After more than three weeks of soccer and eight straight losses, the Bowling Green menís soccer team will open a new season this weekend when they compete in their first MAC game against the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
The Falcons will play the second MAC game of the season against the University of Buffalo at Cochrane Field on Sunday.
With the MAC Tournament still over a month away, and 10 regular season games remaining on the schedule and six of those ten being home games, BG still has a chance to turn the season around.
Coach Mel Mahler has said, ìIf we donít win a ballgame, and we go into the MAC tournament and win three, itís a great year.î The Falcons showed signs of improvement in the 3-2 double-overtime loss to Ohio State, but then regressed and were shut out by Xavier University on Sunday.
The following is an assessment of the team at this point in the season.
Offense: Bowling Greenís offensive attack has scored five goals on the season and has taken 44 shots on goal. The Falcon offense has taken 30 corner kicks while the opposing teams have taken 44 corner kicks. The Falcons have capitalized on penalty kick opportunities with one goal scored on one penalty kick opportunity. ìWeíve been able to create chances, weíre just not finishing, and thatís a concern. But if we werenít creating chances, then I think weíd really be in trouble,î said Mahler.
ìIt is just a matter of finding that player or players that can put the ball in the back of the goal and that player is sometimes a very rare commodity. People who just have a knack for scoring; sometimes itís just not a teachable thing.î
One of the problems for the team has been the breakdown of the possession game. The other teamís counter attacks have been successful against Bowling Greenís midfield area.
Forwards: The coaches are constantly shuffling the forwards in the search for an explosive scorer. The team has tried various combinations throughout the season.
ìObviously weíve struggled. You look at the stats and weíre not scoring the goals we need to,î said Mahler. ìWe really havenít truly found our goal-scorer and thatís going to be an ongoing process for the next 10 matches still.î
Midfielders: The midfield is probably the youngest position on the team. The midfielders consist of three freshmen and a red-shirt sophomore. There is a lack of collegiate experience at the midfield position, which should become less of a factor with each game the Falcons play this season.
Defense: Opponents have scored 25 goals on the BG defense and have taken 115 shots. Opponents are averaging 3.1 goals per game and 14.4 shots per game.
Defenders: The defense as a whole is probably the most experienced part of the team, with juniors Matt Martinka and David DeGraff and senior Matt Leardini.
ìWe were going to try and experiment with Matt [Leardini] up top [at forward] this year because he kind of creates a lot of chances and makes things happen, but I felt we needed him more in the back,î said Mahler. ìHeís been kind of the all-purpose player for us. Right now heís going to be the sweeper back and help keep the defense organized.î
Other aspects of the game: The effort and attitude of Bowling Green has been tested during the first part of the season but the players and coaches continue to put forth a great deal of effort and a goal-oriented attitude every day. Another area that Mahler expects to improve with time and experience is the players knowing each other and how they play the game.
ìThe attitude is very good, the effort is outstanding and I would say that this has been a real test of their mental fortitude,î said Mahler. ìTo be able to remain positive in the face of adversity is a real challenge.î
The Falcons have tried to be as aggressive as possible in each match. ìFouls are not really a concern to us. Sometimes we should probably foul more,î said Mahler. ìIf we out-foul the opponent then itís kind of an underlying belief that we are being more aggressive.î
