Bowling Green State University Athletics
Saturday, September 9
Bowling Green, OH
12:00 PM ET
Bowling Green State University
vs
Western Illinois
photo by Larry Clapper
Photo by: Larry Clapper
Falcons Return Home for Saturday Matinee vs. WIU
September 07, 2017 | Men's Soccer
BGSU meets the Leathernecks in a 12:00 p.m. start at Cochrane
FALCONS vs. WESTERN ILLINOIS – Saturday, Sept. 9
12:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
Live Audio: Bowling Green Radio Sports (BGRSO) | Live Video: WBGU-TV
ON MATCH DAY...
Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page right here at BGSUFalcons.com on match day.
–––––––
LINKS
This Week's Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
Mwembia Named MAC Player of the Week
Mustafa Named to TDS Team of the Week |Â The Team
Souahy Named to CSN National Team of the Week | The Team
Sunday Recap: Falcons Silence Penn to Remain Unbeaten
Friday Recap: Falcons Slay Dragons Behind Mustafa's Brace
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer: Schedule | Roster | Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
–––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, off to a 4-0-0 start, returns to Northwest Ohio for the lone home afternoon match of the season. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons will face Western Illinois University on Saturday (Sept. 9), with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
FREE ADMISSION
Again this season, admission to all Falcon men's and women's soccer home regular-season matches is free.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For those who can't make it to Cochrane Stadium, live stats are scheduled to be available for each home match via BGSUFalcons.com. Twitter updates for all men's soccer action, both home and away, will be available via @BGSUmenssoccer.
• Additionally, a majority of the Falcons' home matches will be streamed by WBGU. Currently, six of the eight home contests – including Saturday's WIU match – are scheduled to be streamed, free of charge.
• And, an audio stream for many of BG's home matches will be available through the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO).
• As always, all of the pertinent information re: live audio/video/stats can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on the day of the match.
FOUR-AND-OH FALCONS
• The Falcons are off to a 4-0 start for the third-straight season. Last year, BG won the first four matches of the year, while two years ago, the Brown and Orange got off to a 5-0 start and moved into the national rankings.
DOES THE "OH" IN "FOUR-AND-OH" STAND FOR "OFFENSE"...
• BGSU has scored at least two goals in all four matches this season, and the Falcons have outscored opponents, 9-0.
• BG is 18-0-2 when scoring two goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are now 48-4-6 in such matches in the Eric Nichols Era.
... OR DOES IT STAND FOR "ZERO" (AS IN "ZERO GOALS ALLOWED")?
• Through four matches this season, the Falcons have yet to allow a goal.
• BGSU has posted four consecutive shutouts for the first time in almost two decades, since November of 1997. The Falcons have not had five-straight shutouts since 1991.
• The school record for consecutive shutouts is five, achieved on three occasions. The Falcons had five-straight shutouts in 1977-78 (last three games of 1977 and the first two of '78), then matched that mark in 1983 and again in '91.
• The last time – and the only other time – BGSU began the season with four-straight shutouts was 1981.
LAST YEAR, THOUGH ...Â
• A year ago, the Falcons took a 4-0-0 record into a Saturday afternoon match with Western Illinois. The Brown and Orange faced a WIU team that had gotten only one result in four games (0-3-1),  but the Leathernecks rallied back from an early deficit to post a 2-1 win over BG in a match played at WIU's practice field.
• This year, BGSU again is 4-0-0 heading into the WIU match. The Leathernecks will come to BG with a 1-3-0 mark.
FALCONS EARN A SLEW OF AWARDSÂ
• After going 3-0-0 last week, the Falcons are being recognized for their success, having earned a veritable plethora of honors. On Monday (Sept. 4), senior Alexis Souahy was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. Souahy helped the BG defense keep three clean sheets, while scoring a goal against both Penn and Drexel.
• The next day (Sept. 5), junior Moe Mustafa was chosen to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Mustafa, like Souahy, helped the BG defense to three shutouts while scoring a pair of goals. Both Mustafa markers came in the win over Drexel.
• Mustafa became the second Falcon in as many weeks to be named to the TDS Team of the Week, joining sophomore Chris Brennan (Aug. 29) on that list.
• Later Tuesday morning (Sept. 5), sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week. Mwembia made a total of 13 saves in last week's three matches.
FALCONS IN THE RANKINGSÂ
• After debuting in the number-six spot in the United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Regional rankings in week one, the Falcons have moved up to fourth in this week's rankings. BG was ranked among the Great Lakes Region's top-10 teams in every week of the 2016 season.
• The Falcons also received eight points in the United Soccer Coaches National Top-25 Poll this week. BG is the 11th team listed under "also receiving votes."
• In the NCAA rankings, BGSU is tied for first in the nation in winning percentage, saves pct., shutout pct. and team goals-against average. Individually, of course, sophomore Anthony Mwembia is tied for first in the county in each of the latter three categories.
• Mwembia is third among active goalkeepers in career GAA (0.60). His career saves percentage (.856) would lead all NCAA Division-I 'keepers, but he falls just 14 career saves short of the 100 career stops needed to qualify.
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU enters the Western Illinois match with a 4-0-0 record on the young season. The Falcons posted 2-0 wins over IUPUI and Cleveland State at Cochrane Stadium, before going on the road and blanking Drexel and Penn over the Labor Day weekend.
• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 9-0.
• The Falcons are unbeaten in the last 12 home matches, having gone 8-0-4 at Cochrane Stadium since a 1-0 overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Oct. 3, 2015. The win over CSU was BGSU's eighth shutout in that 12-match span. BG has outscored the opponents, 24-5, during that home unbeaten streak.
• Junior defender Moe Mustafa leads the Falcons in scoring, with seven points on three goals and an assist. Sophomore Chris Brennan has six points, including a team-leading four helpers.
• Junior Alexis Souahy has five points and sophomore Robert Miller III four this season to date. Both Souahy and Miller have two goals on the year.
• Freshman Chris Sullivan and junior Tate Robertson each have three points. Robertson has three assists to rank second on the team.
• Both Miller and Mustafa have two game-winning goals on the year. They each recorded their first career GWG during BG's two-match homestand to begin the regular season, and each player scored another winner on the trip to Philadelphia.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia has four shutouts to start the 2017 season, and now has kept 12 clean sheets in 22 career matches. He has 14 saves and a goals-against average, obviously, of 0.00. His career GAA has dropped to 0.60, while his career saves percentage is now .856.
• Both Mwembia and Robertson were listed in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Conference Top-20 rankings. Mwembia was listed as the 10th-ranked player in the MAC, while Robertson was ranked 12th in the league.
• BGSU is now 18-0-2 when scoring two or more goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are 48-4-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BROWN AND ORANGE
• The 2017 season marks the 53rd year of BGSU men's soccer. Legendary coach Mickey Cochrane initiated varsity programs in both soccer and lacrosse at BG in 1965, after serving as club coach of both sports at the University the previous year. Cochrane can still be found in attendance at the field that bears his name for many BGSU men's and women's soccer matches.
• Eric Nichols, now in his ninth season at BG, is just the fifth coach in the illustrious history of Falcon men's soccer. Cochrane (1965-77), Gary Palmisano (1978-92, 1994), Mel Mahler (1993, 1995-2003) and Fred Thompson (2004-08) are the only other individuals to have coached the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the WIU match with a record of 66-66-24 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record over the last seven-plus seasons.
• Nichols and the Falcons had an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger. BG finished second in the conference, the program's best showing since the 2002 season, and the Falcons were undefeated at Cochrane Stadium for the first time since 1996.
• The Falcons have a record of 36-21-6 (.619) 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. The 2015 club finished 9-9-1, marking only the second time since 2000 that BGSU had won as many as nine games in a season. And, obviously, 2016 was the third time, as BG again posted nine victories.
• BGSU ended the 2016 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 the MAC for the first time since that 1996 season
• Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Eric Reed and Zach Mason – welcomed back a total of 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team.
• Anthony Mwembia was an All-MAC First-Team selection in his freshman campaign, while Tate Robertson earned All-MAC Second-Team honors.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
• In the win at Drexel, the Falcons scored three goals on the road for the first time in nearly 22 months, since a 3-2 win at Wright State on Oct. 27, 2015. And, Friday marked the first time BGSU won by three goals in a true road game in nearly six years, since a 4-1 win at Detroit on Sept. 21, 2011.
• Overall, it marked the first time BGSU scored three goals in a match in just under a year, since a 3-0 home win over Marshall last season (Sept. 2, 2016).
SCOUTING WIU
Western Illinois enters Saturday's match with a record of 1-3-0. The Leathernecks dropped one-goal decisions at Milwaukee and Green Bay, then fell, 4-1, at Dayton, before topping Mount Mercy, 2-1. Fernando Pacheco has three of the team's six goals, while Drew Whalen has scored twice. In goal, Tim Hansen has played three matches and has a 3.00 GAA, while Tim Trilk played the Mount Mercy match and made three stops. Coach Eric Johnson welcomed back nine starters from a 2016 WIU team that went 8-10-1 overall and 3-3-0 in Summit League play.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead WIU, 3-2-1, in the all-time series between the teams. But, as mentioned, the Leathernecks halted BG's 4-0 start to the season with a 2-1 win last year. Two years ago, in the teams' last meeting at Cochrane, BGSU picked up a 4-1 win on the season's opening weekend. BG is 2-1-0 at home, 0-1-1 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site meetings with WIU through the years.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the Western Illinois match, the Falcons hit the road for three of the next four contests. BG faces nationally-ranked Michigan State in East Lansing on Wednesday night (Sept. 13), before returning home for a matchup with Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 16. Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m.
Â
12:00 p.m. | Cochrane Stadium | Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com | Twitter: @BGSUmenssoccer
Live Audio: Bowling Green Radio Sports (BGRSO) | Live Video: WBGU-TV
ON MATCH DAY...
Links to any live audio/video/stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page right here at BGSUFalcons.com on match day.
–––––––
LINKS
This Week's Notes as a PDF
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer Weekly Releases/Notes
Mwembia Named MAC Player of the Week
Mustafa Named to TDS Team of the Week |Â The Team
Souahy Named to CSN National Team of the Week | The Team
Sunday Recap: Falcons Silence Penn to Remain Unbeaten
Friday Recap: Falcons Slay Dragons Behind Mustafa's Brace
MAC Office Announces Preseason Poll
2017 BGSU Men's Soccer: Schedule | Roster | Record Book
Join the Falcon Club Today!
–––––––
UP NEXT IN FALCON SOCCER
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, off to a 4-0-0 start, returns to Northwest Ohio for the lone home afternoon match of the season. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons will face Western Illinois University on Saturday (Sept. 9), with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. at Cochrane Stadium.
FREE ADMISSION
Again this season, admission to all Falcon men's and women's soccer home regular-season matches is free.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For those who can't make it to Cochrane Stadium, live stats are scheduled to be available for each home match via BGSUFalcons.com. Twitter updates for all men's soccer action, both home and away, will be available via @BGSUmenssoccer.
• Additionally, a majority of the Falcons' home matches will be streamed by WBGU. Currently, six of the eight home contests – including Saturday's WIU match – are scheduled to be streamed, free of charge.
• And, an audio stream for many of BG's home matches will be available through the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO).
• As always, all of the pertinent information re: live audio/video/stats can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on the day of the match.
FOUR-AND-OH FALCONS
• The Falcons are off to a 4-0 start for the third-straight season. Last year, BG won the first four matches of the year, while two years ago, the Brown and Orange got off to a 5-0 start and moved into the national rankings.
DOES THE "OH" IN "FOUR-AND-OH" STAND FOR "OFFENSE"...
• BGSU has scored at least two goals in all four matches this season, and the Falcons have outscored opponents, 9-0.
• BG is 18-0-2 when scoring two goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are now 48-4-6 in such matches in the Eric Nichols Era.
... OR DOES IT STAND FOR "ZERO" (AS IN "ZERO GOALS ALLOWED")?
• Through four matches this season, the Falcons have yet to allow a goal.
• BGSU has posted four consecutive shutouts for the first time in almost two decades, since November of 1997. The Falcons have not had five-straight shutouts since 1991.
• The school record for consecutive shutouts is five, achieved on three occasions. The Falcons had five-straight shutouts in 1977-78 (last three games of 1977 and the first two of '78), then matched that mark in 1983 and again in '91.
• The last time – and the only other time – BGSU began the season with four-straight shutouts was 1981.
LAST YEAR, THOUGH ...Â
• A year ago, the Falcons took a 4-0-0 record into a Saturday afternoon match with Western Illinois. The Brown and Orange faced a WIU team that had gotten only one result in four games (0-3-1),  but the Leathernecks rallied back from an early deficit to post a 2-1 win over BG in a match played at WIU's practice field.
• This year, BGSU again is 4-0-0 heading into the WIU match. The Leathernecks will come to BG with a 1-3-0 mark.
FALCONS EARN A SLEW OF AWARDSÂ
• After going 3-0-0 last week, the Falcons are being recognized for their success, having earned a veritable plethora of honors. On Monday (Sept. 4), senior Alexis Souahy was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. Souahy helped the BG defense keep three clean sheets, while scoring a goal against both Penn and Drexel.
• The next day (Sept. 5), junior Moe Mustafa was chosen to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Mustafa, like Souahy, helped the BG defense to three shutouts while scoring a pair of goals. Both Mustafa markers came in the win over Drexel.
• Mustafa became the second Falcon in as many weeks to be named to the TDS Team of the Week, joining sophomore Chris Brennan (Aug. 29) on that list.
• Later Tuesday morning (Sept. 5), sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week. Mwembia made a total of 13 saves in last week's three matches.
FALCONS IN THE RANKINGSÂ
• After debuting in the number-six spot in the United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Regional rankings in week one, the Falcons have moved up to fourth in this week's rankings. BG was ranked among the Great Lakes Region's top-10 teams in every week of the 2016 season.
• The Falcons also received eight points in the United Soccer Coaches National Top-25 Poll this week. BG is the 11th team listed under "also receiving votes."
• In the NCAA rankings, BGSU is tied for first in the nation in winning percentage, saves pct., shutout pct. and team goals-against average. Individually, of course, sophomore Anthony Mwembia is tied for first in the county in each of the latter three categories.
• Mwembia is third among active goalkeepers in career GAA (0.60). His career saves percentage (.856) would lead all NCAA Division-I 'keepers, but he falls just 14 career saves short of the 100 career stops needed to qualify.
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FALCONS
• BGSU enters the Western Illinois match with a 4-0-0 record on the young season. The Falcons posted 2-0 wins over IUPUI and Cleveland State at Cochrane Stadium, before going on the road and blanking Drexel and Penn over the Labor Day weekend.
• The Falcons have outscored the opponents, 9-0.
• The Falcons are unbeaten in the last 12 home matches, having gone 8-0-4 at Cochrane Stadium since a 1-0 overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Oct. 3, 2015. The win over CSU was BGSU's eighth shutout in that 12-match span. BG has outscored the opponents, 24-5, during that home unbeaten streak.
• Junior defender Moe Mustafa leads the Falcons in scoring, with seven points on three goals and an assist. Sophomore Chris Brennan has six points, including a team-leading four helpers.
• Junior Alexis Souahy has five points and sophomore Robert Miller III four this season to date. Both Souahy and Miller have two goals on the year.
• Freshman Chris Sullivan and junior Tate Robertson each have three points. Robertson has three assists to rank second on the team.
• Both Miller and Mustafa have two game-winning goals on the year. They each recorded their first career GWG during BG's two-match homestand to begin the regular season, and each player scored another winner on the trip to Philadelphia.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia has four shutouts to start the 2017 season, and now has kept 12 clean sheets in 22 career matches. He has 14 saves and a goals-against average, obviously, of 0.00. His career GAA has dropped to 0.60, while his career saves percentage is now .856.
• Both Mwembia and Robertson were listed in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Conference Top-20 rankings. Mwembia was listed as the 10th-ranked player in the MAC, while Robertson was ranked 12th in the league.
• BGSU is now 18-0-2 when scoring two or more goals in a match since the start of the 2015 season, and the Falcons are 48-4-6 when scoring two or more goals in the Nichols Era.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BROWN AND ORANGE
• The 2017 season marks the 53rd year of BGSU men's soccer. Legendary coach Mickey Cochrane initiated varsity programs in both soccer and lacrosse at BG in 1965, after serving as club coach of both sports at the University the previous year. Cochrane can still be found in attendance at the field that bears his name for many BGSU men's and women's soccer matches.
• Eric Nichols, now in his ninth season at BG, is just the fifth coach in the illustrious history of Falcon men's soccer. Cochrane (1965-77), Gary Palmisano (1978-92, 1994), Mel Mahler (1993, 1995-2003) and Fred Thompson (2004-08) are the only other individuals to have coached the BGSU men's soccer program.
• Nichols – the 2016 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year – enters the WIU match with a record of 66-66-24 at BG, The Falcons, after going 3-12-3 in his first year, have a winning record over the last seven-plus seasons.
• Nichols and the Falcons had an overall record of 9-6-4 in 2016, and BGSU finished MAC regular-season play with a 2-0-3 league ledger. BG finished second in the conference, the program's best showing since the 2002 season, and the Falcons were undefeated at Cochrane Stadium for the first time since 1996.
• The Falcons have a record of 36-21-6 (.619) 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. The 2015 club finished 9-9-1, marking only the second time since 2000 that BGSU had won as many as nine games in a season. And, obviously, 2016 was the third time, as BG again posted nine victories.
• BGSU ended the 2016 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 the MAC for the first time since that 1996 season
• Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Eric Reed and Zach Mason – welcomed back a total of 13 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's team.
• Anthony Mwembia was an All-MAC First-Team selection in his freshman campaign, while Tate Robertson earned All-MAC Second-Team honors.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
• In the win at Drexel, the Falcons scored three goals on the road for the first time in nearly 22 months, since a 3-2 win at Wright State on Oct. 27, 2015. And, Friday marked the first time BGSU won by three goals in a true road game in nearly six years, since a 4-1 win at Detroit on Sept. 21, 2011.
• Overall, it marked the first time BGSU scored three goals in a match in just under a year, since a 3-0 home win over Marshall last season (Sept. 2, 2016).
SCOUTING WIU
Western Illinois enters Saturday's match with a record of 1-3-0. The Leathernecks dropped one-goal decisions at Milwaukee and Green Bay, then fell, 4-1, at Dayton, before topping Mount Mercy, 2-1. Fernando Pacheco has three of the team's six goals, while Drew Whalen has scored twice. In goal, Tim Hansen has played three matches and has a 3.00 GAA, while Tim Trilk played the Mount Mercy match and made three stops. Coach Eric Johnson welcomed back nine starters from a 2016 WIU team that went 8-10-1 overall and 3-3-0 in Summit League play.
THE SERIES
The Falcons lead WIU, 3-2-1, in the all-time series between the teams. But, as mentioned, the Leathernecks halted BG's 4-0 start to the season with a 2-1 win last year. Two years ago, in the teams' last meeting at Cochrane, BGSU picked up a 4-1 win on the season's opening weekend. BG is 2-1-0 at home, 0-1-1 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site meetings with WIU through the years.
UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
Following the Western Illinois match, the Falcons hit the road for three of the next four contests. BG faces nationally-ranked Michigan State in East Lansing on Wednesday night (Sept. 13), before returning home for a matchup with Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 16. Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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