BGSU men’s soccer (3-4-2, 0-1-0) last played the Northern Kentucky University Norse (2-4-3, 0-1-2) in September of 2024 when the Falcons and Norse combined for a 1-1 draw at the NKU Soccer Stadium in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
This year, the matchup will take place at Bowling Green’s own Cochrane Stadium on Tuesday.
Both schools have struggled recently with BG acquiring a 1-2-0 record over their last three matchups and are most recently coming off a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Evansville. On the other side of the pitch, NKU’s most recent match saw the Norse draw the Vikings of Cleveland State to bring their record to 0-1-2 over their last three games.
The Falcons lead the all-time series between the two teams with a 3-1-2 record and will look to rectify some of their recent struggles while extending their lead in the series.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer and Tyler Kavalecz will have the call on the WBGU-PBS YouTube channel starting at 7:00 p.m.
Bowling Green
BGSU started their season off with a 2-2-2 record over their first six games, including claiming wins over Wright State and Michigan State while also earning a well-earned draw on the road against Kentucky, who are currently ranked as the no. 18 team in the country by the United Soccer Coaches.
In their last three games, BGSU has gone 1-2-0 while being outscored 7-2 by their opponents and has been held scoreless twice against both Evansville and Bellarmine.
A large part of Bowling Green’s struggles throughout the season has stemmed from its lack of offensive output compared to its opponents. BG’s opponents have amassed 154 shots and 62 shots on goal so far this season, while the Falcons have only been able to muster 80 shots, with 29 of those being on goal.
Outside of the duo of senior forward Trace Terry and junior forward Bennett Painter, the Falcons have struggled to see players have their efforts appear on the score sheet. Terry and Painter have combined for all eight of the team’s goals, more than half of the team’s shots, and all but seven of the team’s shots on goal.
The next closest to Terry (24 shots, 12 shots on goal) and Painter (17 shots, 10 shots on goal) are junior midfielder Anthony Hernandez with nine shots and sophomore midfielder Ryko Bodurov with three shots on goal.
Bowling Green’s junior goalkeeper, Enzo Gil, has also felt the effects of the team’s recent struggles. Gil started the year with 39 saves, a .77 goals against average, a .912 save percentage, and had two shutouts over the first six games of the season while only conceding four goals against and collecting two Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Defensive Player of the Week awards.
However, in the last three games Gil has conceded seven goals while only making 11 saves and recording a 1.07 goals against average and a .586 save percentage.
Northern Kentucky
Despite only claiming two victories so far this season, NKU has been a very competitive team who are yet to lose by more than one goal this season.
The Norse have yet to concede more than two goals in a single game so far this campaign. Northern Kentucky will be hungry for a win as they haven’t won a game since defeating Western Illinois on Aug. 31 and have gone 0-3-3 since then.
NKU has taken 97 shots and 40 shots on goal so far this season while holding their opponents to 93 shots and 36 shots on goal. They also have just barely been outscored throughout the season, with their opponents scoring 10 goals compared to Northern Kentucky’s eight.
While all of Bowling Green’s goals have been split between two players this season, the Norse have had six goal scorers this season. Junior forward Ali Taleb’s three goals and six points lead the team in both categories.
In terms of goalkeeping, redshirt sophomore Alex Kron has started all nine games for the Norse and has made 25 saves so far this season while recording one shutout and conceding 10 goals against. While playing all 810 minutes of the season so far, Kron has recorded a .714 save percentage to go with a 1.11 goals against average in his first year seeing action with NKU.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Trace Terry #21, Forward – Bowling Green
In BG’s lone win over their last three games, Terry scored the opening goal to help lead the Orange and Brown to a 2-1 victory over DePaul. Terry leads the Falcons in goals and points as the Seattle Sounders’ 2025 MLS SuperDraft third-round pick has scored five goals for 10 points so far this season.
Terry is also no stranger to scoring against NKU, as he scored the Falcons’ lone goal the last time these two teams faced each other.
Bennett Painter #12, Forward – Bowling Green
Painter scored the game-winning goal in the Falcons’ 2-1 win over DePaul for his third goal of the season. Painter has also scored two assists to go along with his three goals for a total of eight points so far this season.
Senior midfielder Andrew Shaffer is the only other Falcon to have more than one assist, as Shaffer has also scored two assists on the campaign.
Ali Taleb #7, Forward – Northern Kentucky
Taleb has appeared in eight of NKU’s nine contests this season and started in seven. He currently leads the Norse in goals and points with three and six, respectively. His 11 shots and six shots on goal rank Taleb second on the team in both categories.
Jason Purks #17, Winger – Northern Kentucky
While the junior winger is yet to score a goal and only has one point so far this season, Purks leads the Norse in shots and shots on goal by taking 13 shots, eight of which were on goal.
Purks has also appeared in all nine games so far this season and started in eight. With his ability to produce high shot volumes, it is expected that Purks will break through for his first goal of the season sooner rather than later.
