LEXINGTON, Kentucky – BGSU men’s soccer (2-2-2) battled the No. 18-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (3-0-2) to a 1-1 draw at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.
Senior forward Trace Terry scored his fourth goal of the season after an early blunder at the back from the Wildcats.
This result marks the second straight season the Falcons have earned a result over a ranked team. Following a 3-0 win against Western Michigan last season.
Kentucky outshot Bowling Green 27 to seven on shots, putting eight of them on goal, while the Orange and Brown had four shots on target.
Two-time Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Defensive Player of the Week and Junior goalkeeper Enzo Gil made seven saves on the afternoon, prohibiting a game-winning goal for the Wildcats.
After a mistake in the back from the Wildcats, Bennett Painter squared a ball across the box to Terry, who smashed it past Kentucky goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon for an early 1-0 Falcons lead in the 7th minute.
The first shot on goal for Kentucky came in the 21st minute, with midfielder Alex Ruiz forcing Gil to make his first save.
In the 30th minute of the first half, the Wildcats found the equalizer off a corner kick. Ruiz crossed in an in-swinging ball that took a couple of bounces inside the six-yard box, but was finished over the goal-line by Bertil Alban.
Going into halftime, Kentucky outshot Bowling Green nine to five, with four shots on goal compared to three for the Orange and Brown.
After being tied going into halftime, Kentucky brought the high-press to the Bowling Green backline. With a couple of good spells of possession, including a shot from Ruiz that Gil saved in the 57th minute.
Bowling Green nearly went ahead in the 73rd minute, off a set-piece attempt. Terry had his shot saved by Conlon, then the follow-up by Painter ended up being blocked.
In the 79th minute, Josh Gordon curled a left-footed shot that was covered up by Gil. Fast forward to the 85′, Wildcat forward Joaquin Brizuela nearly snuck a shot in the bottom right of the net, but went just wide of the goal.
The Falcons and the Wildcats will share the points, as Bowling Green will return home to Cochrane Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, against Bellarmine. Kick-off for the match is set for 7:00 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network will provide full coverage of the match on bgfalconmedia.com
