of 2015. Genrich has played in all 60 of BGSU's matches during his first three seasons, starting 59, and has helped the Falcons to 23 shutouts in that time.
James, who hails from Mississauga, Ontario (Loyola Catholic Secondary), earned a veritable plethora of honors last season. He was an All-MAC Second-Team selection, and he was named to the NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Great Lakes Region Third Team. James was chosen to the All-Ohio Second Team, and also earned Academic All-MAC and Academic All-Ohio honors. Like his fellow captains, James was named a MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete, and also was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma. Last fall, James started 21 matches in the midfield, and tied for second on the team with six assists. He had an assist in each of the first three matches of the season as the Falcons got off to a 3-0 start, and he had helpers in back-to-back games in November. James picked up an assist at Northern Illinois as BG posted a 2-1 win to clinch a MAC Tournament berth, and he also had an assist vs. WVU in the Falcons' league tourney semifinal-round win. James has played in all 60 of BGSU's matches in his first three seasons, making 50 starts, and he has 20 career points on five goals and 10 assists.
"I am very pleased for these three guys and excited that our team is in such good hands," said Nichols.
The Falcons begin preseason camp on Tuesday, Aug. 11, and BGSU will head down I-75 for a scrimmage against Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 22. Nichols and the Falcons begin the regular season the following weekend with a pair of matches, starting a season-long four-game homestand by facing SIUE (Aug. 28) and Western Illinois (Aug. 30) at Cochrane Field. That homestand continues with matches vs. Drexel (Sept. 3) and Cleveland State (Sept. 6), as the Brown and Orange will play before the home fans four times in a 10-day span.
The 2015Â home schedule also includes games against IPFW (Sept. 18), Michigan State (Sept. 29), Northern Illinois (Oct. 3) and West Virginia (Oct. 24). All BGSU men's soccer home matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. with the exception of the WIU and WVU (both 1:00 p.m.) contests. Admission to all Falcon soccer action at Cochrane is free.
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