The Bowling Green men’s soccer team put together a relentless effort, topping the University of Findlay 8-0.

The Falcons scored seven of their eight goals in the first forty-five, with sophomore Pat Flynn connecting on five goals himself.

The five-goal effort by Flynn tied a school record for goals in a game by one player.

“It feels good, any time you put a game together like that it’s always a good start, but it was a real team effort,” Flynn said. “Today they called on me to step up, the next game it could be anyone else.”

Despite having just one goal in his time at Bowling Green prior to the game, Flynn’s performance wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“Pat Flynn kind of blew up today, but he’s been right on the edge the last few games,” head coach Eric Nichols said. “He’s been close and when he shoots he always gives it a chance. It doesn’t surprise me that he blew up tonight.”

While Flynn was the star of the night, the team gave credit to the good, unselfish play throughout the midfield. This is going to be what really helps the team this year, Flynn said.

Not only did the offense make a statement against the Oilers, but the defense posted its third consecutive shutout to begin the season.

Whether it be the veteran leadership in the back, or valiant effort from the goalie, the Falcons have found a way to keep the opposition off of the scoreboard.

“We’re defending well in the front half and then our guys in the back clean up everything we miss,” senior Danny Baraldi said. “[Jake] Genrich and [Jon] Kumher clean up a lot of stuff every game and they don’t really get enough recognition for it.”

Nichols also has been pleased with the execution on defense, but praises the leadership as a key component for the Falcon success thus far.

“Our centerbacks are owning the details of the system, showing good leadership and holding guys accountable for ninety minutes,” Nichols said.

The first half was filled with excitement on the Falcon bench. However, after being shut out in the second half in the previous game, the Falcons looked to make a concerted effort to not coast to a third victory.

“We were concerned with them hurting us, but we felt like if we attacked the box we could get something,” Nichols said. “The focus was right where it needed to be, onto the next play regardless of what the score was.”

Not only did the Falcons continue playing deep into the game, they did so with an array of freshmen on the field together.

The final goal of the game was scored by a freshman from a fellow freshman pass.

Not only did the freshmen put together a scoring effort, they gained valuable game experience. The game was really valuable for them and there is definitely some promise there, Nichols said.

Despite the near perfect performance, the Falcons will continue to look for ways to get better. Nichols noted that they have been attacking the box, creating chances and taking them well, but they will look to get down to the ‘nitty-gritty’ and fix the small things that need to be worked on.

“Today we took care of business, but now it’s onto the next game,” Baraldi said. “As good as this feels, hopefully we can do it again next game.”

The Falcons’ next game will be on the road in Pittsburgh for the Duquesne Invitational. Bowling Green will take the field on Sept. 5 and again on Sept. 7 to end the weekend.