Falcons Face Buffalo in Friday's Semifinal

FALCONS vs. BUFFALO
Friday, November 11 – 4:00 p.m. | MAC Tournament Semifinal
FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field | Akron, Ohio
Live Stats/Video: GoZips.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer

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BGSU MEN'S SOCCER LINKS
This Week's Notes - PDF
2016 Season Releases/Notes
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2016 BGSU Men's Soccer Media Guide | Schedule | Roster
BGSU Battles Buffalo to Scoreless Draw
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
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UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, after finishing second in the Mid-American Conference regular-season standings, now prepares for the conference tournament. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons, the number-two seed for the MAC Tournament, face the third-seeded University at Buffalo in semifinal-round action on Friday afternoon (Nov. 11). The Falcons will face the Bulls in a 4:00 p.m. start at the University of Akron's FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field.

BGSU's second-place finish is the Falcons' best since 2002.

Friday's second semifinal will see the top-seeded University of Akron host the fourth seed, Western Michigan University, at 7:00 p.m. The semifinal-round survivors will meet in Sunday's (Nov. 13) championship match, also hosted by UA.

THE FALCONS IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU enters Friday's Buffalo match with an overall record of 18-15-0 in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons are 9-6-0 in neutral-site tourney matches through the years, and BGSU is 9-4-0 in the semifinal round.

• BG qualified for the MAC Tournament in each of the first 15 years in which it was held (1994-2008), and also advanced to the tourney in 2010, '12 and '14. The Falcons were 6-5-0 in the quarterfinals (a quarterfinal round is no longer held), and BG is 3-6-0 in the championship round. BGSU is 4-7-0 all-time in league tourney matches held in Akron, Ohio.

• BGSU won three-straight league tourney titles from 1995-97. That was part of a run in which the Brown and Orange advanced to the championship match in five consecutive seasons between 1994 and '98. A complete match-by-match list of BGSU's league tourney results can be found on page 13 of these notes.

THE FALCONS VS. BUFFALO IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
• BGSU has faced Buffalo just two times in MAC Tournament play, and the Falcons won each of those matches, both by 1-0 scores. BG downed UB on the road in the 2000 semifinal round, and the Brown and Orange picked up a triple-overtime win over the Bulls the following year (2001) in a league tourney quarterfinal match in Akron.

UNBEATEN IN THE MAC
• BGSU ended the regular season as the only team without a loss in MAC play. The Falcons – picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll – finished second in the final league standings.

• The Falcons went unbeaten in MAC play for the first time in two decades, since the 1996 team went a perfect 5-0-0 in league action.

• The Falcons tripled their point total from a year ago. BGSU had nine points in MAC play after going 1-4-0 and earning three points in 2015.

THAT WACKY MAC
A few more random notes about the Falcons and the MAC race in 2016...
• BGSU went 0-0-3 at home against MAC foes this season, and the Falcons were a perfect 2-0-0 on the road vs. conference opposition.

• The Falcons were tied at halftime of all five MAC matches this fall. BGSU played a scoreless first half against four of the five conference foes, and the Falcons and Akron each scored twice in the first half of that match.

• Here are a few sentences that illustrate how even the MAC race was this season: All four teams that qualified for the MAC Tournament had one or fewer losses in league regular-season play. The second-place team (BGSU) was the only undefeated team, the third- and fourth-place teams lost just one match apiece, and the first-place team's only loss was to the last-place team.

FALCONS ENJOY HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE IN 2016
• The Falcons went 5-0-4 at home this season to date. BGSU outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the nine matches at Cochrane Stadium.

• BG finished the home schedule without a loss for the first time since the 1996 club went 9-0-1 at Cochrane.

• Since the start of the 2014 season, BGSU has a record of 17-4-5 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, while 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 27 matches in that time, with three or more goals in 10 of those games.

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

A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• The Falcons are currently 9-5-4, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a record of 2-0-3, placing second in the six-team conference.

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

• 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 BGSU 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, who went on to win the Horizon League regular-season title.

• 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 in the MAC opener.

• BG 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 win at Northern Illinois on a goal by redshirt sophomore Bismark Agyeman, and the team ended October by playing Akron to a 2-2, double-OT draw. Sophomore Tate Robertson had a goal and an assist vs. the Zips. The Brown and Orange tied Buffalo, 0-0, last weekend, in the Falcons' first scoreless draw since September of 2013.

• BGSU went 5-0-4 at home, and the Falcons are 4-5-0 on the road this season. Friday's Buffalo rematch will be the team's first neutral-site matchup of 2016. The Falcons outscored the opponents, 18-5, in the nine 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 campaign, and the Falcons are 44-4-6 when scoring at least two goals in the Eric Nichols Era.

• BGSU is ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region in the latest NSCAA ratings. The Falcons have been ranked among the region's top-10 teams in all 11 weeks this season, and the team's number-four ranking two weeks ago 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 17 of the 18 matches in goal this season to date. He has 64 saves, eight shutouts and a goals-against average of just 0.66. Mwembia leads the MAC in both GAA and saves percentage (.842), and he is ranked 17th in the nation in the former category and 10th in the latter. 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 18 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 32-20-6 (.603) 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 11-3-3 on the season, and the Bulls went 2-1-2 in MAC play to place third in the league. The Bulls are unbeaten in the last five matches, including 1-0 home wins over both Northern Illinois and Oral Roberts prior to the draw at BGSU. 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 10 shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.79. UB is 6-0-1 at home and 5-3-2 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, 11-8-2, in the all-time series between the teams. The teams, as mentioned, played to a scoreless draw at Cochrane Stadium last weekend. The Bulls captured last year's meeting, 2-1, to snap a three-game series unbeaten streak for BG. The Falcons are 4-4-2 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 21 series matchups.

STRONG SENIOR CLASS
• All four of the Falcons' seniors have made their mark on the program. BGSU has a record of 38-27-12 since Max Auden, Jacob Roth and Joe Sullivan made their respective playing debuts in 2013, and the Falcons are 32-20-6 since Pat Flynn joined that group prior to the 2014 campaign.

• That quartet has combined for 181 points on 63 goals and 55 assists in their respective Falcon careers.

• Flynn, in just his third year at BG, has career totals of 28 goals and 68 points. He is seventh in school history in career goals, and is tied for eighth on the points list.

• Sullivan enters the UB rematch with a career total of 50 points, on 17 goals and 16 assists. Roth has 40 points on 11 goals and 18 assists. Roth, the Falcons' active career leader in assists, is just four shy of 10th place on that BG career list.

• Flynn now has nine career game-winning goals, good for fourth place in school history, while Sullivan has eight (NOTE: GWG information since 1987).

• Auden, who missed the first seven matches of the year due to an injury suffered in the spring, has three points this fall, including the game-winning goal vs. Ohio State. He now has 25 career points on eight goals and nine assists. Auden has four career GWG, with the first three coming against MAC teams (two in overtime) in 2014.

• The Falcons' last MAC Tournament semifinal match also took place in Akron, and all four members of the 2016 senior class found the scoresheet. Flynn, Roth and Auden all scored goals – with Auden's coming in the first minute of overtime – while Sullivan assisted on the winning goal as the Falcons downed West Virginia in 2014.

BUILD FROM THE BACK
The Falcons have improved immensely since Eric Nichols took the helm prior to the 2009 season. On defense in particular, BGSU's totals/averages have improved nearly every year in a multitude of categories during the Nichols Era. This season, the Falcons have allowed more than one goal on only three occasions, and BGSU is 16th in the nation in team goals-against average and fifth in the entire country in saves pct. To follow are a few more statistics that illustrate BG's year-by-year defensive improvement under Nichols...
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE – BGSU TOTALS/RANKINGS SINCE 2008
Category 2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   2013   2014   2015   2016^
Team GAA *     173rd   192nd   134th   109th   83rd 33rd   49th   157th   16th
Shutout pct. * 174th   153rd   66th   44th   57th 36th   58th   163rd   30th
Saves pct. *   142nd   162nd   122nd   100th   29th   26th   30th   186th 5th
Winning pct. *   176th   179th   133rd   120th   106th   110th   20th   102nd   62nd
Shutouts 2   3    6 7 7 8 8   3 8
Total goals allowed 37 44 26 24 23   17 20 32 13
2+ goals allowed ^ 14 13 8 7   9 4 5   9 3
3+ goals allowed ^ 5 9 2 4   1    2    2 3 0
Multi-goal losses 9   8 6 3 5 2 1 3    0
* NCAA rankings; all other categories are BGSU's season totals
^ Total matches allowing 2+ goals, 3+ goals
% 2016 totals/rankings through games of Tuesday, Nov. 8

FALCONS PICKED TO PLACE FIFTH IN MAC
The Falcons were picked to finish fifth in the MAC race in 2016 in the league's preseason coaches poll. Akron was tabbed to win the MAC's regular-season crown, and the Zips were the unanimous choice to capture the conference tournament crown as well. The complete 2016 poll follows.
2016 MAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
# - Team (FPV) ........... Pts. ... Actual MAC Finish
1 – Akron (5) ............ 29 ... First
2 – Western Mich. (1) .... 17 ... Fourth
3 – West Virginia ........ 16 ... Sixth
4 – Buffalo .............. 15 ... Third
5 – Bowling Green ........ 11 ... Second
6 – Northern Illinois .... 2 ... Fifth
Votes to win 2016 MAC Tournament – Akron 6

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
The BGSU-UB winner will remain in Northeast Ohio to take on either Akron or Western Michigan in Sunday's MAC Tournament championship match. The winner of the title tilt will earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

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