Shorthanded Falcons battle MSU to 0-0 Draw on the Road

Wednesday, October 19

East Lansing, Mich.

4:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Michigan State

Sophomore Michael Wiest made five saves en route to his sixth shutout of the year (photo by John Enright)

October 19, 2011 | Men's Soccer

Wiest makes five saves to earn sixth shutout of season

By: EAST LANSING, Mich. (BGSU Athletic Communications)

The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, shorthanded for the majority of the match, battled host Michigan State University to a 0-0 draw on the road Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 19). The non-conference match was held at MSU's DeMartin Stadium.

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The result gives the Falcons a 7-4-2 record this season, while the Spartans are now 4-7-3.

Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Wiest made a total of five saves as he blanked a Big Ten Conference team on the road for 110 minutes. The shutout was Wiest's sixth of the season, and was the Falcons' seventh on the year.

BGSU played with 10 men for the final 69 minutes, after junior Rodcliff Hall received his second yellow card of the match with 3:58 left in the first half.

The tie snapped Michigan State's nine-game winning streak in the series. BGSU had not produced a result against the Spartans since a 3-1 win in East Lansing over a decade ago (Sept. 17, 2001). The Spartans lead the series by a slim 17-16-6 margin.

State had a 13-8 advantage in total shot attempts, including a narrow 5-3 margin in shots on goal. The Falcons had eight corner kicks to MSU's six.

Both teams battled the elements on Wednesday afternoon/evening. It was raining when the match began, and the rain -- and wind -- increased in amount and intensity as the game went on. It was a small but hearty crowd that braved the elements to sit in the stands at DeMartin Stadium.

The first half saw the teams combined to take a total of just six shots. The first shot came five minutes into the match, when MSU's Kyle Rutz fired a shot high of the target.

Wiest was tested for the first time with eight minutes gone, as Brent Rosendall hit a low, hard shot from 18 yards out, but the shot was directly at the sophomore 'keeper.

The Falcons' first shot attempt came 13-and-a-half minutes into the match, when Hall's effort from the right side of the penalty area was blocked out of bounds for one of BG's four first-half corner kicks.

Several minutes later, the Falcons possessed the ball for a long period of time, stringing six or seven passes together. That stretch ended when sophomore Zach Schewee was unceremoniously dumped approximately 30 yards away from goal. But, the ensuing Falcon free kick did not lead to a scoring chance.

Rutz had another chance midway through the period, as a teammate laid a pass back to him at the 18. The Spartan freshman, in stride, hit a hard one-timer, but Wiest rose to the occasion, diving to make the stop.

Two-thirds of the way through the half, the Falcons again possessed the ball in the MSU half of the pitch for an interminable amount of time. But, the Falcons could not get a shot on goal, as two crosses by freshman Danny Baraldi each were cleared by Spartan defenders.

The physical match saw Hall and MSU's Mark Barone each receive yellow cards with just over 10 minutes left in the half. Then, six minutes later, Hall and the Spartans' Josh Barens were cautioned. The second yellow to the Falcon junior forced the Brown and Orange to go a man down at the 41:02 mark.

The Falcons had one more shot attempt with two minutes left in the period, as junior Joey D'Agostino stole the ball and uncorked a try from the top of the box. But, MSU goalie Jeremy Clark was in position and made the save.

In the second half, the Falcons had a chance with just over six minutes gone, as Baraldi's left-side cross deflected off of an MSU player. But, no BGSU player could get to the ball as it went through the box, and Clark was able to track it down.

Cody Henderson gathered the ball after a cross was knocked out of the box by a BG defender. But, Henderson's shot was blocked out of play.

With just under 30 minutes left in regulation, senior tri-captain Tanner Fink thwarted a Spartan scoring chance, taking the ball off the boot of an MSU striker before he could fire a shot after receiving a long ball. Several moments later, Fink came through again, knocking the ball away from Rutz in the center of the box.

In between those two Spartan chances, the Falcons made a foray into the MSU end, as redshirt junior Zach Lemke and sophomore Ryan Comiskey worked toward goal on the left side of the pitch. Lemke's cross went through the box, however, with no one able to get to it.

Fink came through again, heading a dangerous-looking cross out of his own end before Rutz could get to it.

Under 18 minutes remained in regulation when Wiest and his back line came up big. The Spartans had an offensive flurry, as Henderson hit a shot that was blocked in traffic. The ball caromed off of several players and came to Nick Wilson, stationed just outside the 18-yard box. Wiest had attempted to track down the ball after the initial shot, and was seemingly out of position as Wilson readied his straightaway shot. But, the sophomore 'keeper recovered quickly, saving the shot and keeping the match scoreless.

With 11 minutes on the clock, D'Agostino played the ball ahead to senior Colin Armstrong on the right side. Armstrong attempted to slide a pass to the onrushing Baraldi on his left, but a State defender was able to get a boot on the ball and disrupt the play.

If possible, the rain actually increased as the clock ticked under eight minutes in the half. Each team had several more chances over the remainder of regulation, but neither the Falcons nor the Spartans could get on the board.

Lemke's shot with 3:42 remaining scooted just wide of the far (right) post. Joe Paljaj's shot at the other end was gathered in by Wiest with three minutes left. And, with 2:37 on the clock, a shot from Comiskey sailed high. The teams headed to overtime.

The Falcons controlled the play in the first 10-minute OT session. BGSU had a 3-0 advantage in shots, and also had a pair of corner kicks in that period. Less than a minute into the OT, D'Agostino fired a shot from distance that went wide.

One of BG's better chances in the game came with 2:35 gone in the period. A turnaround shot by Lemke was deflected by a lunging MSU defender. That deflection sent the ball heading toward the upper left corner, but Clark was able to scramble to his right to knock the ball away at the last second.

Baraldi had a shot attempt stopped by Clark with six minutes left in the period, and a through-ball headed in the direction of Baraldi with just 20 seconds left seemed to be leading to a golden opportunity for the Falcons. But, the assistant referee's flag was raised, indicating offside.

The teams send to a second OT, where the hosts, and Garret Back in particular, had several close calls. First, a shot by Back was deflected high into the air. The ball sailed over a maze of players in the six-yard box, including Wiest, but it landed on top of the net midway through the period.

Then, with six-and-a-half minutes gone in the period, Back cut the ball back to his left and hit a shot from the top of the box on the right side. The curving shot hit off of the crossbar and went out of play. That was the final shot attempt by either side, and 210 seconds later, the match officially finished as a draw.

BGSU returns to Northwest Ohio to prepare for the first home night game in program history. The Falcons return to Mid-American Conference action with a Saturday night (Oct. 22) match against Hartwick College. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. at Cochrane Field.

FALCON NOTES
* Sophomore Michael Wiest's complete-match shutout was his sixth of the season ... Wiest's total ties the number of clean sheets kept by Miguel Rosales last season ... no BGSU 'keeper has had more than six shutouts since Dave DeGraff had seven in the 2001 season.

* Rosales has one complete-match shutout this fall, giving the Falcons a total of seven as a team in 2011 ... that is the most shutouts by the Brown and Orange since that 2001 campaign.

* Wiest now has two shutouts in as many complete-match outings against Big Ten Conference teams ... he blanked Michigan in his first collegiate start, helping the Falcons to a 2-0 win in the season opener (Aug. 26, 2011).

* Wiest has played more than 240 minutes (241:46, to be exact) against Big Ten opponents in his career, and has yet to allow a goal ... in addition to this year's Michigan and Michigan State matches, he has had brief stints in two other contests ... Wiest's collegiate debut came last season in Ann Arbor, as he played 29:16 in relief of a loss at U-M ... he also played the first 12:30 of this year's match at Ohio State, before leaving the match due to injury ... Wiest has made a total of 10 saves in compiling that 0.00 goals-against average vs. the Big Ten to date.