BGSU men’s soccer fifth-year goalkeeper Brendan Graves has continued to show why he’s been the number one choice keeper for head coach Eric Nichols, posting another big performance against the Drake Bulldogs.
On Saturday night, Graves earned his second straight shutout and his fourth clean sheet of the season. The Perrysburg native made three saves in the 0-0 draw against the Bulldogs, which brought his total saves up to 47 on the year.
One of the three captains, Graves, gives his teammates credit for the success he’s had this year.
“I love winning more than I love getting shutouts,” said Graves. “But it’s awesome because everyone on the field, man, they’re busting their behinds just to make plays and fighting for us, so it’s awesome to see that we’re getting rewarded that way.”
Graves now has 15 career shutouts with the Orange and Brown and a 25-18-14 record in between the pipes. He is now tied for ninth in place in program history for most clean sheets, alongside former Falcon goalkeeper Greg Murphy.
On senior night, when Graves and six of his teammates were honored for their careers with Bowling Green, the match against Drake carried extra weight for Graves.
I mean, obviously there’s some emotion. It’s odd seeing all of our parents in the locker room there with us,” said Graves. “But you know, feel that for the five minutes, six minutes, we’re out there getting introduced and everything. But then, after that, we’re taking care of business.
Nichols gives Graves his flowers but with four matches left in the season for Bowling Green, including two Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) games versus nationally ranked opponents in Missouri State and Western Michigan. The team is locked in on finishing the season strong.
Brendan has been fantastic all year. I think we’ve been too leaky as a back line, and I think we really sealed that up,” said Nichols. “So hopefully, we’re going to get a little bit of momentum as we finish out the season here with that; that back group is really coming together.”
Graves and the Falcons are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 20, on the road against #17 Missouri State.