The Orange and Brown took a trip to Northern Illinois to take on the Huskies to finish the 2023 regular season on a cold, chilly night.

Sophomore forward Trace Terry nearly got the Falcons on the board first in the 35’ with a bicycle kick that sailed over the crossbar.

The Huskies struck first in the 41’ through midfielder Angel Rodriguez whose shot was deflected by freshman defender Mads Christensen that ended up in the back of the net. Giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

A cagey first 45’ saw the Falcons outshoot the Huskies 10-5 with five shots on goal to NIU’s two.

In the second half, Bowling Green found their equalizer curiosity of an own goal from NIU in the 72’ to tie the match up at 1-1.

With NIU needing a goal to make The Valley Tournament, the Huskies pulled ahead once again in the 86’ to take the lead late with a goal from substitute forward Taisei Arima. Making it 2-1 Northern Illinois, and handing the Falcons their seventh loss of the season.

Bowling Green finished the match outshooting the Huskies 17-9 on the evening, with nine shots on goal to NIU’s four.

With this result, the Falcons finished the season (7-7-3) on the year, and (4-4-0) in MVC play. BG will be the fourth seed in tournament play and will host the quarterfinal round.

In just four days from now, These two sides will meet once again, this time it’s win or go home.

Bowling Green will return to Cochrane Stadium one final time this season to host Northern Illinois on Sunday, November 5th in the quarterfinals of the 2023 MVC tournament. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.