BGSU men’s soccer (4-4-2, 0-1-0) gets a 2-0 home victory against Northern Kentucky (2-5-3, 0-1-2) Tuesday night at Cochrane Stadium, the team’s first home victory since Sept. 5.
The Falcons had lost two straight matches at home with 3-0 losses against both Bellarmine and Evansville before the match.
Both goalkeepers made their first collegiate start in the match, with sophomore Landon Barth for Northern Kentucky and redshirt sophomore Jason Ball for Bowling Green.
“That’s all I’ve been wanting was a chance to show what I can do out in the field. I know how good I am, and I just needed to prove it on the field tonight,” Ball said.
Ball finished the game with 15 shots against him and five saves, keeping a clean net to get his first career shutout.
BGSU continued the theme of the season with Terry and Painter finding the back of the net, the only two Falcons to score goals so far this season, to guide them to the 2-0 victory.
Terry still leads the Falcons with six goals on the year, with Painter right behind him with four.
The Orange and Brown goalkeeper had his first shot sent at him in the 14th minute, which he saved in the bottom left corner after junior midfielder Mads Christensen helped change the direction of the shot of Norse junior forward Ali Taleb.
“Our backline, our defensive midfielders played the biggest role for me in getting a clean sheet,” Ball said, “I think especially Mads, he’s our voice, he’s our presence in the midfield and just kind of helps everybody settle into the game.”
Northern Kentucky fell into the trap of a yellow card, totaling six in the match. This would include three in the span of one play.
Following a foul inside of their own box, Northern Kentucky’s sophomore defender Joshua Cline, head coach Tom Poitras and junior midfielder Bennett Gerak all received yellow cards before the Falcons even attempted the awarded penalty kick.
The Orange and Brown looked towards senior forward Trace Terry to get them on the board, who nailed the back of the net on the penalty kick to put the Falcons up 1-0 in the 33rd minute. He has scored in back-to-back years against the Norse.
“It was huge, it’s really good to go into halftime leading, it changes the game plan entirely, changes the tactics and how you go about the game,” junior forward Bennett Painter said, “It’s just a really good momentum builder to come in and have.”
The Falcons would pick up a second goal in the match during the 51st minute when Painter found the back of the net for the fourth time this season on an assist from junior midfielder Anthony Hernandez.
The Orange and Brown head on a two-game road stand with matches against Belmont on Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m., and Cleveland State on Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m.
