Bowling Green State University 6-foot-2, 184-pound junior forward Trace Terry, the Falcons’ leading scorer, heads downfield with possession in the 1-0 win over Belmont. (BGSU Athletics)
Bowling Green State University junior Trace Terry scored a world-class goal as the Falcons’ mens soccer team took care of business with a 1-0 win over Belmont University Friday night in a Missouri Valley Conference match at Cochrane Stadium.
Fifth-year BGSU goalkeeper Brendan Graves (Perrysburg) made three saves, all in the second half, en route to a second shutout in as many matches.
With the win, the Falcons (8-1-1, 3-0 MVC) have topped the overall win total for all of last season. BGSU is off to the best start to a season since 1995.
BGSU, receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll, outshot Belmont by a 14-8 count on the night, and the Falcons had an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Terry’s goal came with exactly six minutes left in the first half. Sophomore Jake Lane brought the ball down the left side of the field and fired a line-drive cross toward the center. Terry, located in the half-circle just outside the 18-yard line, redirected the cross past BU goalkeeper Grant Calvert and into the right side of the net.
The Falcons enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first half, but the visitors applied pressure in the second half, particularly in the last 25-30 minutes. But, Graves and the defense stood tall and preserved the one-goal lead, the shutout and the win.
Calvert made seven saves for the Bruins.
Terry now has nine goals on the season, the highest total by a Falcon since Pat Flynn scored nine goals in the 2015 campaign. The last player with a double-digit single-season goal total was Flynn, who found the back of the net 14 times in 2014.
Terry has scored at least one goal in four consecutive games. He is the second Falcon in as many seasons to do so, joining Alberto Anaya, who had a four-game goal-scoring streak late in the 2023 campaign. Prior to Anaya’s feat, no Falcon had had a longer streak since Omari Aldridge found the back of the net in five-straight contests in 2005.
BGSU is now 5-0 in ‘home’ games this season, including a 4-0 mark at Cochrane Stadium. The Falcons now have a record of 51-15-15 at Cochrane since the start of the 2014 campaign.
The Falcons are off until next weekend, when BGSU will begin the October portion of the schedule with a trip to Chicago. The Falcons will face the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 5, with first touch set for 8 p.m. ET.
Then, the Falcons will return to Cochrane Stadium three days later (Tuesday, Oct. 8), meeting Detroit Mercy in a 7 p.m. start.
