In 1995, former BGSU head coach Mel Mahler became the leader of the Falcons for the second time after leading them to a 10-7 season in 1993 and taking a year off in 1994 before returning to the team in 1995.
In that 1995 season. Mahler led the team to renowned prestige, finishing with a 15-3-2 record and a 2-0 win in Kalamazoo, Michigan, over the Akron Zips that earned the team their first MAC tournament championship.
Mahler would do the same in 1996 and 1997, making it to the NCAA Tournament second round on both trips.
Many remember that three-year span of back-to-back-to-back MAC championships from 1995-1997 like it was yesterday. Others weren’t even born yet, including every player on the current BGSU roster.
27 years. 9,868 days. That is how long it’s been since the Falcons won their last MAC championship in only the fourth season that the conference hosted one of their tournaments.
After six runner-up finishes and after 16 seasons with head coach Eric Nichols at the helm, the Falcons have a chance to break the curse. This time, in only their second year as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
BGSU men’s soccer (12-5-2, 4-2-1 MVC) will take on the fifth-seeded Evansville Purple Aces (10-6-3, 4-3-1 MVC) in the MVC Championship game at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Scouting the Past
The Purple Aces squeaked into the MVC tournament after a 2-2 draw with Belmont in their final match of the season, meaning they would take on the nationally ranked Western Michigan Broncos in the MVC quarterfinals.
In a match where they were on the road in Kalamazoo as the heavy underdogs, the Purple Aces prevailed thanks to a late equalizer by fifth-year forward Kai Phillip in the 78th minute, followed by the game-winner in double overtime scored by the hero freshman defenseman Martin Wurschmidt who sent the Broncos home early and sent Evansville back to the MVC semifinal after missing in 2023.
Traveling to Springfield for the semifinal, things would get tougher for the Purple Aces, as they were rewarded for their upset with a matchup against the 11th-ranked team in the country, the Missouri State Bears.
Despite being the lowest seed left in the tournament facing the highest seed, the Purple Aces scored a second-half goal on one of the best defenses in the country and would propel themselves to the MVC championship thanks to sheer will and grit via the 1-0 victory that was the only MVC match the Bears lost all season.
Bowling Green avoided the upset train in their quarterfinal match against the UIC Flames, who made the four-hour trip to Cochrane Stadium from Chicago, Illinois, just to get jumped by an angry Falcon offense that scored four goals, the most against any MVC opponent all season.
BG would then make the trip to Springfield as the underdog to a second-seeded Drake team that drew with the Falcons at Cochrane Stadium earlier in the year.
Thanks to a late goal from junior forward Trace Terry and a stellar performance from goalkeeper Brendan Graves and the rest of the BGSU defense, the Falcons would earn a 1-0 victory and advance to their first-ever MVC championship match with a chance to make history.
The championship match hosted in Springfield, Missouri, is no stranger to the Evansville Purple Aces, as, despite their search for their first MVC title since 1996, the team made back-to-back MVC championship appearances in 2021 and 2022, both of which were played and lost to Missouri State at the notorious home of the Bears where they won three straight MVC titles.
Evansville head coach Robbe Tarver is in his second year as head coach of the program, and he will be experiencing his first championship match at the helm after spending three years with the team as an assistant coach.
Falcons to Watch
A five-save shutout against the Bulldogs on Wednesday afternoon is on brand for Graves and his career with the Falcons, and with the result, he proved that he is fit for the bright lights in his fifth year as a Falcon.
The gloves have fit him well lately, and with a stellar defense in front of him, there is no better man for the job than number 33. Watch out for the Perrysburg native who plays the biggest game of his life away from home on Sunday.
The Best Forward Duo in the MVC
It was so hard to choose which of the duo of sophomore Bennett Painter and junior Terry that it seems it’s best to just choose both.
Firstly, Terry, the All-MVC First Team member and MVC semifinal goal scorer, is having a season of dreams under coach Nichols, and after a frustrating year of continuous offensive pressure in 2023 that saw him score only four goals off of 40 shots, Terry has tripled his goal total in 2024 while shooting only 21 more shots.
Secondly, Painter, the All-MVC Second Team member and MVC quarterfinal goal scorer, is also having a season of dreams under coach Nichols, and after fighting for his minutes in 2023 and when he finally earned them, Painter set the tone for one of the best sophomore forward seasons of recent memory.
Painter’s 13 goals in 19 games are tied for second-most among sophomores and ninth-most in NCAA Division 1, and his 30 total points stand alone as the second-most of any player in the Missouri Valley Conference, trailing only Missouri State forward Jesus Barea.
Purple Aces to Watch
Hailing from Almeria, Spain, Diaz Barragan earned a spot on the All-MVC Second Team after his eight-goal year that included five goals in the first three matches of the season.
Diaz Barragan struggled to earn minutes and starts in 2023 after being named to the Preseason All-MVC Team, and despite scoring nine goals and the 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year award, he found himself with a total of only two goals in only nine games in 2023.
The senior forward has rebounded in 2024, however, scoring eight goals, including two in a crucial 2-2 draw in the regular season finale against Belmont.
Nacho is fourth in the MVC in goals scored with his total of eight, as well as sixth in total points and fifth in total shots per game with just over two and a quarter.
Fedrizzi came over from Italy after making promising moves with the Udinese U19 squad and was redshirted after playing only four games in 2023 for the Purple Aces.
As expected, the Italian has balled out in 2024, making the All-MVC Second Team with four goals and five assists on the year, including an assist on the game-winning goal against Missouri State on Wednesday night.
Watch for Fedrizzi’s midfield presence to be a factor in the game of a lifetime on Saturday night.
