Thursday, November 18
Louisville, KY
6:30 PM
Bowling Green State University
1
at
0
Louisville
Kale Nichols scored the winner at Louisville on Thursday night
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
We Play On! Falcons Take Down Louisville, 1-0
Thu, Nov, 18 | Men's Soccer
Box Score BGSU-UofL StatsBGSU-UofL HighlightsJa.Erlandson Post-Match InterviewK.Nichols Post-Match InterviewCoach Nichols Post-Match InterviewSupport Our Student-Athletes -- Men's SoccerPhoto Gallery
BGSU advances to NCAA Championships Second Round
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team is moving on!
Kale Nichols scored at the half-hour mark, and the Falcons made that lead stand up, as BGSU earned a 1-0 victory over the University of Louisville in NCAA Championships first-round action on Thursday night (Nov. 18) at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
Brendan Graves had one save in goal en route to a clean sheet for the Falcons (11-5-3), who advance to the second round of the national tournament. BGSU will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Indiana University on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 21).
The Falcons' win was the fifth NCAA Tournament victory in program history, and the first since 1997. It was also BG's second-ever NCAA tourney road win.
The Cardinals (10-7-1) entered the match ranked 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging 2.35 goals per contest, but were shut out for just the second time this season.
NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU, as mentioned, won an NCAA Championships match for the first time since 1997. The Falcons are now 5-7-0 in national tournament play.
• The Falcons' last NCAA tourney win was also the program's only prior road win in national tournament action. BGSU posted a 1-0 victory at Marquette in 1997.
• BG's other NCAA tourney wins came over Davidson in the 1995 play-in round, Detroit in the 1996 first round and Colgate in the '97 play-in round. The 1997 season marks the only time the Falcons posted a pair of national tournament wins in the same season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• 10' | The first shot of the night came off the boot of Alberto Anaya. Anaya took a Kale Nichols pass and hit a ball that went just outside of the left post.
• 11' | Just one minute later, a low diagonal ball from Nichols was just inches out of reach of a lunging Nathan Masters in the box, and UofL goalkeeper Detre Dell grabbed it.
• 19' | Nichols was on the other end of a diagonal ball, but his shot went just wide of the right post.
• 23' | The Cardinals had a dangerous-looking chance, but a short cross by Macoumba Ba was deflected by the Falcons and eventually cleared away.
• 29' | UofL's first shot of the game came from Sander Roed, but it was blocked at the top of the 18-yard box and BGSU 'keeper Brandon Graves grabbed the deflection.
• 30' | GOAL | Masters took the ball toward the end line on the left side of the box. He hit a cross toward the top of the box, and the onrushing Nchols met it with a one-time, right-footed shot. The ball glanced off of the inside of the left post and went into the net for what would prove to be the winning goal.
• 34' | Roed hit a shot for the hosts on a counterattack, but it was blocked out of play by Jacob Erlandson. Off of the ensuing corner kick, the ball was played into the box, and Bradley Sample got his head on it, but the shot was high.
• 46' | The Cards had a solid scoring chance in the first minute of the second half, but Graves smothered the ball before Aboubacar Camara could get a shot off.
• 48' | Masters stole the ball in the UofL end, but his shot rolled wide of the far post.
• 50' | A shot by Sample was blocked by Michael Montemurri, and after the ball went back toward Sample, his pass was knocked out of play by Martinez. The Falcons successfully dealt with the ensuing corner kick.
• 65' | After Erlandson and a defender battled for a pass forward, the ball fell to Erlandson at the top of the box. His quick shot was stopped by Bell with a diving save near the left post.
• 68' | Montemurri's left-side cross was deflected, but the ball went toward Roberto Fernandez Garrido in the six-yard box. Despite being closely marked, the BG striker got a shot off, but Fernandez Garrido's effort was blocked by Bell at the near post.
• 69' | After a yellow card on a UofL player, Zach Buescher's free kick sailed toward goal. It nearly found Montemurri, but he was unable to get his head on it, and Bell grabbed the curving ball as it headed toward goal.
• 71' | Fernandez Garrido splits two defenders, made a run and slid a pass to Buescher, but his shot from the 18-yard line was stopped by Bell.
• 71' | BG immediately won the ball back. Fernandez Garrido found Martinez, and he quickly played a through ball to Nichols, but Nichols' quick shot went over the bar.
• 74' | The Cards looked to equalize, but a shot by Ugo Achara was blocked in the box.
• 80' | With 10 minutes to go, a Brandon McManus pass found Camara in the box, but Graves made a diving save of Camara's header.
• 81' | UofL had a great chance on a counter, but a shot by Achara slid wide left on a breakaway
• 84' | Abdi Faqi played a cross to Martinez, who settled and fired a shot that was blocked in the box. That Martinez shot would be the last by either team on the night. BGSU was able to maintain possession for the bulk of the final five-plus minutes, and the Falcons drew a pair of Louisville fouls in the final 60 seconds of play to help salt away the victory.
STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU had advantages of 10-9 in total shot attempts and 4-1 in shots on goal. The Cardinals had four corner kicks to the Falcons' two.
• Brendan Graves was credited with one save en route to the shutout. UofL's Detre Bell had three stops on the evening.
• Kale Nichols scored his third goal of the season and the sixth of his BGSU career. He now has eight points this fall and 18 as a Falcon.
• For Nichols, the goal was his third career game-winning goal.
• Nichols joins an exclusive list of players to record an NCAA Tournament GWG for the Falcons. He joins Joe Burch (1995 vs. Davidson), Dan Kindl (1996 vs. Detroit), Brett Strang (1997 vs. Colgate) and Brandon Pelton ('97 at Marquette) on that short list.
• Nathan Masters has been involved in the scoring of each of BGSU's last two NCAA Tournament goals. He scored the Falcons' goal in the 2020(-21) tournament match vs. Monmouth, and had the primary assist on the Nichols goal at UofL.
• Masters now has six career game-winning assists, the most among current team members.
• Graves recorded his second shutout in five starts this season.
• The Louisville duo of Aboubacar Camara and Pedro Fonseca combined for 21 of the Cards' 40 goals this fall. But, the tandem was held to a combined total of just one shot on Thursday night.
• The Falcons now have a record of 36-19-7 over the last 62 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Twelve of the 19 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons advance to the second round to face 15th-seeded Indiana University. That contest will take place on Sunday (Nov. 21) at 12:00 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
• The BGSU-IU winner will advance to the third round to meet either Washington or Portland.
• Third-round matches are set for the following weekend (Nov. 27-28), with the quarterfinals on Dec. 3-4, the semifinals Dec. 10 and the national championship match on Dec. 12.
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.
Kale Nichols scored at the half-hour mark, and the Falcons made that lead stand up, as BGSU earned a 1-0 victory over the University of Louisville in NCAA Championships first-round action on Thursday night (Nov. 18) at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
Brendan Graves had one save in goal en route to a clean sheet for the Falcons (11-5-3), who advance to the second round of the national tournament. BGSU will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Indiana University on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 21).
The Falcons' win was the fifth NCAA Tournament victory in program history, and the first since 1997. It was also BG's second-ever NCAA tourney road win.
The Cardinals (10-7-1) entered the match ranked 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging 2.35 goals per contest, but were shut out for just the second time this season.
NOTE OF THE NIGHT
• BGSU, as mentioned, won an NCAA Championships match for the first time since 1997. The Falcons are now 5-7-0 in national tournament play.
• The Falcons' last NCAA tourney win was also the program's only prior road win in national tournament action. BGSU posted a 1-0 victory at Marquette in 1997.
• BG's other NCAA tourney wins came over Davidson in the 1995 play-in round, Detroit in the 1996 first round and Colgate in the '97 play-in round. The 1997 season marks the only time the Falcons posted a pair of national tournament wins in the same season.
Current mood pic.twitter.com/syMoJ9d259
— BGSU Athletics (@BGathletics) November 19, 2021
HOW IT HAPPENED
• 10' | The first shot of the night came off the boot of Alberto Anaya. Anaya took a Kale Nichols pass and hit a ball that went just outside of the left post.
• 11' | Just one minute later, a low diagonal ball from Nichols was just inches out of reach of a lunging Nathan Masters in the box, and UofL goalkeeper Detre Dell grabbed it.
• 19' | Nichols was on the other end of a diagonal ball, but his shot went just wide of the right post.
• 23' | The Cardinals had a dangerous-looking chance, but a short cross by Macoumba Ba was deflected by the Falcons and eventually cleared away.
• 29' | UofL's first shot of the game came from Sander Roed, but it was blocked at the top of the 18-yard box and BGSU 'keeper Brandon Graves grabbed the deflection.
• 30' | GOAL | Masters took the ball toward the end line on the left side of the box. He hit a cross toward the top of the box, and the onrushing Nchols met it with a one-time, right-footed shot. The ball glanced off of the inside of the left post and went into the net for what would prove to be the winning goal.
• 34' | Roed hit a shot for the hosts on a counterattack, but it was blocked out of play by Jacob Erlandson. Off of the ensuing corner kick, the ball was played into the box, and Bradley Sample got his head on it, but the shot was high.
• 46' | The Cards had a solid scoring chance in the first minute of the second half, but Graves smothered the ball before Aboubacar Camara could get a shot off.
• 48' | Masters stole the ball in the UofL end, but his shot rolled wide of the far post.
• 50' | A shot by Sample was blocked by Michael Montemurri, and after the ball went back toward Sample, his pass was knocked out of play by Martinez. The Falcons successfully dealt with the ensuing corner kick.
• 65' | After Erlandson and a defender battled for a pass forward, the ball fell to Erlandson at the top of the box. His quick shot was stopped by Bell with a diving save near the left post.
• 68' | Montemurri's left-side cross was deflected, but the ball went toward Roberto Fernandez Garrido in the six-yard box. Despite being closely marked, the BG striker got a shot off, but Fernandez Garrido's effort was blocked by Bell at the near post.
• 69' | After a yellow card on a UofL player, Zach Buescher's free kick sailed toward goal. It nearly found Montemurri, but he was unable to get his head on it, and Bell grabbed the curving ball as it headed toward goal.
• 71' | Fernandez Garrido splits two defenders, made a run and slid a pass to Buescher, but his shot from the 18-yard line was stopped by Bell.
• 71' | BG immediately won the ball back. Fernandez Garrido found Martinez, and he quickly played a through ball to Nichols, but Nichols' quick shot went over the bar.
• 74' | The Cards looked to equalize, but a shot by Ugo Achara was blocked in the box.
• 80' | With 10 minutes to go, a Brandon McManus pass found Camara in the box, but Graves made a diving save of Camara's header.
• 81' | UofL had a great chance on a counter, but a shot by Achara slid wide left on a breakaway
• 84' | Abdi Faqi played a cross to Martinez, who settled and fired a shot that was blocked in the box. That Martinez shot would be the last by either team on the night. BGSU was able to maintain possession for the bulk of the final five-plus minutes, and the Falcons drew a pair of Louisville fouls in the final 60 seconds of play to help salt away the victory.
STATS, NOTES & NUMBERS
• BGSU had advantages of 10-9 in total shot attempts and 4-1 in shots on goal. The Cardinals had four corner kicks to the Falcons' two.
• Brendan Graves was credited with one save en route to the shutout. UofL's Detre Bell had three stops on the evening.
• Kale Nichols scored his third goal of the season and the sixth of his BGSU career. He now has eight points this fall and 18 as a Falcon.
• For Nichols, the goal was his third career game-winning goal.
• Nichols joins an exclusive list of players to record an NCAA Tournament GWG for the Falcons. He joins Joe Burch (1995 vs. Davidson), Dan Kindl (1996 vs. Detroit), Brett Strang (1997 vs. Colgate) and Brandon Pelton ('97 at Marquette) on that short list.
• Nathan Masters has been involved in the scoring of each of BGSU's last two NCAA Tournament goals. He scored the Falcons' goal in the 2020(-21) tournament match vs. Monmouth, and had the primary assist on the Nichols goal at UofL.
• Masters now has six career game-winning assists, the most among current team members.
• Graves recorded his second shutout in five starts this season.
• The Louisville duo of Aboubacar Camara and Pedro Fonseca combined for 21 of the Cards' 40 goals this fall. But, the tandem was held to a combined total of just one shot on Thursday night.
• The Falcons now have a record of 36-19-7 over the last 62 matches, dating to late in the 2018 season. Twelve of the 19 setbacks in that time have come by a single goal.
UP NEXT
• The Falcons advance to the second round to face 15th-seeded Indiana University. That contest will take place on Sunday (Nov. 21) at 12:00 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
• The BGSU-IU winner will advance to the third round to meet either Washington or Portland.
• Third-round matches are set for the following weekend (Nov. 27-28), with the quarterfinals on Dec. 3-4, the semifinals Dec. 10 and the national championship match on Dec. 12.
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.