With only three games remaining before the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament, BGSU men’s soccer (5-7-2, 1-3-0) heads to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to battle Western Michigan (4-8-2, 1-1-2) on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Both the Falcons and the Broncos are fighting to reach the MVC tournament, with the Broncos currently in the sixth and final spot in the tournament and the Falcons two points behind them in seventh.
The Orange and Brown took care of Western Michigan in 2024 with a 3-0 victory. Both senior forward Trace Terry and junior forward Bennett Painter propelled the Falcons to the win, each scoring a goal.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer will provide the recap following the match on bgfalconmedia.com.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons are coming into this matchup following a week’s rest since their previous game, a 2-0 loss to Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.
A big positive that came out of the loss to Drake was the shot attempts by other Falcons besides Terry and Painter. Four other Falcons took shots in the contest, including two shots on goal by senior midfielder Andrew Shaffer.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jason Ball has been in goal for the last five matches. The Orange and Brown have taken victories in both home matches where Ball was in goal. In the opposite case, the Falcons have lost all three road games that Ball has started.
With BGSU traveling to Western Michigan, it will be up to Ball to break the streak of losses on the road.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos also come into the matchup with a week-long rest since their last match, a 3-2 victory over Bradley.
Western Michigan has not lost since Oct. 4, in a 2-0 loss to Evansville, who currently leads the MVC with eight points.
The Broncos’ goal leader, senior forward Jonathan Stout, picked up another goal in their victory over Bradley. He now sits at four on the season.
There have been two different goalkeepers in action for Western Michigan, with graduate student Timi Adams starting six games and redshirt junior Alex Lindewirth starting eight matches. Lindewirth has started the last two matches.
FALCON FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
Andrew Shaffer #8, Midfielder – Bowling Green
The senior midfielder was able to get multiple shots on goal last match, a task that has been hard for the Falcons outside of Terry and Painter. With Shaffer getting multiple shots up, one should find the back of the net soon.
Trace Terry #21, Forward – Bowling Green
Terry scored in the Western Michigan matchup last year and has eight goals on the season so far. With Terry pushing the Orange and Brown towards a possible MVC tournament appearance, look for him to create many offensive chances.
Alex Lindewirth #29, Goalkeeper – Western Michigan
With Lindewirth not having a loss in his last two matches, he has started at goalie; the Broncos will most likely look towards him to take on the task of shutting down the Falcons. Lindewirth also has two shutouts on the season.
Braxton Arpachinda #2, Defender – Western Michigan
Arpachinda has the most minutes played on the team, along with being one of two players to start all 14 matches. He has the second-most goals and assists for Western Michigan while being a defender. For someone who can do it all, Arpachinda will try to do so against the Orange and Brown.
