BGSU men’s soccer (2-2-1) defeated Michigan State (2-2-0) in a 1-0 match Friday night at Cochrane Stadium.
The back line for the Bowling Green had their work cut out for them, taking on the Michigan State Spartans, and bent but never broke to allow for the Spartans to tie the game.
“Our back line was outstanding today, and I think they won us that game,” senior forward Trace Terry said after the match.
The Falcons took the attacks on the Spartans’ offense in stride as Michigan State was able to get 16 shots and 7 shots on goal, but Bowling Green kept a clean sheet through the match.
“As a whole, there were moments, we had ugly moments, but it’s important for us to bend but not break,” junior defender Saul Rios stated. “Stuff can get ugly, but we like tough stuff like that, so we stay on our front foot and keep going.”
The defensive unit for the Falcons has been strong all season, as so far this season, they have not conceded more than one goal in a match.
“They haven’t had a bad game yet, that defensive group, and they’ve been under a lot of pressure, too much pressure,” said head coach Eric Nichols. “I do think that each game they are getting better and they’re getting harder to score on.”
Although the defense is playing strongly, the amount of pressure the Falcons have been put under early this season is something Nichols and BG want to improve.
“We’ve got to figure out how to alleviate some of that and get up the field a little bit more,” Nichols said.
This is the second clean sheet of the season for the Falcons’ defense, with Wright State being the other clean sheet game.
The defensive backline for the team has been helping elevate junior goalkeeper Enzo Gil as well. Keeping a plethora of shots coming his way by stepping up and blocking shots with their body, and keeping shots that do squeeze through from farther out than opposing offenses would like.
There may still be room for improvement, but the Falcons’ defense has been ready for anything so far this season and kept the ship steady with the offense finding their footing early in the year.
Bowling Green is back in action on Sunday, Sept. 14, as they travel to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.
