After an up-in-down and advisory-filled 2023 season, BGSU men’s soccer and head coach Eric Nichols plans to take the next step with a core group of returning veteran players.
Last season, the Falcons finished with an overall record of (7-8-3), and (4-4-0) in their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
The Orange and Brown finished fourth in the MVC, earning a home MVC Tournament game in the quarterfinals against Northern Illinois, losing 2-1 at Cochrane Stadium, ultimately ending their season.
Through the injuries, growing pains, and personal tragedies off the field, Bowling Green managed to pull together a decent season.
Now, they are ready for more.
A lot more.
WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT
The Falcons are returning a total of 21 players from last year, which includes nine players entering their final year of eligibility. The Orange and Brown have added three freshman players to their roster this upcoming season, midfielders Ryko Bodurov from Olentangy Berlin High School and Rylie Siddall from Coventry City FC Academy in England. Plus the addition of defender Yoann Araujo from France.
Not returning to Bowling Green this season are forwards Eli Shope, Nathan Masters, and Daniel Cerezo, who all ran out of eligibility. the Falcons lost one player in the transfer portal as forward Ryan Sanborn transferred to Detroit Mercy University. Former defender Josh Collins opted to not return to Bowling Green for his sophomore season.
FORMATION SWITCH
Last year, coach Nichols and Bowling Green played a 3-4-1-2 formation, three defenders, two central midfielders with two wing-backs on the sides, an attacking midfielder, and two forwards.
However, this upcoming season will see the Falcons return to a familiar formation, the 3-4-2-1.
“We’re going to go with one striker and two [attacking midfielders] instead of two strikers. That’ll be the main difference and I think we’ve got some fun patterns that come out of that, I think it fits our personnel,” said Nichols. “We’re trying to identify and play into our strengths. We really like our guys up front, I would want them on the ball as much as possible,” stated Nichols. “We’ll still be building out at times, but we’re also going to try to play in the opponent’s end as much as we can.”
IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS
A glaring improvement for the Falcons this year needs to be goals allowed, they gave up 30 goals and only posted two shutouts last season.
The big reason was because of injuries to defenders Josh Erlandson and Amer Dedic who suffered season-ending injuries. But with those key players back healthy and fit, Nichols believes that not only defensively the group will improve, but more importantly the team’s grit and aggression.
“From last year, I think we were chasing games, we never really were imposing our will,” said Nichols. “We definitely had some really good performances, but we need to be able to impose our will, and we do that with defending first.”
As an overall group, Nichols wants to see his team get better on all fronts, even in midfield and in the attack.
“I think we can score more goals, I think we can dictate with possession a little bit better, I think we can press better. I just think we can overall have a more cohesive and better-winning mentality through the group.”
At Cochrane Stadium last season, the Falcons were (6-2-1) but only won once on the road, with a (1-7-1) record. Keeping Cochrane Stadium a fortress is crucial, but also Improving away form is a must if Bowling Green wants to achieve their goals this season.
On the offensive side, the Falcons scored 27 goals last season, which was fourth-best in the MVC. Tied for the lead in goals and assists last year was junior forward Trace Terry, whose teammate Brendan Graves is envisioning a big season for the third-year striker.
“If you watch that guy, he works his tail off. I mean, just a blue-collar, gritty guy, just works so hard for everyone on the field,” said Graves. “When he scores, which he will a bunch this year, his celebrations are gonna be sick too.”
Terry is one of the many Falcons that’ll need to have a big season for BG to reach their ultimate goal, an MVC Championship.
“We all expect a ring this year,” said Graves. “This is the last year for a good handful of our guys, so anything short of a ring is not what we expect.
“We need to be in the conference championship game, I’ll put it at that,” stated Nichols. “If we’re in the top two and we’re in that conference championship game, then we got a chance to win that game, which gets us into the NCAA tournament.”
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
The former Mid-American Conference (MAC) co-Goalkeeper of the Year is coming off a career year in saves with 114 total. One of the three captains on the team, the Perrysburg native is set for a big season in his final year with BG.
Entering his final year with BG, Anaya is coming off a season in which he was named to the All-MVC First Team with four goals and six assists.
Anaya is the most creative and dynamic player on the roster, letting him dictate the Falcons in possession and the attack like he has in previous years will once again be the key to success for Bowling Green.
Terry will play his third season with BG this fall, he was one of the four players to start all 18 matches last season, scoring four goals and adding six assists as well. He also led the team in shots on goal and game-winning goals as well. His play last year earned him a spot on the All-MVC Second Team.
Despite having a good season last year, the talk around Terry is that he is ready to take another big step in his game.
Will this be an even bigger year for Terry? Only time will tell.
Hernandez is poised for a breakout sophomore year for Bowling Green.
The sophomore midfielder had a fantastic summer with Fort Wayne FC and seems to have found his way into the starting lineup for Nichols.
Last year, Hernandez played in 17 games, with seven starts for the Falcons, registering one assist. His intensity with and without the ball and field vision separates him from a lot of players on the field. Along with his versatility on the pitch.
