On a chilly senior night in Akron, the #14 BGSU men’s soccer team suffered an upset loss to the hands of the Akron Zips 1-5. 

Going into the game, a certain energy surrounded the matchup, and the thought came to fruition.

Only seven minutes into the game, forward Will Jackson would knock in a ball off of a deflection to give the Zips an early 1-0 lead. Six minutes later, the Zips would pull out to a surprising 2-0 lead, thanks to a goal from Ryan Kingsford. 

Jason Shokalook would add two goals himself to the board to give the Zips a commanding 4-0 lead, with a goal coming to end the first half, and begin the second. 

It would take 63 minutes until the Falcons would crack the scoreboard. Roberto Garrido would put one in the corner off of a deflection to cut the lead to three. The goal would be Garrido’s fifth of the season.

The memorable night would be capped off perfectly for the Zips in the 79th minute, when Shokalook would knock another one in to give himself a hat trick. 

On a night that simply was not meant to be for the Falcons, head coach Eric Nichols is looking at the game as a valuable lesson.

“We didn’t start the game with the right energy and we got stung,” Nichols said. “Once we got up to the pace of the game we were actually good, but by then the damage had been done. This game will ultimately make us a better team.”

The Falcons would outshoot the Zips 19-14, but four crucial saves by Zips goalkeeper Will Meyer would be more than enough. 

For the Falcons, they will be looking to rebound on Tuesday night against the Oakland Grizzlies.

For more information about the game, check out bgsufalcons.com.