The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team was well represented when the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association unveiled its 2024 award winners earlier this week. Five Falcons – Alberto Anaya, Kyle Cusimano, Brendan Graves, Bennett Painter and Trace Terry – were named to the OCSA's All-Ohio Team. Cusimano and Terry earned All-Ohio First-Team honors, with Anaya, Graves and Painter being named to the second team.

Additionally, Anaya, Graves and Andrew Shaffer all were chosen to the Academic All-Ohio First Team.

BGSU's totals of five All-Ohio Team members and three Academic All-Ohio selections each tied for the highest of any school. Akron and Ohio State each had five All-Ohio Team representatives, while OSU joined BGSU with three Academic All-Ohio honorees.

(Scroll to the bottom of the page for a list of BGSU's honors and awards from the 2024 season to date)

Anaya, a native of Queretaro, Mexico (ITESM Leon), was named to the All-MVC First Team for the second-straight year, and also was named to the MVC's Scholar-Athlete Second Team. He started all 20 matches, and finished third on the team in scoring, with 15 points. On the season, Anaya scored three goals and tied for the team lead with nine assists. He tied for second in the MVC in assists and was 16th in the nation in total assists and 31st in assists per game. Anaya's assist total includes a four-assist game vs. Eastern Illinois, which tied the school single game record. He posted double-digit point totals in all four seasons at BGSU, and finished with 53 career points on 15 goals and 23 assists. Anaya is tied for ninth in school history in career assists, and is deadlocked for 19th on the BG career points list. And, with eight career game-winning goals, he is tied for fifth on that school list.

Cusimano, a native of Bay Village, Ohio (Bay), adds to his lengthy collection of honors in 2024. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team, becoming the Falcons' first player to earn that accolade since 1996. The Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, he also was chosen to both the All-MVC First Team and the USC All-West Region First Team. Cusimano was named one of just 15 semifinalists for the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy. The defender had six points on two goals and two assists, and the fifth-year Falcon played 1,667 of the first 1,668 minutes of the season (coming off the pitch due to an injury but returning after just over a minute) before being injured early in the second half of the MVC Tournament semifinal match. The latter injury forced him to miss the remainder of that match and all of the championship contest. Cusimano helped the Falcons keep six clean sheets on the season. He was named to the TopDrawer National Team of the Week on Sept. 3. Additionally, he was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team, and also was selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team. Cusimano played in 79 career matches, starting 78, in his stellar Falcon career. He is tied for 11th in school history in appearances and ranks seventh in career starts. And, he had 33 career points, with 10 goals and 13 assists.

Graves, a native of Perrysburg, Ohio (Perrysburg), was named to the All-MVC Second Team as well as the MVC's All-Tournament Team in 2024, and he was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week a league-high three times. He finished second in the MVC with a total of 79 saves, tied for the league lead with six shutouts. Graves had a 1.19 goals-against average on the season, including a GAA of just 0.88 in MVC regular-season matches. He also had a .767 saves percentage, ranking third in the MVC. Three of his clean sheets came in MVC regular-season action, with another coming in the league tournament semifinals. Graves started 61 matches in his BGSU career, and had 224 saves, 17 shutouts and a 1.24 GAA. He is seventh in BGSU history in career wins (28) and eighth in career shutouts. Graves also ranks 10th in school history in career saves and 13th in career GAA. He has played every second of the Falcons' last 60 matches, as no other BGSU 'keeper has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021.

Painter, who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio (Anderson), was named to the All-MVC Second Team. He started all 20 matches in 2024, and led the Falcons with 13 goals and 30 points. He also had four assists on the year. Painter scored the first goal of the match on five occasions, and found the back of the net in 10 of the Falcons' 20 games. He had four goals and eight points in MVC regular-season play to rank second on the team in both categories. He finished 13th in the nation in total goals, 15th in total points, 16th in game-winning goals (four), 19th in points per game (1.50) and 22nd in goals per game (0.65). Painter has 38 career points in 33 games, with 16 goals and six assists since joining the Falcons.

Shaffer, who hails from Galena, Ohio (St. Francis DeSales), was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team in 2024. He started all 20 matches on the year, and ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 13 points. He had two goals, and tied for the team lead with nine assists. He currently ranks 16th in the nation in total assists and 31th in assists per game, tying for second in the MVC in assists. One of Shaffer's goals came in the MVC Tournament's championship match, and he had a two-assist match in a win over Butler. Through his junior season, Shaffer has career totals of 29 points on eight goals and 13 assists.

Terry, who hails from Bellbrook, Ohio (Bellbrook), earned a veritable plethora of honors in 2024. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team and was a TopDrawerSoccer Third-Team All-America. He also was voted to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, and landed on the MVC's All-Tournament Team. The forward was a United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First-Team selection. Terry had totals of 12 goals and 29 points on the season, ranking second on the Falcons in both categories. He also recorded five assists to rank fourth on the club. Terry played in 18 of BGSU's 20 matches, starting all 18, and had a team-leading five game-winning goals. He scored at least one point in 13 of his 18 matches. Terry, who was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team back in August, led the team in scoring in MVC regular-season matches, with five goals and 10 points. He had at least one goal in five consecutive matches from mid-September to early October, the longest such streak by a Falcon since 2005. That streak included two-goal games vs. both Bradley (Sept. 21) and Eastern Illinois (Sept. 24). Terry scored the first goal of the match no fewer than six times in 2024. He was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Sept. 24 and Oct. 1), and he had at least one point in each of BGSU's three MVC Tournament matches, including the lone goal in the Falcons' semifinal-round win over Drake. Terry has scored 47 points in 51 matches in his BGSU career, with 18 goals and 11 assists. Seven of the goals have been game winners. He is ranked among the school's career leaders in goals (tied for 17th), GWG (tied for ninth) and points (tied for 26th). On Dec. 20, Terry was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.

The Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association includes all divisions of college soccer in Ohio with a membership of over 100 men's and women's soccer programs. Founded in 1953, it is one of the oldest state Collegiate Coaching Associations in the United States. The association played a significant role in the growth, development and organization of collegiate soccer in Ohio. Its mission was to aid with coaching education, referee development and training along with the establishment of an extensive awards program. The OCSA has annually recognized over 300 of the best and brightest student athletes and coaches in the state.

BGSU finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 12-6-2, and the Falcons went 4-3-1 in their second season in the MVC, tying for third in the nine-team league. The Orange and Brown picked up wins over UIC and Drake to advance to the championship match of the MVC Tournament, before falling in overtime to Evansville.

BGSU'S 2024 HONORS TO DATE
(as of Feb. 7, 2025)
ALBERTO ANAYA
All-MVC First Team
Preseason All-MVC Team
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC
MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team
OCSA All-Ohio Second Team
OCSA Academic All-Ohio First Team
TDS National Team of Week (Oct. 1) – HM
MVC Offensive Player of Week (Nov. 5)

JAKE BERGIN
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC

KYLE CUSIMANO
MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist
USC All-America First Team
USC All-West Region First Team
MVC Defensive Player of Year
All-MVC First Team
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC
MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team
OCSA All-Ohio First Team
TDS Postseason Top-100 List – No. 80
TDS National Team of Week (Sept. 3)

JOSH ERLANDSON
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC
MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team

BRENDAN GRAVES
All-MVC Second Team
MVC All-Tournament Team
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC
MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team
OCSA All-Ohio Second Team
OCSA Academic All-Ohio First Team
MVC Defensive Player of Week (Sept. 3)
MVC Defensive Player of Week (Oct. 1)
MVC Defensive Player of Week (Nov. 5)

JAKE LANE
MVC All-Tournament Team
MVC Elite 18 Award winner
MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team

BENNETT PAINTER
All-MVC Second Team
OCSA All-Ohio Second Team
TDS Midseason Top-100 List – No. 53
MVC Offensive Player of Week (Oct. 15)
TDS National Team of Week (Oct. 15)

ANDREW SHAFFER
MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team
Academic All-District® Team, selected by CSC
OCSA Academic All-Ohio First Team

TRACE TERRY
Drafted by Seattle in 3rd Round of MLS SuperDraft
USC All-America Second Team
TDS Best XI (All-America) Third Team
All-MVC First Team
USC All-West Region First Team
MVC All-Tournament Team
OCSA All-Ohio First Team
Preseason All-MVC Team
TDS Midseason Top-100 List – No. 16
TDS Postseason Top-100 List – No. 30
MVC Offensive Player of Week (Sept. 24)
TDS National Team of Week (Sept. 24) – HM
MVC Offensive Player of Week (Oct. 1)

CSC - College Sports Communicators; TDS - Top Drawer Soccer

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.