The Falcons and the Huskies squared off for the second time this season, this time in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
This was the first-ever MVC playoff game for both teams.
Bowling Green had a chance to get on the board first from the penalty spot in the 13’, but junior midfielder Alberto Anaya’s attempt was saved by Huskies keeper’ Jakub Rojek to keep the score 0-0.
The first half was dominated by BG, with the Falcons creating multiple goal-scoring opportunities, putting a total of nine shots in the first half, but only two on target.
The Huskies couldn’t get much going in the attacking third in the first 45’, with the two sides locked at zero going into halftime.
Northern Illinois would find the opening goal in the 57’, off a great sequence of play which led to forward Kevin Kelly sliding a ball across to midfielder Diego Maynez who punched home the opening goal to make it 1-0 Huskies.
Just six minutes later, NIU would add a second, this time defender Patrick Coleman would square a ball across to midfielder Camilo Estrada who scored, catching senior goal-keeper Brendan Graves off his line.
The Orange and Brown were constantly knocking on the door to find their goal, eventually finding the back of the net in the 81’, with freshman forward Bennett Painter putting in a fantastic cross that found senior defender Kyle Cusimano to cut the lead in half.
Despite putting up 24 shots on the night, the Falcons couldn’t find a second to force overtime. The Huskies would hang on to defeat Bowling Green, ending their 2023 season.
The Huskies will now face the number one seed Western Michigan in the semi-finals of the Missouri Valley Championship.
For Bowling Green, it’s time to reset and go into the offseason to prepare for 2024.
A young team, in their first year in a new conference, showed so much strength and battled through adversity on and off the field throughout the season.
This talented Bowling Green squad is only gonna get better, and next year this team will take another step to where they want to be, which is to be champions of the Missouri Valley.
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