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Freshmen continued to get considerable playing time on the road for the Bowling Green Men’s Soccer Team this weekend, as the Falcons dropped their last two games of their six game road trip.

Head Coach Fred Thompson continued to start his newcomers, sending out seven freshmen on Friday and six on Sunday; however their fresh legs were still not enough to stop their weekend competition, falling 5-0 to Atlantic 10 opponents Xavier Friday evening and 2-1 to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Sunday afternoon.

Several players, such as midfielders Justin Kim, George Davis, and Andy Synk, as well as Kyle Williams, and Kyle McNayr on defense have been making significant improvements as they mold into definite starters and key contributors off the bench for BGSU, according to Thompson.

The veteran Xavier Musketeers, whose starting lineup consisted of all upperclassmen opposed to BGSU’s two, recorded their first win of the season in the shut out, as they knocked the ball all over the field against the young Falcons squad.

Xavier midfielder Matt Kmetz got the Musketeers on the scoreboard first off of a free kick that shot through the wall of Falcon defenders and past the out-stretched arms of BGSU goalkeeper Paul Shoemaker. Sophomore forward Matt Wheeler followed with the first of his two goals to make the score 2-0.

The Falcons, led by defenders Ryan Epps and Kyle McNayr, were able to keep the Musketeers out of striking distance for most of the half and enabled the Falcons to generate several attacking runs of their own, but Xavier was simply able to put the ball in the net when they had the opportunities to score.

The Musketeers scored twice off of four first half attempts on goal, compared to BGSU going 0-6 in their attacking efforts.

Three more Musketeer goals within minutes of one another in the second half increased the lead to 5-0, and ultimately sealed it by that margin.

The Falcons tried to put the shut out behind them as they challenged the University of Maryland-Baltimore County for their first ever meeting between them in Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday.

After a quiet and evenly-matched first half, UMBC, who came into the meeting with a 1-3-1 record, was able to sneak into halftime with a Kevin Mazzadra goal with just 20 seconds to go in the half.

The Falcons were able to match that score fifteen minutes into the second half when midfielder Justin Kim connected with Omari Aldridge on a direct kick as Aldridge headed it past UMBC’s goalkeeper to tie the game at one apiece.

UMBC’s Eric Mahon emerged to record the game-clinching score with ten minutes left in regulation, and the Falcons could not respond, as the Retrievers held on to win 2-1.

“Though we lost, we’re getting closer to playing the way we should and getting results,” said Coach Thompson.

“The games [this weekend] were unfortunate, because the freshman players made a lot of progress, and we were moving the ball better.”

“We just lost concentration late in the games, and we just didn’t have enough opportunities and time to come back.”

The Falcons look forward to a match up with The Ohio State Buckeyes this Friday, as the young Falcons squad look to gain more experience against a 2004 NCAA Tournament participant.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle, but a great game,” Thompson commented about this Friday’s match up, one that he says should generate much support from BGSU fans.

“The guys look forward to coming home for the first time all season, and so should you.”

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