BGSU men’s soccer tied IU Indy 1-1 to start the 2025 season, going down a goal in the second half before junior forward Bennett Painter headed home the game-tying goal for the Orange and Brown.
Painter, who scored 13 goals and four assists last season, earned his first goal of the year off an Andrew Shaffer corner kick in the 78th minute.
“I would have loved to have two [goals] obviously…but it would have been better to win. I value that,” said Painter postgame.
Painter, Falcons feel disappointed after a draw at home on opening night. But Bowling Green’s ability to fight back and earn a draw at home early in the season can be seen as a big positive.
“It’s a tough result. Obviously, a tie is not what we wanted; a win would’ve been better,” said Painter. “I think there’s a lot we can work on.”
This is the first time in two seasons that Bowling Green did not open the year with a win. With victories over Wright State in 2024 and Cleveland State in 2023. However, with a team featuring 15 new players and five Falcons earning their first starts for BG, you can expect some growing pains.
“We’ve got some really good returning pieces, but we’ve got a lot of new guys as well,” said head coach Eric Nichols. “We had a good preseason, but these games are very different in preseason, and we learned a lot.”
Senior forward Trace Terry was held scoreless in his highly anticipated first match of the season, but Nichols knows and expects the Bellbrook, Ohio, native and Painter to be highlighted on every opposing team’s scouting report.
“They’re definitely gonna be marked, they score, and everyone knows them,” said Nichols. “We had confidence knowing that we would score…I just think with those two guys up front, we have to figure out how to defend well enough to give those guys a chance. It’s just a matter of time before they’re gonna get us a goal.”
Painter and the Falcons will now head to Indiana to take on Butler for their second game of the season, starting a three-game road trip. Bowling Green will look to a better performance en route to earning their first win of the season.
“I think there were some intangibles that we were missing. I didn’t think we looked as cohesive as a unit as we need to be,” said Nichols. “Our soccer is going to grow through the season, it always will. We’ve got good soccer players, but I want to see us come together as a unit better. I want to see this sense of purpose and urgency that’s collective, and if we don’t get it, then we’re not gonna reach our goals. So we’re gonna try to grab that by Sunday.”
