Men’s soccer is back at Cochrane Field as they played Notre Dame College in their first home game of the spring.

Bowling Green dropped the game 1-0 after failing to answer the late first half goal by Notre Dame, but this game was more than just a score.

“[Cochrane Field is] a little bit beat up, but it’s always good to be out here,” coach Eric Nichols said. “Guys were jacked up.”

Nichols and the team are using these spring games to determine positions and gain experience for the plethora of first-time starters after graduating 10 seniors over the summer.

“We’ve got some guys with a lot of experience that are out of the lineup,” Nichols said. “This was the first time for many of the guys to play at all; a lot of guys saw some big minutes.”

This lack of experience has been a focal point coming into the spring, as the Falcons will continue to utilize different lineups, while working on playing together as a team.

“There’s a lot of soccer things and organizational things that we need to work on, but I saw some positives,” Nichols said. “If we can play the two-touch, pass and move then we can get a little bit of our rhythm going.”

In addition to lineups and teamwork, BG will look to stress vocal leadership this season. These repetitions throughout the spring will help the young Falcons squad in the games to come.

“You gotta know what to say before you talk, and a lot of times that comes with experience,” Nichols said.

While Bowling Green lost their first home game of the spring, these 90 minutes are just part of the process for preparing for the anticipated fall season.

“We want to win all the games, but we won’t,” Nichols said. “I go into the spring with a lot of questions about personnel and about the team and how they’re gonna play and that’s what the spring is about; for me to figure that out.”

Unfortunately, BG lost another player to injury during the game, again, forcing the team to change lineups and positions. However, the numerous minutes for the underclassmen is coveted throughout the spring.

While winning is important, the Falcons will continue to use the spring to get players healthy, try out an array of lineups and learn about the team they have.

“I have answers to a lot of questions,” Nichols said.