The Bowling Green State University men's soccer team played with poise and pressure for much of an NCAA tournament opener on Thursday night, but the Falcons gave up two second-half goals in a 2-1 loss to Monmouth.
Northview High School graduate Nathan Masters scored late in the first half for BG before Monmouth tied it at 1 on a header from Julian Gomez at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C.
The Falcons, who had the majority of pressure throughout much of the match, then yielded the game-winning goal with 8:03 left after a momentary defensive breakdown.
BG (7-5-1), which won the Mid-American Conference title with a 5-2-1 record, had qualified for the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in program history.