Friday, September 24
Buffalo, NY
4:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
2
at
1
Canisius
Alberto Anaya assisted on both BGSU goals at Canisius
Photo by: Lindy Feider
Falcons Top Pesky Canisius, 2-1
Fri, Sep, 24 | Men's Soccer
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BGSU moves to 7-1-1 – and 4-0-0 on the road – heading into Wednesday’s OSU match
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team got a pair of first-half goals en route to a 2-1 win over Canisius College on Friday afternoon (Sept. 24). The non-conference contest was held at Demske Sports Complex.
On a windy day in Western New York, Joey Akpunonu and Kyle Cusimano scored for the Falcons (7-1-1), who are ranked 17th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll and 24th by College Soccer News.
The Golden Griffins (0-5-2), trailing by a pair of goals at the half, did not go away. Noah Hodson scored in the 59th minute to bring the hosts within a single goal, but the Falcons did not let the Griffs get any closer.
Alberto Anaya had assists on both BG goals, while Zach Buescher had the primary assist on Cusimano's strike.
BGSU is now a perfect 4-0-0 in road games this season.
NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU, as mentioned, is now 4-0-0 on the road this season, marking the first time since 1997 that the Falcons have won the first four road games of the year.
• That '97 club won the first five true road matches of the season, finishing the year with an 8-3-0 road record, an 18-6-0 overall mark, a MAC Tournament title and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"We started out strong, and played a solid first half today. But we got ourselves into a real battle in the second half. Canisius came out strong after halftime, and we couldn't find our rhythm. The performance wasn't how we drew it up, but I am proud of the resilience we displayed to hold on and get a win on the road.""
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons controlled the play in the first half, scoring twice and coming close on several other occasions. Five minutes into the match, after Nathan Masters was fouled, Alberto Anaya put his free kick on target, but his shot was saved by Canisius goalkeeper William Howard. Masters corralled the rebound and found Michael Montemurri, who hit a one-time effort that was blocked out of play.
• The Falcons got on the board with just over six minutes gone. Anaya's corner kick found Joey Akpunonu outside of the 18-yard box. The sophomore defender hit a low, knuckling shot that found the left side of the goal. It was Akpunonu's first career goal and Anaya's first career assist.
• Just over 13 minutes into the match, Kyle Cusimano cut the ball back and hit a shot from outside the box that was tipped over the crossbar by Howard, leading to another corner kick. The Falcons had five corners in the first 14 minutes of the match.
• Canisius freshman Kodie Sarkodie, making his collegiate debut, made several nice plays to thwart BG scoring chances in the opening half. He knocked the ball away from Sergi Martinez in the box just before Martinez could get a shot off, then cleared the ball away from Roberto Fernandez Garrido several minutes later after a nifty through ball from Anaya.
• BGSU doubled the lead in the 28th minute. Anaya, in the middle of the park, slid the ball to his right. Zach Buescher kept it moving with a quick backheel, pass, and Cusimano hit a low shot that found the far corner of the goal.
• The Falcons had chances on a Montemurri header that was saved, and a Fernandez Garrido shot that sliced wide of the far post.
• The home team's first shot of the match came 33 minutes in, when Sarkodie's header off of a corner kick sailed high.
• The Golden Griffins, after attempting just three shots – and putting none of them on goal – in the first half, outshot the Falcons by a 13-3 count in the second half. Federico Mereto tested BGSU goalkeeper Logan Kowalczyk early in the second stanza, but the Falcon junior made the stop.
• The Griffs got a pair of shots from Alessandro Fabiano that were blocked in the box, and Kale Nichols made a nifty block of another Canisius shot 10 minutes into the half.
• But, the home side got on the scoreboard with 31 minutes remaining. Off of a nifty individual effort by Mereto that culminated in a low cross, Noah Hodson fired the ball into the upper right corner of the net.
• And, the Golden Griffins had several chances to tie the score in the remaining half-hour. Matthew Spangler hit a low shot that Kowalczyk saved on the short-hop, and off of a corner kick, back-to-back shots were blocked by BG backliners in the box.
• With just over five minutes to go, Akpunonu blocked a Dylan Rice effort.
• BG was able to control the ball and work some clock in the final few minutes, and Anaya found Cusimano for a 90th-minute shot from the center of the box that nearly restored BG's two-goal lead. But, Howard made a great diving save, tipping the ball wide of the post for a Falcon corner kick. That shot came with roughly 30 seconds to go, and following the corner, the Griffs were not able to clear the ball out of their own end before time expired.
STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Golden Griffins had a 16-10 advantage in total shot attempts, but the Falcons had a 6-4 lead in shots on goal and an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• After the Falcons outshot Canisius by a 7-3 count in the first half, the hosts had a 13-3 lead in the second half.
• Logan Kowalczyk had three saves en route to picking up the win. William Howard had four saves for the Griffs.
• Joey Akpunonu scored his first collegiate goal, while Alberto Anaya had his first collegiate assist on the same play.
• Anaya would record his second career assist later in the opening half.
• The latter assist came on a Kyle Cusimano goal, his second of the year and the fourth of his BGSU career.
• Zach Buescher also had an assist on the Cusimano goal. The assist was the seventh of Buescher's BGSU career.
• The Canisius goal in the second half snapped Kowalczyk's shutout streak at 330:17, and was just the third goal he has surrendered all season. Kowalczyk's goals-against average is now 0.32.
• The Falcons now have a record of 32-15-5 over the last 52 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eleven of the 15 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
• BGSU is now 7-0-0 this season, and 72-8-6 in the Eric Nichols Era, when scoring two or more goals in a match.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons end the month of September with a trip to Columbus on Wednesday (Oct. 29). BGSU will meet Ohio State in a 7:00 p.m. start at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
• Then, BG will return home to begin the Mid-American Conference schedule with two matches in a three-day span. BGSU will open league play by hosting Georgia State on Thursday, Oct. 7, before facing Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 9. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane Stadium.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUmenssoccer), Instagram (bgsumenssoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.
On a windy day in Western New York, Joey Akpunonu and Kyle Cusimano scored for the Falcons (7-1-1), who are ranked 17th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll and 24th by College Soccer News.
The Golden Griffins (0-5-2), trailing by a pair of goals at the half, did not go away. Noah Hodson scored in the 59th minute to bring the hosts within a single goal, but the Falcons did not let the Griffs get any closer.
Alberto Anaya had assists on both BG goals, while Zach Buescher had the primary assist on Cusimano's strike.
BGSU is now a perfect 4-0-0 in road games this season.
NOTE OF THE DAY
• BGSU, as mentioned, is now 4-0-0 on the road this season, marking the first time since 1997 that the Falcons have won the first four road games of the year.
• That '97 club won the first five true road matches of the season, finishing the year with an 8-3-0 road record, an 18-6-0 overall mark, a MAC Tournament title and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
QUOTING COACH NICHOLS
"We started out strong, and played a solid first half today. But we got ourselves into a real battle in the second half. Canisius came out strong after halftime, and we couldn't find our rhythm. The performance wasn't how we drew it up, but I am proud of the resilience we displayed to hold on and get a win on the road.""
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons controlled the play in the first half, scoring twice and coming close on several other occasions. Five minutes into the match, after Nathan Masters was fouled, Alberto Anaya put his free kick on target, but his shot was saved by Canisius goalkeeper William Howard. Masters corralled the rebound and found Michael Montemurri, who hit a one-time effort that was blocked out of play.
• The Falcons got on the board with just over six minutes gone. Anaya's corner kick found Joey Akpunonu outside of the 18-yard box. The sophomore defender hit a low, knuckling shot that found the left side of the goal. It was Akpunonu's first career goal and Anaya's first career assist.
• Just over 13 minutes into the match, Kyle Cusimano cut the ball back and hit a shot from outside the box that was tipped over the crossbar by Howard, leading to another corner kick. The Falcons had five corners in the first 14 minutes of the match.
• Canisius freshman Kodie Sarkodie, making his collegiate debut, made several nice plays to thwart BG scoring chances in the opening half. He knocked the ball away from Sergi Martinez in the box just before Martinez could get a shot off, then cleared the ball away from Roberto Fernandez Garrido several minutes later after a nifty through ball from Anaya.
• BGSU doubled the lead in the 28th minute. Anaya, in the middle of the park, slid the ball to his right. Zach Buescher kept it moving with a quick backheel, pass, and Cusimano hit a low shot that found the far corner of the goal.
• The Falcons had chances on a Montemurri header that was saved, and a Fernandez Garrido shot that sliced wide of the far post.
• The home team's first shot of the match came 33 minutes in, when Sarkodie's header off of a corner kick sailed high.
• The Golden Griffins, after attempting just three shots – and putting none of them on goal – in the first half, outshot the Falcons by a 13-3 count in the second half. Federico Mereto tested BGSU goalkeeper Logan Kowalczyk early in the second stanza, but the Falcon junior made the stop.
• The Griffs got a pair of shots from Alessandro Fabiano that were blocked in the box, and Kale Nichols made a nifty block of another Canisius shot 10 minutes into the half.
• But, the home side got on the scoreboard with 31 minutes remaining. Off of a nifty individual effort by Mereto that culminated in a low cross, Noah Hodson fired the ball into the upper right corner of the net.
• And, the Golden Griffins had several chances to tie the score in the remaining half-hour. Matthew Spangler hit a low shot that Kowalczyk saved on the short-hop, and off of a corner kick, back-to-back shots were blocked by BG backliners in the box.
• With just over five minutes to go, Akpunonu blocked a Dylan Rice effort.
• BG was able to control the ball and work some clock in the final few minutes, and Anaya found Cusimano for a 90th-minute shot from the center of the box that nearly restored BG's two-goal lead. But, Howard made a great diving save, tipping the ball wide of the post for a Falcon corner kick. That shot came with roughly 30 seconds to go, and following the corner, the Griffs were not able to clear the ball out of their own end before time expired.
STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• The Golden Griffins had a 16-10 advantage in total shot attempts, but the Falcons had a 6-4 lead in shots on goal and an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.
• After the Falcons outshot Canisius by a 7-3 count in the first half, the hosts had a 13-3 lead in the second half.
• Logan Kowalczyk had three saves en route to picking up the win. William Howard had four saves for the Griffs.
• Joey Akpunonu scored his first collegiate goal, while Alberto Anaya had his first collegiate assist on the same play.
• Anaya would record his second career assist later in the opening half.
• The latter assist came on a Kyle Cusimano goal, his second of the year and the fourth of his BGSU career.
• Zach Buescher also had an assist on the Cusimano goal. The assist was the seventh of Buescher's BGSU career.
• The Canisius goal in the second half snapped Kowalczyk's shutout streak at 330:17, and was just the third goal he has surrendered all season. Kowalczyk's goals-against average is now 0.32.
• The Falcons now have a record of 32-15-5 over the last 52 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Eleven of the 15 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
• BGSU is now 7-0-0 this season, and 72-8-6 in the Eric Nichols Era, when scoring two or more goals in a match.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons end the month of September with a trip to Columbus on Wednesday (Oct. 29). BGSU will meet Ohio State in a 7:00 p.m. start at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
• Then, BG will return home to begin the Mid-American Conference schedule with two matches in a three-day span. BGSU will open league play by hosting Georgia State on Thursday, Oct. 7, before facing Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 9. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane Stadium.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on the men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUmenssoccer), Instagram (bgsumenssoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.