BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team ended Western Michigan University's 37-match unbeaten streak, downing the Broncos by a 3-0 final on Friday night (Nov. 1). The Missouri Valley Conference match was held at a raucous Cochrane Stadium.

Alberto Anaya, Trace Terry and Bennett Painter scored for the Falcons (10-4-2, 4-3-1 MVC), while Brendan Graves made four saves en route to the shutout.

The Broncos (10-1-6, 2-1-4 MVC), ranked 14th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll, lost for the first time since the 2023 season opener (Aug. 24, 2023, at then No. 12 Vermont).

Additionally, Friday's win was the Falcons' first over Western in exactly 10 years.

With the win, BGSU has moved into third place in the MVC standings. The Falcons have concluded conference regular-season play, while each of the other eight teams has one game remaining (scroll down for updated MVC standings).

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons came out on the front foot, controlling play from the outset. Just under three minutes into the match, Alberto Anaya was fouled in the center of the field, roughly 25 yards from goal. Anaya took the ensuing free kick, and blasted a shot on frame. WMU goalkeeper Colin Welsh made a diving save to tip the ball wide of net for a BGSU corner kick.
• The Orange and Brown had back-to-back corners during that sequence. Off of the second kick, Kyle Blasingame exchanged passes with Anthony Hernandez. Blasingame took the return pass and hit a shot from just outside the 18. The ball curved toward the far post, but Welsh made a diving stop and hung onto the rebound, for his second difficult save in the game's first four minutes.
• Just over a half hour into the match, the Broncos had a quality chance, as Braxton Arpachinda chipped a ball from the left side toward the far post. Noah James met the serve with a diving header, putting it back across, but his shot rolled just wide of the left goalpost.
• Three minutes later, the Falcons were on the board. Trace Terry ran onto a pass from Jake Bergin. Terry poked the ball past a WMU defender but was tripped as he attempted to get around the Bronco player. Anaya took the ensuing free kick, just to the left of the penalty area at the 18-yard line extended. His low, hard kik bounced once in traffic near the goalmouth and wound up in the far-side netting.
• Terry was a threat all night, with a game-high six shot attempts. With just over eight minutes remaining in the half, an Anaya corner kick found the head of the junior. Terry put his shot on frame, and Welsh was able to get just enough of his fingertips on the ball to deflect it off of the crossbar and keep it a one-goal game.
• WMU had the ball in the BGSU end of the field for nearly the entire first minutes of the second half, but the Falcons launched a counterattack after blocking a Bronco pass in the box. Anaya slipped the ball to Ryko Bodurov as BG headed the other way. Bodurov played a ball ahead to Terry, who raced into the box on the right side. With a defender converging upon him, Terry fired a low shot that forced Welsh into a kick save.
• Less than five minutes later, Terry and the Falcons threatened again. Andrew Shaffer's pass found Anaya in the center of the field near the 18, and Anaya slide a ball through a Bronco defender's legs and toward a Terry. Terry put a shot toward goal with a sliding effort, but a Western defender was able to knock the ball wide of the left post.
• Just under 33 minutes remained when a spectacular shot by the Falcons was denied by a spectacular save. Shaffer cut to his right and hit a curving shot from distance that seemed ticketed for the upper-right-hand corner of the goal. But, Welsh made a leaping effort and got a hand on the shot, deflecting it over the crossbar.
• WMU was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area with 28 minutes and change remaining, but that shot sailed well over the crossbar.
• Finally, with 11:23 to go, BGSU doubled the lead. Shaffer played a long ball ahead to Terry, who was marked by a defender in the center of the field. The ball caromed off of the Bronco, then off of Terry, who raced toward the penalty area with two defenders in pursuit. The junior slowed to let both players pass him, took a touch to his right and blasted a shot into the net from 18 yards out.
• Under eight minutes remained when Brendan Graves made a tremendous save to keep the lead at two goals. The Broncos got a right-side cross from Ronan Wilcox, and Noah James took a touch to free himself from several Falcons as he headed from right to left in the box. James hit a shot across his body, but Graves dove to his right to tip the ball wide of the left post.
• And off of the ensuing corner kick, Graves blocked a volley by Duarte Chapelas near the right goalpost.
• The Falcons put an exclamation point on the win with 3:20 remaining. Terry made a run across midfield and slid a pass to Jake Lane on his left. Lane attempted to get around a Western defender as he headed into the penalty area. Both players went to the ground, but Lane was first to get up, sliding to cross the ball just before it rolled over the end line. The pass found Bennett Painter, and the sophomore drilled a shot from the penalty spot that found the upper 90.

NOTES AND NUMBERS
• Both Bennett Painter and Trace Terry now have 11 goals this season. Entering the weekend, BGSU was one of just two teams in the nation with a pair of double-digit goal-scorers (Duke).
• Alberto Anaya's game-winning goal was the eighth of his career, tying him for fifth place in school history.
• Anaya now has 53 career points, deadlocking him for 19th place on that school list.
• Terry now has 17 goals and 41 points in his BGSU career, while Painter has 14 goals and 33 points in just 29 games as a Falcon.
• For Brendan Graves, Friday's shutout was his fifth of the season and the 16th of his career. He is now tied for seventh on the BGSU career list.
• The Falcons' win on Friday was BG's first over the Broncos in exactly 10 years, since a 2-1 overtime win at Cochrane on Nov. 1, 2014.

MVC STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE
(updated through Friday night, Nov. 1)
School (Overall)            MVC  Pts. Remaining Schedule (MVC games only) 
1. Missouri St. (11-2-2)   6-0-1  19  at Drake (11/6)                     
2. Drake (9-3-3)           5-0-2  17  v Missouri St. 11/6)                
3. Bowling Green (10-4-2)  4-3-1  13  (MVC schedule complete)             
4. Evansville (8-6-2)      4-3-0  12  v Belmont (11/6)                    
5. Western Mich. (10-1-6)  2-1-4  10  v UIC (11/6)                        
6. UIC (7-8-0)             3-4-0   9  at Western Mich. (11/6)             
7. Bradley (4-8-3)         1-5-1   4  v Northern Ill. (11/6)              
   Belmont (5-8-3)         1-5-1   4  at Evansville (11/6)                
9. Northern Ill. (3-12-0)  1-6-0   3  at Bradley (11/6)                   

UP NEXT
• The Falcons will close the regular-season schedule on Wednesday (Nov. 6), hitting the road for a match at Oregon State. That contest will begin at 10:00 p.m. ET.

• BGSU has clinched a berth in the MVC Tournament, and will play a first-round match on Sunday, Nov. 10. The Falcons' opponent and site for that match will not be known until the conclusion of MVC regular-season play. Each of the other eight MVC teams will play a conference match on Wednesday.

FOR MORE INFORMATION...
• For more information on the BGSU men's soccer program, follow the Falcons on Twitter/X (@BGSU_Athletics and @BGSUMSoccer), Instagram (bgfalcons and bgsumsoccer) and Facebook (BGMensSoccer) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.