BGSU men’s soccer (4-5-2, 0-2-0) travels to Krenzler Field to face the Cleveland State Vikings (3-2-4, 2-0-2) in a Tuesday, Oct. 7 night matchup with kickoff set to take place at 7 p.m.
The Falcons are 20-17-3 vs Cleveland State all-time, with BGSU being 3-1-1 over the last five meetings.
This is the final non-conference matchup for the Falcons before they make their final Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) push for the playoffs.
Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings are undefeated at home and have scored nine of their eleven total goals at home this season.
Led by junior forward Peleg Armendariz, who has three goals through nine games this season. The forward has been the go-to scoring option for Cleveland St with 19 shot attempts, six of them being on goal.
Tom Mertz, the sophomore midfielder, joins Armendariz in putting pressure on the defense. Although he only has one goal, he has 12 shots, with six of them being on goal. When he finds a sliver of space, he is going to make the most of it.
The Viking defense is anchored by goalkeeper Ryan Poling, who has 24 saves on the season and an average goals allowed of 1.11 per game. The goalkeeper has faced 10 or more shots in seven of the nine games this season.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons are coming off a loss to Belmont in the MVC play and are looking for a way to right the ship.
BGSU is led by senior forward Trace Terry in scoring with six so far this season. Right behind him is junior forward Bennett Painter, who has four goals. The orange and brown will look towards the two forwards for the majority of the scoring. The two forwards have all but one of the team’s total goals this season.
Senior midfielder Andrew Schaffer is the glue for the offense of the Falcons as the team plays through him to help find an open attacker up front. Schaffer is also the main corner kick taker for the Falcons and will look to help get the offense started with a corner attack.
Goalkeeper Jason Ball has started the last two matches for the Falcons. With nine saves in two games, the BGSU defense looks to tighten the screws to keep Ball from facing more shot attempts.
The backline for the Falcons is ever-changing, as there is not one defensive player who has played in all 11 matches so far this season. Giovanni Soares is the most consistent starter for the Falcons’ backline with 10 starts.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Tom Mertz #6, Midfielder – Cleveland State
The Midfielder is hyper-efficient with his shots and will look for the smallest opening to make the Falcons’ defense pay. Keeping up the pressure will be what he looks to keep doing this season as he looks to land his second goal.
Ryan Poling #1, Goalkeeper – Cleveland State
Poling has only allowed more than one goal in two games this season, two against Canisius and three against Grand Canyon. Watch for the keeper to force the Falcons to make tough shots and keep the Vikings in the match.
Bennett Painter #12 Forward – Bowling Green
The Forwards have four goals this season and three assists. Look for Painter to start to press even more on the offensive end as the Falcons look for him to help increase the scoring output of the team.
Anthony Hernandez #10 Midfielder – Bowling Green
Although a lot of the offensive talk goes to other players, the junior quietly sits in third on the team with shot attempts. Although he has not found the back of the net, the Falcons look to him for an offensive boost. This would be as good a time as any for the first goal of the season.
