BGSU Battles Buffalo with a MAC Title on the Line

FALCONS vs. BUFFALO
Saturday, November 5 – 7:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio | Senior Night
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer

FOLLOW THE FALCONS...
Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page at BGSUFalcons.com on match day

BGSU MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
This Week's Notes - PDF
2016 Season Releases/Notes
2016 BGSU Men's Soccer Media Guide | Schedule | Roster
Robertson Named to TDS National Team of the Week
TDS National Team of the Week
Robertson Named MAC Player of the Week
Player-of-the-Week release from MAC Office
Falcons Remain in First after 2-2 Draw with Akron
BGSU-Akron Highlights
Flynn, Sullivan Named to Academic All-District Team
Falcons Earn NSCAA Team Academic Award
HERO Sports: Bowling Green Aims to Become Ohio Powerhouse
BG Sentinel-Tribune: Naperville Connection Proves Pivotal for BGSU Men's Soccer
Falcons Earn NSCAA Team Academic Award
Join the Falcon Club Today!

UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team has one match remaining in the regular season, and for head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, the task is simple. The Falcons host the University at Buffalo on Saturday evening (Nov. 5), and a BGSU win would give the Brown and Orange a Mid-American Conference regular-season title. BG and the Bulls will meet in a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium.

No matter the result against UB, the Falcons will then prepare for the MAC Tournament's semifinal round which will be held at a site to be determined on Friday, Nov. 11. The league tournament championship will take place two days later (Nov. 13) at the semifinal site.

BGSU, picked to finish fifth in the six-team league, can finish no lower than third.

SENIOR NIGHT
Saturday will be Senior Night for the BGSU men's soccer program, with the Falcons' four seniors recognized in ceremonies prior to the match. That stellar senior class includes Max Auden, Pat Flynn, Jacob Roth and Joe Sullivan.

**------M A C S T A N D I N G S------**
Team (Overall)	MAC	Pts.
BGSU (9-5-3)	2-0-2	8
Akron (8-5-3)	2-1-1	7
Buffalo (11-3-2)	2-1-1	7
Western Mich. (9-4-4)	1-0-3	6
West Virginia (8-6-1)	1-3-0	3
Northern Ill. (1-10-4)	0-3-1	1

EVENTS / PROMOTIONS / FREE STUFF!
• The first 100 BGSU students to arrive at Saturday's match will receive free pizza.

• The first 250 fans through the gates will receive a BGSU car magnet.

THE FALCONS AND THE MAC RACE
• The Falcons currently sit atop the MAC standings, heading into the final weekend of the regular season. BGSU has clinched a berth in the MAC Tournament, and a win over Buffalo Saturday would give the Falcons the regular-season championship and the right to host the league tourney. The top-four teams in the final standings will meet at the home of the regular-season champion for the tournament on Nov. 11-13.

• The Falcons will be joined in the MAC Tournament by Akron, Buffalo and Western Michigan. West Virginia and Northern Illinois have been eliminated from MAC Tournament contention. BGSU, with eight points, is one point ahead of both UA and UB, and two points ahead of WMU.

• A win over Buffalo, as mentioned, would give the Falcons the MAC title.

• A BGSU tie vs. UB could still give the Falcons the outright title, if Akron ties WMU on Saturday night. BGSU would be co-champions with WMU with a BGSU tie and a WMU win over UA, but WMU would earn the number-one seed.

• BG would be the number-three seed if the Falcons lose to UB.

• Here are the current MAC standings and remaining MAC match for each team ...
MAC STANDINGS & REMAINING SCHEDULE
School W-L-T Pts. Remaining MAC Match
1. Bowling Green 2-0-2   8 v Buffalo
2.  Akron 2-1-1   7 v WMU
Buffalo 2-1-1   7 @ BGSU
4.  Western Michigan 1-0-3   6 @ Akron
5. West Virginia 1-3-0   3 @ NIU
6. Northern Illinois 0-3-1   1 v WVU
teams earn 3 pts for a win, 1 for a tie

• And, here are the Falcons' league finishes and tournament matchups in each of the nine possible outcomes involving the BGSU-UB and UA-WMU matches...
IF BGSU BEATS BUFFALO
• The Falcons are MAC champions
• If UA beats WMU – BGSU hosts #4 WMU (BGSU 11 pts, UA 10, UB 7, WMU 6)
• If UA ties WMU – BGSU hosts #4 UB (BGSU 11 pts, UA 8, WMU 7, UB 7) – WMU wins tiebreaker with UB [they tied one another, but WMU tied BG while UB would have lost to BG])
• If WMU beats UA – BGSU hosts #4 Buffalo (BGSU 11 pts, WMU 9, Akron 7, Buffalo 7 – UA wins head-to-head tiebreaker with UB)

IF BGSU TIES BUFFALO
• The Falcons are MAC champions, co-champions or the second seed
• If UA beats WMU – #2 BGSU faces #3 UB (UA 10 pts, BGSU 9, UB 8, WMU 6)
• If UA ties WMU – Falcons are MAC champions – BGSU hosts #4 WMU (BGSU 9 pts, UA 8, UB 8, WMU 7)
• If WMU beats UA – BGSU and WMU are co-champions, WMU earns #1 seed by virtue of their victory over UA * – #2 BGSU faces #3 UB (WMU 9 pts, BGSU 9, UB 8, UA 7)
* first tiebreaker is head to head (BGSU & WMU tied in their meeting), second tiebreaker is results against the rest of the MAC, top to bottom (BGSU & WMU each would have tied Buffalo; WMU would have beaten Akron while BGSU tied Akron)

IF BGSU LOSES TO BUFFALO
• The Falcons are the number-three seed
• If UA beats WMU – #3 BGSU faces #2 UB (UA 10 pts, UB 10, BGSU 8, WMU 6)
• If UA ties WMU – #3 BGSU faces #2 UA (UB 10 pts, UA 8, BGSU 8, WMU 7)
• If WMU beats UA – #3 BGSU faces #2 WMU (UB 10 pts, WMU 9, BGSU 8, UA 7)

IT'S BEEN A WHILE
• A BGSU win over Buffalo, as mentioned several times already, would give the Falcons the MAC title. It would be the Falcons' fourth MAC regular-season crown, and just the second outright MAC regular-season championship for the Brown and Orange.

• The Falcons won the outright MAC title with a perfect 5-0-0 league record in 1996. BGSU shared the conference crown in both 2000 and 2002.

• BGSU has also won three MAC Tournament championships, capturing three consecutive crowns in 1995, '96 and '97.

LOOKING TO MAINTAIN THAT HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
• The Falcons are 5-0-3 at home this season to date. BGSU has outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the eight matches at Cochrane Stadium.

• Since the start of the 2014 season, BGSU has a record of 17-4-4 at Cochrane. The Falcons went 6-2-0 last year and 6-2-1 in 2014. All four home losses in that time have come by identical 1-0 scores. The two '14 setbacks both came against nationally-ranked opponents. Last year's home losses came on a goal in overtime and a goal with under two minutes left in regulation.

• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 62-18, at Cochrane, dating to the final home game of the 2013 season. BG has scored at least two goals in 18 of the 26 matches in that time, with three or more goals in 10 of those games.

• Senior Pat Flynn has singlehandedly outscored the opponents at Cochrane Stadium in his Falcon career. Flynn has scored 20 goals in home games since transferring to BGSU prior to the 2014 season, while Falcon foes, as mentioned, have 18 goals during that time.

FAST START
• BGSU is off to a 2-0-2 start in MAC play. With 80 percent of the conference matches in the books, the Falcons are in first place in the six-team league with eight points. BG was picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll.

• The Falcons' conference start is the program's best in two decades, since the 1996 team went a perfect 5-0-0 in league play.. That '96 club, as mentioned, is the only previous BGSU team to win an outright regular-season title since the MAC began sponsoring men's soccer prior to the 1993 season.

A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons have an overall record of 9-5-3, and BGSU is 2-0-2 in MAC play. BG currently sits in first place in the six-team conference.

• BGSU has tied the overall win total for all of last year. And, the Falcons have doubled last season's league victory total and nearly tripled last fall's point total. The 2015 team went 1-4-0 in MAC play.

• BG opened the year with three multiple-goal wins at Cochrane Stadium, downing IUPUI, Appalachian State and Marshall. The Falcons scored 10 goals and conceded just one in those three matches.

• The Falcons improved to 4-0-0 as freshman Chris Brennan's goal with just four seconds remaining in the second overtime gave the Falcons a thrilling 1-0 victory at Cleveland State. But, BG then dropped two of the next three contests.

• The lone win during that three-game stretch was a 2-0 victory over Wright State in this year's battle for the I-75 Cup. Seniors Jacob Roth and Pat Flynn scored BG's goals vs. the Raiders.

• BG downed Ohio State by a 2-0 result before a crowd of over 2,500 fans at Cochrane. The Falcons then dropped a narrow 1-0 decision at No. 25 Michigan State, but rebounded with road wins in the next two contests.

• Those wins included a 2-1 victory at Northern Kentucky, with junior Alexis Souahy scoring both goals. Then, the Falcons got a goal from Flynn early in the second half and a clean sheet from freshman Anthony Mwembia, earning a 1-0 win over No. 22 West Virginia in Morgantown.

• BG's then played two-straight overtime matches, battling Western Michigan to a 1-1 draw at Cochrane before dropping a 1-0 OT decision on the road against No. 18 Kentucky. The Falcons bounced back with a 1-0 regulation win at Northern Illinois on a goal by redshirt sophomore Bismark Agyeman and Mwembia's seventh clean sheet of the year. The Brown and Orange then fell, 2-1, at Fort Wayne last week, before battling Akron to a 2-2, double-OT draw. Sophomore Tate Robertson had a goal and an assist vs. the Zips.

• BGSU is 5-0-3 at home and 4-5-0 on the road this season. The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the eight home matches, and BG has been outscored by a narrow 8-7 margin in the eight road contests.

• The Falcons are 6-0-1 when scoring two or more goals this season. BGSU is 14-0-2 in such matches since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are 44-4-6 when scoring at least two goals in the Eric Nichols Era.

• BGSU is ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region in the latest NSCAA ratings. The Falcons have been ranked among the region's top-10 teams in all 10 weeks this season, and last week's number-four ranking was a season best.

• A total of 12 different players have scored at least one goal for the Falcons. Brennan and Flynn have five apiece, while senior Joe Sullivan has four.

• Flynn has a team-best 14 points, while Brennan has 12 and Sullivan 11. Roth and freshman Robert Miller III have eight points apiece. Roth has recorded a team-leading six assists, while Flynn and Miller have four each.

• Mwembia has played 16 of the 17 matches in goal this season to date. He has 60 saves, seven shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.71. Mwembia leads the MAC in GAA and saves percentage (.833), and he is ranked 12th in the nation in the latter category. Redshirt freshman Noah Kummer played the full 90 minutes in the win at NKU, making three saves.

• Nine different BGSU players have scored one game-winning goal apiece this season to date. That total matches the school record, as nine Falcons also scored at least one GWG in 1997.

• A total of 21 players have seen action for the Falcons this fall to date, with 16 players making at least one start. Seven players – Agyeman, Flynn, Robertson, Roth, Souahy, Sullivan and junior Brad Macomber – each have started all 17 matches.

• BGSU is 3-0-1 this fall and 16-0-1 all-time when Flynn scores a goal. The Falcons are 3-0-2 when Brennan finds the back of the net.

• The Falcons have a record of 32-20-5 (.605) since the beginning of the 2014 season. The '14 team went 14-6-1, posting the program's most wins in nearly two decades (since 1997), and advanced to the MAC Tournament's championship match for the first time since 2003. Last year's team finished 9-9-1, marking only the second time since 2000 that BGSU had won as many as nine games in a season (2016, obviously, marks the third time).

SCOUTING BUFFALO
Buffalo is 11-3-2 on the season, and the Bulls are 2-1-1 in MAC play. UB is tied with Akron for second place in the league, just a point behind BGSU. The Bulls are unbeaten in the last four matches, including 1-0 home wins over both Northern Illinois and Oral Roberts over the weekend. Russell Cicerone leads the Bulls and ranks among the national leaders in scoring, with 34 points on 13 goals and eight assists. Joseph Kuta has played every second in goal, and has nine shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.85. UB is 6-0-1 at home and 5-3-1 on the road this season. Coach Stu Riddle welcomed back 16 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year's club that finished 8-7-4 overall and 2-2-1 in MAC play.

THE SERIES
The Falcons lead Buffalo, 11-8-1, in the all-time series between the teams, but the Bulls captured last year's meeting, 2-1, to snap a three-game series unbeaten streak for BG. UB scored twice in the final four minutes of regulation last season. Two years ago, the Falcons and Bulls battled to a 1-1 draw in the last meeting at Cochrane. The Falcons are 4-4-1 in home games, 6-4-0 in road contests and 1-0-0 in neutral-site meetings with the Bulls, and BG has scored 30 goals to UB's 28 in the first 20 series matchups. The complete list of match-by-match results can be found in the PDF version of these notes.

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the Buffalo match, the Falcons will prepare for the MAC Tournament. BGSU will play either Akron, UB or Western Michigan in the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 11, at the home of the regular-season champion. The MAC Tournament championship match will be held on Sunday, Nov. 13, at the semifinal site.

BGSU MEN'S SOCCER - REMAINING 2016 MATCHES
Sat., Nov. 5 – BUFFALO, 7:00 *
Fri., Nov. 11 – MAC Tournament Semifinal ^
* MAC match
^ Time, site & opponent TBA – MAC Tournament Championship match is Sun., Nov. 13, at semifinal site

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Bismark Agyeman

Max Auden

Chris Brennan

Pat Flynn

Noah Kummer

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Robert Miller III

Anthony Mwembia

Tate Robertson

Jacob Roth

Alexis Souahy

Joe Sullivan

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