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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Wednesday, October 21
East Lansing, Mich.
4:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
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at
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Michigan State
Dylan Schoettley made eight saves, while Tanner Fink (13) and Tyler Deal (8) each played all 90 minutes at MSU
Spartans Get Past Falcons, 2-1
October 21, 2009 | Men's Soccer
Host Michigan State University scored a pair of goals two minutes apart early in the second half, then held on for a 2-1 victory over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 21). The non-conference game was held at DeMartin Stadium.
MSU 2, BGSU 1 - Final Stats | MSU 2, BGSU 1 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU Cumulative Stats - PDF (through Wednesday's game)
With the victory, Michigan State, the defending Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament champion, improves to 8-4-1 on the season. The Falcons drop to 2-9-2.
Redshirt junior Ahmad Smith scored his first goal of the season in the 69th minute to cut MSU's lead in half, but the Falcons could not get the equalizer against MSU 'keeper Avery Steinlage. Earlier this season, Steinlage had set the NCAA record for consecutive shutout minutes.
Falcon freshman goalkeeper Dylan Schoettley, making his second consecutive start, had eight saves, the highest total of his young career.
"We came here to win this game, and we came up short, so we're disappointed in that," said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols. "But, all in all, this was a positive step for us today.
"We played about 85 very good minutes. We were well-organized defensively, created some good chances, and overall were very solid for about 85 minutes. We just had a little bit of a letdown for five minutes or so."
The teams battled through a scoreless first half. MSU's Jeff Ricondo, the reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week, hit the crossbar with a shot in the early going, for arguably the best chance by either team in the opening 45 minutes.
Early in the second half, Ricondo fed Cyrus Saydee for the game's initial goal. Saydee took the pass and converted from approximately 14 yards out, putting the ball in the far side of the net. That goal came at the 49:28 mark.
One hundred twenty five seconds later, the Spartans doubled the lead, as Ricondo picked up a loose ball and scored his fifth goal of the year. Rubin Bega was credited with an assist on Ricondo's goal, which came at 51:33.
"It may not have been so much us letting down as it was a case of Michigan State really turning it on," said Nichols. "We weren't able to match them during that stretch. But, down 2-0, we had a chance to cave, and we didn't. We fought back and got within a goal, and had a few opportunities to tie it in the late going."
Back came the Falcons, however, as Smith cut the lead back to a single goal, streaking down the left side and beating Steinlage from 15 yards out. Lawrence and fellow senior Gavin Dozier drew the assists on Smith's goal, which came with 21:44 left in the second half.
On the play, Dozier won possession near midfield, and played the ball ahead to Lawrence. Lawrence's long ball found the sprinting Smith, who slotted it inside the far (right) post on the dead run.
Smith's goal came less than a minute and a half after he entered the game for the first time.
Over that final 21:44, the Falcons had three shots -- all on goal -- but were unable to get another ball past Steinlage. The MSU 'keeper made a total of seven saves in the game, with six coming in the second half.
On the afternoon, MSU held a 21-10 advantage in total shot attempts, and a narrow 10-8 margin in shots on goal. Ricondo led all players with six total shots and four SOG.
For the Falcons, Lawrence was the lone player credited with more than one shot attempt on the day. The senior co-captain had three total shots, putting two of them on frame.
"Again, no one likes to lose," said Nichols. "And, we didn't come up here to lose a close game; we came here to win. So, we are disappointed with the result, but we are pleased that we saw some very positive things from the Falcons today."
BGSU will return home to face Hartwick College on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 25), with that Mid-American Conference contest beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field. The Hartwick match begins a stretch in which the Falcons play four-of-five games at home to close the regular season.
FALCON NOTES
* Redshirt junior Ahmad Smith's goal was his first of the season ... in fact, it was his first goal since Sept. 8, 2006 ... Smith scored three goals in '06, his freshman season ... he has career totals of four goals and eight points.
* As mentioned, Smith's goal came just after he entered the game for the first time ... head coach Eric Nichols inserted Smith into the lineup at the 66:49 mark, and Smith's goal came just 1:27 later.
* Senior co-captain Jacob Lawrence's assist on Smith's goal was his second of the season and the fifth of his career ... he now has a career total of 21 points.
* Lawrence now has a total of six points this season, ranking second on the team ... fellow senior Cameron Hepple leads the Falcons with 15 points.
* Lawrence has scored five of his points over the last two games, after scoring a pair of goals in Friday's (Oct. 16) win at Buffalo.
* Senior Gavin Dozier's assist was his first point of the season ... he now has three career assists, after recording a pair of helpers last fall.
* Redshirt freshman Zach Lemke made the first start of his young collegiate career in Wednesday's match ... he played a career-high 79 minutes vs. the Spartans ... Lemke's previous high in minutes was 61, in last month's Duquesne match (Sept. 12).
* Including goalkeepers, a total of 20 different Falcon players have started at least one match this season to date ... senior Tyler Deal and sophomore Tanner Fink are the only two Falcons to have started all 13 games.
* The Falcons and Spartans are now deadlocked, 16-16-5, in the all-time series between the teams ... MSU has a 9-6-3 record against the Falcons in matches played in East Lansing.
* MSU entered Wednesday's match with a team goals-against average of just 0.58, leading the Big Ten by over 0.20 ... MSU had posted 17 shutouts in the previous 24 games, dating to the 2008 season.
BGSU MEN'S SOCCER - REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE...
Sun., Oct. 25 - HARTWICK - 1:00 p.m. *
Wed., Oct. 28 - at Wright State - 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 31 - NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Noon *
Wed., Nov. 4 - DETROIT - 2:00 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 7 - FLORIDA ATLANTIC - Noon *
HOME games at Cochrane Field
* Mid-American Conference game
MSU 2, BGSU 1 - Final Stats | MSU 2, BGSU 1 - PDF Boxscore
BGSU Cumulative Stats - PDF (through Wednesday's game)
With the victory, Michigan State, the defending Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament champion, improves to 8-4-1 on the season. The Falcons drop to 2-9-2.
Redshirt junior Ahmad Smith scored his first goal of the season in the 69th minute to cut MSU's lead in half, but the Falcons could not get the equalizer against MSU 'keeper Avery Steinlage. Earlier this season, Steinlage had set the NCAA record for consecutive shutout minutes.
Falcon freshman goalkeeper Dylan Schoettley, making his second consecutive start, had eight saves, the highest total of his young career.
"We came here to win this game, and we came up short, so we're disappointed in that," said BGSU head coach Eric Nichols. "But, all in all, this was a positive step for us today.
"We played about 85 very good minutes. We were well-organized defensively, created some good chances, and overall were very solid for about 85 minutes. We just had a little bit of a letdown for five minutes or so."
The teams battled through a scoreless first half. MSU's Jeff Ricondo, the reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week, hit the crossbar with a shot in the early going, for arguably the best chance by either team in the opening 45 minutes.
Early in the second half, Ricondo fed Cyrus Saydee for the game's initial goal. Saydee took the pass and converted from approximately 14 yards out, putting the ball in the far side of the net. That goal came at the 49:28 mark.
One hundred twenty five seconds later, the Spartans doubled the lead, as Ricondo picked up a loose ball and scored his fifth goal of the year. Rubin Bega was credited with an assist on Ricondo's goal, which came at 51:33.
"It may not have been so much us letting down as it was a case of Michigan State really turning it on," said Nichols. "We weren't able to match them during that stretch. But, down 2-0, we had a chance to cave, and we didn't. We fought back and got within a goal, and had a few opportunities to tie it in the late going."
Back came the Falcons, however, as Smith cut the lead back to a single goal, streaking down the left side and beating Steinlage from 15 yards out. Lawrence and fellow senior Gavin Dozier drew the assists on Smith's goal, which came with 21:44 left in the second half.
On the play, Dozier won possession near midfield, and played the ball ahead to Lawrence. Lawrence's long ball found the sprinting Smith, who slotted it inside the far (right) post on the dead run.
Smith's goal came less than a minute and a half after he entered the game for the first time.
Over that final 21:44, the Falcons had three shots -- all on goal -- but were unable to get another ball past Steinlage. The MSU 'keeper made a total of seven saves in the game, with six coming in the second half.
On the afternoon, MSU held a 21-10 advantage in total shot attempts, and a narrow 10-8 margin in shots on goal. Ricondo led all players with six total shots and four SOG.
For the Falcons, Lawrence was the lone player credited with more than one shot attempt on the day. The senior co-captain had three total shots, putting two of them on frame.
"Again, no one likes to lose," said Nichols. "And, we didn't come up here to lose a close game; we came here to win. So, we are disappointed with the result, but we are pleased that we saw some very positive things from the Falcons today."
BGSU will return home to face Hartwick College on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 25), with that Mid-American Conference contest beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field. The Hartwick match begins a stretch in which the Falcons play four-of-five games at home to close the regular season.
FALCON NOTES
* Redshirt junior Ahmad Smith's goal was his first of the season ... in fact, it was his first goal since Sept. 8, 2006 ... Smith scored three goals in '06, his freshman season ... he has career totals of four goals and eight points.
* As mentioned, Smith's goal came just after he entered the game for the first time ... head coach Eric Nichols inserted Smith into the lineup at the 66:49 mark, and Smith's goal came just 1:27 later.
* Senior co-captain Jacob Lawrence's assist on Smith's goal was his second of the season and the fifth of his career ... he now has a career total of 21 points.
* Lawrence now has a total of six points this season, ranking second on the team ... fellow senior Cameron Hepple leads the Falcons with 15 points.
* Lawrence has scored five of his points over the last two games, after scoring a pair of goals in Friday's (Oct. 16) win at Buffalo.
* Senior Gavin Dozier's assist was his first point of the season ... he now has three career assists, after recording a pair of helpers last fall.
* Redshirt freshman Zach Lemke made the first start of his young collegiate career in Wednesday's match ... he played a career-high 79 minutes vs. the Spartans ... Lemke's previous high in minutes was 61, in last month's Duquesne match (Sept. 12).
* Including goalkeepers, a total of 20 different Falcon players have started at least one match this season to date ... senior Tyler Deal and sophomore Tanner Fink are the only two Falcons to have started all 13 games.
* The Falcons and Spartans are now deadlocked, 16-16-5, in the all-time series between the teams ... MSU has a 9-6-3 record against the Falcons in matches played in East Lansing.
* MSU entered Wednesday's match with a team goals-against average of just 0.58, leading the Big Ten by over 0.20 ... MSU had posted 17 shutouts in the previous 24 games, dating to the 2008 season.
BGSU MEN'S SOCCER - REMAINING REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE...
Sun., Oct. 25 - HARTWICK - 1:00 p.m. *
Wed., Oct. 28 - at Wright State - 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 31 - NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Noon *
Wed., Nov. 4 - DETROIT - 2:00 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 7 - FLORIDA ATLANTIC - Noon *
HOME games at Cochrane Field
* Mid-American Conference game
Off The Pitch: Jack Bennett (Oct. 22, 2025)
Thursday, October 23
Off The Pitch: Ryko Bodurov (Oct. 16, 2025)
Friday, October 17
Eric Nichols Post-Match Interview (Oct. 10, 2025)
Saturday, October 11
Trace Terry Post-Match Interview (Oct. 10, 2025)
Saturday, October 11