The BG men’s soccer team earned its second road victory and seventh total victory of the season on Sunday, surpassing their win total of 2013.
After back-to-back games at Cochrane Field, and a loss in their most recent game, the Falcons went to Olean, New York, to take on 0-4 St. Bonaventure in the first of a three-game road trip.
The game remained scoreless until the 76:18 mark when BG sophomore Joe Sullivan knocked in the lone goal of the game off of an assist from fellow sophomore Pat Flynn.
The goal proved to be all the Falcons needed as first-time starter, Ryan Heuton posted seven saves, giving the Falcons their fifth shutout of the season and his first win.
“He [Ryan Heuton] has trained extremely hard and he deserved the game,” head coach Eric Nichols said. “He had a couple really solid saves.”
While the Falcons have been a shallow team this season, often using the same starting lineup and utilizing just one substitution, they have an array of other players who are training hard for a chance to take the field as well, Nichols said.
Despite the Falcons’ secured win against the Bonnies, they struggled with their shot yet again.
Featuring the nation’s leading scorer [Pat Flynn], and being in a tie for fourth in goals per game as a team, the Falcons were only able to get five of their 14 shots on goal.
“When we get our chances, we need to get them on frame,” Nichols said. “Winning is hard. It’s never going to be easy and they [St. Bonaventure] made it really difficult today.”
While the Falcons had their share of struggles against the Bonnies, they were able to bounce back after mid-week loss to Michigan State and put themselves back into the win column.
“We put the game behind us and came out here and competed,” Nichols said. “It was a different game today being away from home, but we got the win.”
The defense for the Falcons remained strong, keeping the Bonnies off the scoreboard after they had scored two goals in their most recent game prior. The effort lowered the Falcons’ average goals per game allowed to just .556, after allowing just five goals through nine games.
The Falcons are now 7-2, good for the best record in the Mid-American Conference, and will look to sharpen their skills as their first MAC game against Akron, the second best team in the conference, is just two weeks away.
