UPCOMING GAMES ...
The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team reaches the middle of its conference schedule this week with two league matches. The Falcons travel to Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday for a 5 p.m. match against Marshall. BG returns home to entertain Northern Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Bowling Green hits the road again the following weekend playing at Akron on Friday, Oct. 22 (7:15 p.m.) and at Buffalo on Sunday, Oct. 24 (1 p.m.). BG's regular-season home finale will be on Wednesday, Oct. 27 vs. Oakland at 3:30 p.m.
THE SERIES ...
Bowling Green leads the all-time series against the Thundering Herd with a 3-1-0 mark. The Falcons won both encounters last year - 1-0 at home in the regular-season finale, and 2-0 in a MAC quarterfinal match in Lexington. BG lost its only previous appearance in Huntington, 1-0, in 1997.
Bowling Green trails Northern Illinois in the all-time series with a 3-4-0 record even though each school has scored 14 goals in the series.
The Falcons dropped a 3-2 (OT) decision in DeKalb last year, but BG claimed two victories in 1997 - 4-3 at home during the regular-season and 4-1 in a MAC quarterfinal match in Oxford. BG has a 2-1-0 mark against the Huskies at Cochrane Field with all three matches being decided by one goal.
SCANNING THE POLLS...
Bowling Green was picked second in the 1999 Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll. Defending regular-season and tournament champion Akron was a unanimous first-place selection. Marshall was rated sixth by the MAC coaches, while Northern Illinois came in fourth.
PREVIEWING UPCOMING OPPONENTS...
Marshall snapped its three-game winless streak with a 1-0 win at home over Eastern Michigan on Oct. 10. The Thundering Herd are scheduled to host Bucknell on Oct. 11, but the contest may be cancelled after the torrential rain received by Huntington over the weekend.
Freshman Byron Carmichael leads Marshall in scoring with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Sophomore Brent Sobczak and freshman Dennis Ahebwa have scored two goals apiece.
Senior Taly Goode has started all but one game between the pipes and has recorded a 1.70 goals-against average with two shutouts.
Northern Illinois will take a 6-7-0 overall mark and a 0-3-0 MAC record into Friday's match at Eastern Michigan.
Junior midfielder Dan Parisi leads the Huskies in scoring with 20 points on nine goals and two assists, while senior midfielder Jason Ryder has 13 points on four goals and five assists.
Freshman Rasih Pala has played in 12 games, nine as a goalkeeper and three in the midfield. Between the pipes, he has a 4-5-0 record with a 1.44 goals-against average. Freshman netminder Kurt Baumgartner has a 2-2-0 record and a 1.50 goals-against average in 420 minutes.
This past weekend, NIU defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay, 5-1, but suffered a 4-0 setback at Akron.
LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK ...
Bowling Green's victory last Friday over Bucknell snapped a school-record seven match losing streak, the last five defeats were each by one goal.
Senior Chris Dore led the outburst with two goals and two assists, while sophomore Tony Malik recorded his first two collegiate markers.
Malik opened the scoring at the 3:21 mark as he headed a Dore cross pass Bison goalkeeper Nathan Fitzgerald. Dore made it 2-0 at the 21:45 mark off an assist from Bobby Biggs. Geza Lintner scored Bucknell's lone goal at 24:28, but Dore responded with his second of the match, and seventh of the campaign, at 27:28, as he stole the ball from two defenders at the top of the box and drilled a low shot past Fitzgerald.
Malik tallied his second of the match at 39:33 as he headed a corner kick from Matt Lyons. Kevin Wisniewski completed the scoring with his third of the season at 57:05 off assists from Detrick Matthews and Dore.
BG goalkeeper Ty Fowler was credited with four saves, while Fitzgerald made one stop.
The Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to two games (1-0-1) with a 1-1 (2-OT) draw with Western Michigan Sunday at Cochrane Field.
BG junior Fred Degand scored his first of the season at the 76:34 mark when he headed in a cross from Mike Tinajero. WMU scored the equalizer with three seconds remaining in regulation as Jason Hoffmeyer converted on a penalty kick.
WMU edged BG in total shots, 18-17, but the Falcons held a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal.
Bowling Green netminder Ty Fowler made six saves, while Bronco goalkeeper Eric Pogue made nine stops.
NOTES ...
Bowling Green senior Chris Dore improved his career totals to 24 goals and 18 assists for 66 points with his six-point game on Friday. His 24 goals place him in a tie-for-9th all-time at BG with Warren Heede (1970-73). Former MISL star Dennis Mepham (1976-79) is eighth with 25 markers. Dore's 66 career points tie him with Dave Kindl (1993-96) for eighth place on the Falcon charts. Dennis Wesley (1983-84) ranks seventh with 68 points.
Senior Bobby Biggs has already set a career high with five assists this year, while his 13 points is his second-highest season output (22 points in 1997). Biggs reached the 50-point plateau with his assist versus Bucknell. He has 19 goals and 12 assists in his Falcon career.
