Just two seasons removed from a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) championship appearance and five years from an NCAA tournament bid, the Falcons are a completely different team. 

Losing multiple key pieces and coming off an underwhelming 2025 season, head coach Eric Nichols will draw on his experience in his 18th season with the Orange and Brown and attempt to bring the program back to contention in the conference. 

Last Season 

Bowling Green wrapped up the 2025 season with a record of 5-8-4 with a 1-4-2 conference record, placing them second to last in the MVC. Their only conference win came against Bradley, who went winless in the MVC. 

Their best matches came back-to-back early in the season, in September, with a 1-0 win over Michigan State followed by a 1-1 tie with Kentucky, who was ranked 18th at the time. 

Roster Changes 

Some of the biggest changes heading into this season come from the losses of star forwards Trace Terry and Bennett Painter. 

Terry continued on to his professional career, now playing for Fort Wayne FC. Painter found a new home with the Indiana Hoosiers and will get a chance to battle his old team in an exhibition match on Aug. 10. 

Along with the dynamic duo at the top of the pitch, Bowling Green lost 10 other players to a combination of the transfer portal, graduation, and departing from the program— defenders Amer Dedic, Tim Koczulap, Caio Tascheto, Aiden Messinger and Giovanni Soares, midfielders Ryko Bodurov, Anthony Hernandez, Bradley Poppell and Andrew Shaffer, and forward Adin Ibrahimovic. 

One of the 2025 team captains, Shaffer, is going to be a big hole to fill as well. The midfielder became the team’s free kick and corner kick specialist, along with being one of the most dedicated and hard-working players on the pitch. 

Bodurov became the facilitator of the offense towards the end of last season, opening up the middle of the field behind Terry and Painter.

Another loss for the team is assistant coach and former player Ryan James, whose role will be filled by Jonathon “Finny” Sayer. 

Nichols and the Falcons revamped the roster with nine freshmen and one sophomore— defenders Aidan Flanders, Mouhamadou Cisse, Matheus Filipe and Bright Asante, forwards J Mossholder, Luciano Perez-Cernuda, Lucas Brinkman, Joshua Pederson and Tomas Meek, and goalkeeper Marshall DeGraff. 

The only sophomore, Meek, went to Bowling Green High School and went to the university for his freshman year before he joined the team for the 2026 season. 

Strengths 

One position group that did not lose any players over the offseason was the goalkeepers.

Last season, two keepers played significant time in net, those being redshirt junior Jason Ball and senior Enzo Gil. Both proved their abilities when given the opportunity last season and will allow for a foundation to be set for the Orange and Brown. 

Sophomore forward Tyson McCoy is expected to help fill the void left by Terry and Painter. One of his most prominent outbursts came when he picked up two goals in a spring game against Ohio State.

McCoy saw limited minutes in the 2025 season with his position being taken up Terry and Painter, and he will look to leave his mark on the upcoming season as the team’s primary goal scorer. 

Redshirt freshman defender Diego Ramirez will get his first chance on the backline for the Orange and Brown. Ramirez has been anticipated as a player who can really make a difference for Bowling Green.

The 6-foot defender did not see action in 2025 but was able to participate in the Spring League. His play could make a massive impact this season for BGSU. 

Having multiple leaders of the program depart within one offseason can create major shake-ups, but senior midfielder Mads Christensen remains as a cornerstone of this team’s leadership. 

Being a 2025 team captain gives Christensen the ability to take charge of the new-look Falcons and truly grow into his leadership role, which may have taken a backseat to the other captains from last season. 

Challenges 

Terry and Painter combined for 15 out of the 16 goals scored by the team last season, putting the Falcons in desperate need of a new goal scorer. The only returning goal scorer from last season is senior defender Saul Rios, who picked up his only goal near the beginning of conference play against Belmont.  

After losing over 90% of last season’s goal production, Bowling Green faces a tall order to replace it in 2026. While McCoy has shown flashes of being able to take over, there is still a need for a second scorer to step up. 

Another factor that will be leaving with Terry is the trait of clutch performances. He finished his Falcon career tied for seventh in BGSU history in career goals, but more impressively tied for second in game-winning goals with 11. 

The entire offensive attack must be restructured. Bodurov served as the primary facilitator, and Shaffer handled all corner kicks and penalty kicks. It will come down to Nichols finding what works best for this new group of Falcons. 

These clear hurdles of transitioning out of the Terry and Painter era will help define how the 2026 Falcons will make their marks on the program. 

Schedule 

The Falcons will leave the nest of Cochrane Stadium 10 times this season, in comparison to their seven home games. 

Before the season begins, the Orange and Brown will have three exhibition games. Their first is at home against Detroit Mercy on Aug. 7, followed by a trip to Indiana to face Painter and the Hoosiers on Aug. 10. They finish exhibitions with Purdue Fort Wayne on Aug. 14. 

The regular season kicks off with a month of non-conference matches, including home games against Wright State, Wake Forest and DePaul. Their away matches contain Duquesne, IU Indy, Xavier, Milwaukee and Mercyhurst scheduled between Aug. 23 to Sep. 19. 

Sprinkled between conference matchups are matches against Northern Kentucky, Oakland and Wilmington, rounding out the non-conference portion of the season.

MVC play begins Sep. 25 with a home match against Western Michigan. The Falcons will also face Drake and Belmont at Cochrane Stadium. Bradley, Evansville and UIC will all be away matches for BGSU this season. 

Their only time playing back-to-back conference matches is a three-game stretch against Bradley, Drake and Evansville. 

Bowling Green ranks 137th in the nation for strength of schedule, which is the second-easiest schedule in the MVC, outside of Bradley. The relatively forgiving schedule could give the new squad room to grow throughout the season. 

Expectations 

While Bowling Green will undoubtedly have to build from the ground up in the 2026 season, there are players within the program who are able to make this team a contender. 

Nichols is a seasoned coach who knows how to make the most out of his players and can shape the new team around players who give him the best chance to win. 

The positives for the next chapter of Bowling Green men’s soccer are evident. The outcome will correlate to how well the Falcons can compete as a unit as they step onto the pitch fighting for the same goal: an MVC title.