THURSDAY, AUGUST 21  |  7:00 P.M.  |  COCHRANE STADIUM  |  BOWLING GREEN, OHIO

(BGSU-Butler game links at bottom of page)

SETTING THE SCENE / FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team kicks off the 2025 regular-season schedule with a pair of matches vs. Indianapolis-based programs. Head coach Eric Nichols and the Falcons host IU Indy on Thursday evening (Aug. 21), in a 7:00 p.m. start at Cochrane Stadium. Admission is free to all BGSU home soccer matches.

• Then, the Orange and Brown will begin a three-game road swing with a Sunday evening (Aug. 24) matchup vs. Butler University. That game is also set for a 7:00 p.m. start, at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.

WHERE TO WATCH
• Thursday's IU Indy match will be televised by BCSN in the Toledo area, and also will be streamed via the BCSN+ app as well as ESPN+.

• Sunday's Butler contest will also be streamed via ESPN+.

STATS & SOCIAL MEDIA
• Links to live stats (as well as to any available audio/video) for all 2025 matches can always be found on the web at BGSUFalcons.com – both on the men's soccer schedule page and in the right column on the main page – on match day.

THE STARTING XI
I – Head coach Eric Nichols and his staff – assistant coaches Gonzalo Carranza, Jack Bennett and Ryan James – have a total of 12 returning student-athletes on the 2025 roster. That group includes six starters from a year ago. A whopping 15 newcomers join the Falcons in 2025.

II – 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 Missouri Valley Conference, tying for third place in the then 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.

III – Four of the top-six point-scorers from the 2024 club are back. The returnees include a pair of Falcon forwards who combined for a whopping 25 goals and 59 points last fall. Junior Bennett Painter led the team with 13 goals and 30 points in 2024, while senior Trace Terry had 12 goals and 29 points. That duo combined for nine game-winning goals. Terry was named to the All-MVC First Team, with Painter earning all-conference second-team honors.

IV – Terry was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team last season, and also was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI Third Team.

V – Terry and the graduated Kyle.Cusimano each earned All-America accolades last fall, as Cusimano was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team. The 2024 season marked the first time in program history that the Falcons had two players named All-Americans by NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches.

VI – In December of 2024, Terry was drafted by Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft. He is the first player in program history to return to the Falcons after being drafted, and is the fifth player in history (and the first since Scott Vallow in 1999) to come back for another season after being named an All-American.

VII – Painter is one of three returning Falcons who started all 20 matches a year ago, as senior Andrew Shaffer and junior Gus Peacock also were penciled into the Starting XI for every 2024 contest.

VIII – Shaffer was fourth on the team in scoring, with 13 points, and he tied for the team lead with nine assists. Shaffer has 29 career points at BGSU, ranking third among active Falcons behind Terry (47) and Painter (38).

IX – Already this season, Terry has been named to the United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch list – one of just 20 players to be so honored. On Monday (Aug. 18), the Falcons were picked to finish second in the MVC in 2025, according to the league coaches, and Painter, Shaffer and Terry all were named to the Preseason All-MVC Team.

X – An impressive streak will come to an end in the IU Indy game on Thursday. The graduated Brendan.Graves has played every second of the Falcons' last 60 matches, and no other BGSU 'keeper has been between the posts since Oct. 22, 2021. The Falcons' current trio of 'keepers includes junior Enzo Gil, a transfer from Lindenwood, and redshirt sophomores Jason Ball and Will Schutte.

XI – The Falcons went 8-0-1 in home matches last season. 

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

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24  |  7:00 P.M.  |  BUD & JACKIE SELLICK BOWL  |  INDIANAPOLIS, IND.