BGSU vs. EVANSVILLE
Saturday, Nov. 16 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium | Springfield, Mo.
Video/Web Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: MVC-Sports.com

• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team has advanced to the championship match of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons face the University of Evansville in Saturday night's (Nov. 16) final, with first touch set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Mo.

• The Falcons are the third seed for the MVC Tournament, while the Purple Aces are the number-five seed.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• Saturday's Evansville contest will be streamed via ESPN+. Live stats and Twitter/X updates (@BGSUMSoccer), as always, will also be available.

• Links to any available live audio/video/stats for all 2024 matches can be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com on game day.

THE FALCONS AND THE MVC TOURNAMENT
• The Falcons enter Saturday's Evansville contest with an all-time record of 2-1-0 in the MVC Tournament, and both wins have come within the last week. Last season, in BGSU's first year in the MVC, the Falcons dropped a 2-1 decision to Northern Illinois in the quarterfinal round of the league tourney. Kyle Cusimano scored for the Falcons, who outshot the Huskies by a 24-14 count in that 2023 contest.

• On Sunday night (Nov. 10), Jake Bergin scored just 33 seconds into the match to put the Falcons ahead, and BGSU went on to a 4-1 win over UIC in the quarterfinals at Cochrane Stadium. Then, on Wednesday (Nov. 13), Trace Terry scored with just over eight minutes to go, and Brendan Graves and the BG defense kept a clean sheet as the Falcons topped Drake, 1-0, in the semifinals.
BGSU'S MVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Year            Round  Site  Opponent               Result
2023 (#4 seed)    QF    H    #5 Northern Illinois    L 1-2
2024 (#3 seed)    QF    H    #6 UIC                  W 4-1
                  SF    N^   #2 Drake                W 1-0
                Final   N^   #5 Evansville        Saturday
^ Springfield, Mo.                                        

HOW THEY GOT HERE
• Senior Jake Bergin's goal just 33 seconds into the match gave BGSU the lead for good, and the Falcons went on to a 4-1 win over UIC on Sunday night (Nov. 10), in MVC Tournament quarterfinal-round action at Cochrane Stadium.

• Freshman Ryko Bodurov had the first two-goal game of his young career for the Falcons, the third seed for the six-team tournament, and sophomore Bennett Painter put an exclamation point on the win with his 13th goal of the season.

• Bodurov had an assist on Painter's goal to cap a five-point night, while junior Trace Terry had two assists in the win.

• Junior Andrew Shaffer and sophomores Anthony Hernandez and Jake Lane each added assists, while fifth-year Falcon Brendan Graves made seven saves in the contest. Bart Muns scored for the sixth-seeded Flames (7-10-0 [3-5-0 MVC]).

• Then, on Wednesday (Nov. 13), Terry scored in the 81st minute, and Graves and the back line made that lead stand up, as BG picked up a 1-0 win over Drake in the semifinals. Graves made five saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season, and his second against the second-seeded Bulldogs (9-5-3 [5-1-2 MVC]) in 2024.

FALCONS IN THE FINAL
• Saturday marks BGSU's first-ever trip to the MVC Tournament's championship match. The 2024 season is the Falcons' second as a member of the conference.

• BG last advanced to a league tourney final in 2019, when the fourth-seed Falcons topped Northern Illinois and top-seeded Akron en route to the championship match of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. West Virginia topped BGSU in the final.

• In all, BGSU advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament on 10 occasions, including five-straight seasons from 1994-98, as well as in 2000, '02, '03, '14 and '19.

THE FALCON 500
• Wednesday's (Nov. 13) win over Drake was a big win for many reasons, but it was also a milestone victory. The 1-0 triumph was the 500th win in program history. BGSU now has an all-time record of 500-416-104 (.541).

DOZEN-GOAL DUO
• Junior Trace Terry and sophomore Bennett Painter have been a lethal combination for Falcon foes to contend with this season. Terry scored his 11th goal of the season in the Falcons' win over Western Michigan (Nov. 1), with Painter notching his 11th of the season eight minutes later.

• Painter scored his 12th goal of the year at Oregon State (Nov. 6), and made it a baker's dozen with a goal against UIC on Sunday night (Nov. 10). Terry picked up a total of three assists in those two games, then scored the only goal of the match – with the primary assist from Painter – in Wednesday's (Nov. 13) win over Drake.

• As of Thursday morning (Nov. 14), BGSU is one of only two teams in the nation – joining Duke – with a pair of double-digit goal scorers this season.

• BGSU is the only NCAA Division-I team in the country with two players who each have 12 goals or more. The Falcons are also the only squad with a pair of 28-plus point scorers (Painter has 30, Terry 28).

• That duo has combined for five goals and four assists in November alone.

TOUGH CROWD!
• The Falcons definitely have played a difficult schedule down the stretch. BGSU's last four matches of the regular season included three opponents listed among the top 30 teams in the nation in the latest RPI rankings.

• BGSU faced Missouri State, Western Michigan, Oregon State and Evansville during that regular season-ending stretch. The Falcons have played 10 games against teams currently ranked in the top-100 of the RPI, and Saturday's UE rematch will be the 11th. The list includes Missouri State (10th), Oregon State (20th), Michigan (27th), WMU (30th), Drake (43rd; two meetings), Evansville (58th), Michigan State (80th) and UIC (95th; two meetings).

TOP-DRAWER TANDEM
• A pair of BGSU strikers, junior Trace Terry and sophomore Bennett Painter, recently were named to the Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top-100 list. Terry checked in at number 16 on the list, while Painter was 53rd.

• Terry and Painter have combined to score 25 goals this season to date.

DYNAMIC DUO
• Junior Trace Terry and sophomore Bennett Painter each have had a knack for finding the goal this season. A few facts about the Falcons' dynamic duo...

• Entering Saturday's Evansville game, Painter has 13 goals and Terry 12 on the season. The 2024 campaign marks the first time BGSU has had two players with 10 goals or more since 1996, when Steve Klein scored 18 times and Dave Kindl 11.

• BGSU has not had two 12-goal scorers in over four decades – since 1983, when Dennis Wesley had a program-record 24 goals and Neil Ridgway 12.

• Painter and Terry have 30 and 28 points, respectively, this fall. BGSU had not had two 20-point scorers in a season since the aforementioned '96 campaign. That year, the Falcons actually had three players with over 20 points, as Klein had a whopping 50 points, with Dave Kindl and Jason Began adding 29 and 26, respectively. That epic 1996 season was also the last time BG had two players with 28 or more points in the same season.

• Terry has five game-winning goals and Painter four in 2024. Terry is tied for second in the nation in that category, while Painter is 12th. This season marks the first btime two Falcons have each had at least four GWG in the same year since 1991 (Rob Martella five, Tom Kinney four).

• In addition to GWG, both Painter and Terry are ranked in the top-20 in the nation in total goals, goals per game, total points and points per game. And, Terry is in the top-10 in the country in both total shots per game and shots on goal per game.

ALOTTA ASSISTS FOR ALBERTO
• Senior Alberto Anaya had four assists in the Falcons' win over Eastern Illinois (Sept. 24) , tying the school record. Anaya matched the mark set by Brian Ferguson in a 6-1 win over Eastern Michigan on Sept. 20, 1989.

• Anaya also had the assist on Bennett Painter's goal at Missouri State. On the season, he has 15 points on three goals and a nine assists, tying for the team lead in the latter category. As of Thursday morning (Nov. 14), Anaya was 12th in the country in total assists and 27th in the nation in assists per game.

• Anaya now has career totals of 23 assists and 53 points. He has moved into a tie for ninth place on the BGSU career assists list, and is tied for 19th in career points.

ANDREW ALSO ADDS ASSISTS
• Junior Andrew Shaffer picked up an assist in the win over UIC, giving him nine on the season. He is tied with Anaya for the team lead in that category, and also ranks 12th in the nation in total assists and 27th in assists per game.

• Shaffer now has career totals of 27 points on seven goals and 13 assists.

RHYMES WITH SAVES
• Fifth-year Falcon Brendan Graves had four saves, including a pair of impressive second-half stops, in BGSU's win over Western Michigan (Nov. 1). He had a seven-save performance against UIC (Nov. 10) and made five stops in Wednesday's (Nov. 13) shutout win vs. Drake.

• Graves now has a total of six shutouts this season, tying him for the MVC lead. That includes a spectacular performance in a 1-0 win at Michigan State (Aug. 26). Graves made six saves vs. the Spartans, with arguably no routine stops among them.

• Graves – who has been in goal for every second of every match for more than three years now – has a goals-against average of 1.11 this season, and had a GAA of just 0.88 in MVC regular-season matches.

• Entering the Evansville match, Graves has a career goals-against average of 1.22, along with 219 saves and 17 complete-match shutouts. He ranks seventh in BGSU history in career wins (28) and eighth in career shutouts, and he has moved into a tie for 10th place on the BGSU career saves list.

ABOUT THE FALCONS
• Bowling Green is 12-5-2 on the season, and the Falcons went 4-3-1 in MVC play. BG finished in a three-way tie for third place in the nine-team league, and the Falcons earned the third seed for the conference tournament.

• BGSU's total of 12 wins is the program's highest since 2019, and the Falcons' 38 goals marks the team's most since 2014 (also 38). No BG team has scored more goals since the 1997 team had 56.

• This year's club opened MVC tourney play with a 4-1 home win over UIC in the quarterfinal round, and the Falcons topped Drake, 1-0, in Wednesday's semifinal.

• The Falcons had ended the league regular-season schedule with an emphatic 3-0 win over then-No. 14 Western Michigan (Nov. 1) at Cochrane Stadium. BGSU snapped the Broncos' 37-match unbeaten streak which dated to August of 2023.

• BGSU wrapped up the regular-season slate with a 3-1 loss at Oregon State (Nov. 6), prior to picking up the league tourney wins over UIC and Drake.

• While BGSU beat WMU by three goals, the Falcons' other three conference wins came by a single goal. BG posted 2-1 victories over Northern Illinois at home and Bradley on the road, and a 1-0 home win against Belmont. The Falcons lost in league play for the first time on Oct. 5, falling at UIC by a 2-1 final.

• The Falcons' other league losses came against No. 15 Missouri State (2-1; Oct. 20) and Evansville (1-0; Oct. 25), and BG battled Drake to a scoreless draw (Oct. 12).

• BG's non-league victims included Wright State, Butler, Eastern Illinois and Detroit Mercy at home – although the EIU match was moved indoors due to inclement weather and field conditions – and Michigan State and IU Indy on the road. The Falcons played host Northern Kentucky to a 1-1 draw, and BG's suffered non-league losses on the road against Michigan (2-0; Sept. 2) and Oregon State.

• The Falcons were ranked eighth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches West Region poll. BGSU went 8-0-1 at home this season (including a 7-0-1 mark at Cochrane Stadium), and the Falcons are 3-5-1 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral-site contest in 2024.

• The Falcons welcomed back 17 of the 20 players who saw action last year. That group includes nine starters from a 2023 club that went 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-0 in BGSU's first year in the MVC.

• Sophomore Bennett Painter and junior Trace Terry are leading the way in scoring, with 30 and 28 points, respectively. Painter and Terry have 13 and 12 goals, respectively, to rank among the national leaders. Terry has five game-winning goals and Painter four this season to date.

• Senior Alberto Anaya and junior Andrew Shaffer have 15 and 11 points, respectively. Both players have nine assists to rank among the nation's top-20 players in both total assists and assists per game.

• After a brace against UIC, freshmen Ryko Bodurov has seven points on the year, while fifth-year Falcon Kyle Cusimano has six points and sophomore Jake Lane five.

• Another fifth-year Falcon, Brendan Graves, has played all 19 matches in goal and has 74 saves, a 1.11 GAA and six shutouts. Three of the goals BGSU has allowed this season have come via penalty kicks.

• Graves has played all 1710 minutes this season, while sixth-year collegian Josh Erlandson has been on the field for 1680 minutes. Cusimano played 1667 of the season's first 1668 minutes before leaving Wednesday's Drake match due to injury early in the second half. Anaya, Shaffer and sophomores Gus Peacock and Anthony Hernandez have played 1571, 1539, 1533 and 1491 minutes, respectively.

• Earlier this week, Cusimano was named the MVC's Defensive Player of the Year, with Anaya and Terry joining him on the All-MVC First Team. Graves and Painter earned All-MVC Second-Team honors.

• Anaya and Terry, BGSU's top-two scorers from a year ago, each were named to the 2024 Preseason All-MVC Team back in August. Both players had 14 points on four goals and six assists in '23, tying for the team scoring lead. Anaya was named to the 2023 All-MVC First Team, with Terry earning all-league second-team honors.

• In all, BGSU returned six of last year's top-seven scorers.

• Graves is back in goal in '24 after starting every match a year ago. In fact, Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 59 matches – a total of 5,330 minutes. No other BGSU 'keeper has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.

THE OPPONENT
• Evansville has an overall record of 10-6-3 on the season, and the Purple Aces – like the Falcons – went 4-3-1 in MVC play to tied for third place in the conference standings. UE has gone on the road and defeated a pair of nationally-ranked foes, Western Michigan and Missouri State, in the MVC Tournament to advance to Saturday's final. The Aces started the season with four-straight wins, then went 0-5-1 in the next six games, but have rallied to post a record of 6-1-2 since Sept. 28. The only loss in that time came to Missouri State, and UE avenged that setback with a 1-0 win on Wednesday night. Nacho Diaz Barragan leads the team with eight goals and 18 points, while Jacopo Fedrizzi and Samuel Owusu have 13 and 11 points, respectively. Michal Mroz has played all 16 matches in goal and has 75 saves, five shutouts and a GAA of 1.51. Coach Robbe Tarver welcomed back 26 players from the 2023 club that went 4-8-4 overall and 2-4-2 in the MVC.

THE SERIES
• BGSU trails Evansville, 11-4-0, in the all-time series, and the Aces captured this year's regular-season meeting, with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Falcons (Oct. 25, 2024). Last season, the Falcons picked up a 4-2 win at Cochrane Stadium in the teams' first-ever MVC matchup (Sept. 30, 2023). The Falcons are 2-5-0 at home, 0-6-0 on the road and 2-0-0 in neutral-site meetings with the Purple Aces over the years.

UP NEXT
• The BGSU-Evansville survivor will win the MVC Tournament title and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

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), and on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.