Falcons Remain Unbeaten with 3-0 Win over Marshall

Friday, September 2

Bowling Green, OH

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-0-0

Marshall

1-2-0

Marshall

Bowling Green

Photo by: Larry Clapper

September 02, 2016 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sullivan nets the winner, Miller has a three-point night

By: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team improved to 3-0-0 on the young season, posting a 3-0 win over Marshall University in non-conference action Friday night (Sept. 2) at Cochrane Stadium.

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Senior Joe Sullivan and freshmen Robert Miller III and Chris Brennan scored goals for the Brown and Orange, while freshman Anthony Mwembia made four saves as the Falcons posted a shutouf for the second time in this season's three games.

Miller had a three-point night, with an assist on Sullivan's winner. Senior Pat Flynn and juniors Keaton Reynolds and Alexis Souahy each had an assist in the win.

The Falcons got a goal and two assists from players in the starting lineup, while the BG bench contributed two goals and a pair of assists.

Sullivan and Brennan each scored their second goal of the season, while Miller's marker was the first of his collegiate career. BGSU has scored 10 goals through three matches this fall, and seven different Falcons have found the back of the net.

On a gorgeous night at Cochrane, and with a large crowd on hand, Marshall held advantages in total shot attempts (16-10), shots on goal (5-4) and corner kicks (a whopping 12-3), but the Thundering Herd could not solve Mwembia and the Falcon defense. In addition to Mwembia's four saves, the Brown and Orange had a 'team save' when senior Jacob Roth headed a Marshall shot off of the goal line in the second half.

The Herd had four corner kicks in the first eight minutes of the match, but those four set pieces resulted in no shots on goal. Two MU shots went wide while a third was blocked by the BG back line during that time.

Sullivan received a nifty through ball from sophomore Bismark Agyeman in the 12th minute, putting the ball past MU goalkeeper Nate Himes and into the far-side netting, but the assistant referee's flag was up, indicating an offside call against the home side.

The senior tri-captain's next shot attempt, however, was on target, and proved to be the winning goal. In the 30th minute of the match, a long throw-in by Miller sailed into the penalty area, and Souahy ran onto the ball and headed it behind him with a nifty flick of his head. The ball went directly to Sullivan, who nodded it home from approximately six yards out. Souahy and Miller drew assists on the play, and the Falcons had a lead that would hold up for the remainder of the night.

Not long after the goal, the visitors had a chance off of a long throw-in of their own. Christian Kershaw's throw deflected off of a BG player in the penalty area, and went directly to Chris Taibi in the center of the box. But, Taibi's shot went wide right.

In addition to Mwembia's four saves, the Falcon freshman caught or punched away numerous diagonal balls in the win. He went high into the air to punch away Taibi's cross with four minutes to go in the half, and a BG defender cleared the ball out of danger.

With just over two minutes left in the half, Miller and the Falcons doubled the lead. The scoring play developed quickly, with Reynolds sliding a through ball into the path of the onrushing Miller. The freshman headed into the box on the right side and drilled a shot into the lower-left-hand corner of the net. Miller's first collegiate goal gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at the intermission.

Early in the second half, Mwembia made the save on a hard shot from distance by MU's Tommy Trupo, preserving that two-goal lead for the time being.

Midway through the second half, sophomore Peter Pugliese made a long run through what seemed like half of the Marshall team. Pugliese entered the 18-yard box and, with three players around him, still got off a dangerous shot. But, the ball rolled just wide of the far post.

With just over 20 minutes to go, a Marshall corner kick found the head of Paul Whitener. Whitener's shot sailed toward the upper right corner, but Roth rose above the crowd to head the ball away.

Then, just over three minutes later, with the Herd pushing numbers forward in an effort to get on the board, Brennan stole a pass just shy of midfield. He played a long ball ahead to Flynn, who headed into the left side of the box with several MU defenders in pursuit. Flynn maintained possession, drew Himes off of the goal line, and slid a pass to his right. Brennan, who had made a 60-yard run after coming up with the steal, found himself all alone, and easily knocked the ball into the center of the vacated net. The goal, a thing of beauty, gave the Brown and Orange a 3-0 lead in the 74th minute.

While the outcome was seemingly decided, the shutout was still in doubt. Marshall battled until the dying seconds of the match, and the Herd had six shots and five corner kicks over the final 14 minutes. One of those shots, by Jacob Purpero, caromed off the crossbar, and another effort from Bryan Lopez-Mendex forced Mwembia to make a tough save.

But, Mwembia and his teammates were able to preserve the shutout, and the Falcons had their third win in as many tries. BGSU has outscored the opposition by a 10-1 count over those three matches.

The Falcons are now idle until Wednesday (Sept. 7), when BG will hit the road to face Cleveland State University.