On a night of firsts at Cochrane Stadium, the Bowling Green State University men’s soccer team picked up a 2-1 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Tuesday evening.
For the Falcons (now 3-1-2 on the season), several players saw the first action of their collegiate careers, and two players – Taylor Dyson and Jake Bergin – each scored their first goal in a BG uniform.
Nathan Masters was involved in the scoring of both BGSU goals. He was fouled in the penalty area in the first half, leading to Dyson’s penalty kick, and he worked a nifty give-and-go with Bergin for what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 71st minute.
BGSU had advantages of 17-9 in total shot attempts and 5-3 in both shots on goal and corner kicks. Brendan Graves made two saves to earn the win for the Falcons, while Nic Lemen had three stops for the Norse.
Freshmen Saul Rios and Gus Peacock each saw the first playing time of their young BGSU careers. Rios was in the starting lineup, and played all 90 minutes of the win.
Bergin made his first start of the season, and the goal was not only his first as a Falcon, but also was the first game-winning goal of his BGSU career.
BGSU coach Eric Nichols said the win was helpful in dealing with the death of his daughter Jordan Nichols, a BGSU student who passed away on August 27.
“It’s been an excruciatingly painful time for my family and me,’ coach Nichols said. “In times like this, you need to be around people you love.
“I love these guys, I love these coaches, I love this community. My wife and my boys were here — this is the place we needed to be tonight, and it was really good to be back.”
