Cochrane Stadium / Facilities

One of the many resources available to the Falcon men’s soccer team is the ability to play on one of the Midwest’s finest fields.

Mickey Cochrane Stadium, known nationally as one of the country’s outstanding soccer facilities, has become even better in recent years thanks in part to a multiple-phase project designed to enhance the current complex.

The facility’s improvements included the installation of lights at the Cochrane Stadium complex, giving the BGSU men’s and women’s teams the opportunity for home games under the lights. The lights project has allowed more flexibility in scheduling, and also has enhanced the alreadyimpressive atmosphere at home matches. The money for the $400,000 project was raised through donations, with nearly all of the funds donated by men’s soccer alumni, who have a proud history of over five decades at the University.

The lights project was completed in the fall of 2011, and both the men’s and women’s teams hosted night matches in late October of that year. Additionally, several Ohio High School Athletic Association girls soccer tournament games have been held at Cochrane under the lights.

The men’s program played every home match under the lights during both the 2018 and ’19 seasons, and the Falcons are scheduled to do so again in 2021.

In 2010, via donations raised by both the men’s and women’s programs, World Cup-style goals were added, as well as wind screens and covered benches. The athletics department also made upgrades to the scoreboard.

Just prior to the debut of the women’s team, an upgrade to the field saw the construction of 700 permanent seats on the west side of the main playing area. The stadium renovation project, financed entirely with private funds,

Caroline Palmisano (center), a BGSU student and the daughter of Gary Palmisano, was on hand at the final home game of the 2008 season (Nov, 1, 2008), as the Gary Palmisano Soccer Endowment was formally announced. The late Gary Palmisano was a player, an assistant coach and a head coach at BGSU, and also was a driving force behind soccer being recognized as a MAC sport. Many former Falcon players made gifts to complete the endowment, and the first scholarship in Gary’s name was awarded in the fall of 2009.

Dave Kindl (10) scores against Kentucky in the MAC Tournament’s championshipgame win in 1996. BGSU’s 4-0 win gave the Falcons the league tourney title for the second-straight year, and the Falcons would go on to win the ‘97 tournament crown as well.

was officially dedicated on Sept. 10, 1995, prior to the men’s soccer home opener. A spacious press box was finished a month later. With the addition of portable bleachers from the old grandstand, the complex can seat up to 1,500 spectators, with plenty of additional space to accommodate the standing-room-only crowds that have become more and more common during the Nichols Era.

The initial phase of the plan, which was finished in 1993, consisted of the main playing field being completely enclosed with fencing, landscaped with shrubbery, and decorated with signage. New flag staffs and team benches were also added over the course of the season.

Phase II began in 1994 with the installation of a new scoreboard and additional signage.

The field renovation project was originally conceived in 1988 by former Falcon men’s head coach Gary Palmisano who passed away in December, 1994. Under his guidance, hard work, and patience,

Large crowds have become commonplace at Cochrane Stadium, as Eric Nichols and his staff have helped to create and cultivate a tremendous overall game-day atmosphere surrounding a BGSU home men’s soccer match. The Falcons are 21-6-9 at Cochrane over the last five seasons (2016-20[-21]), for a winning percentage of .708 in that time.

his vision became a reality with the initiation of Phase I.

“Gary wanted the Falcons to have the finest soccer facility available, one that would make each game an event to be enjoyed not only by the players, but also by all those who support BG soccer,” said Jean-Marie Wolf Palmisano, wife of the late Gary Palmisano. “He envisioned a stadium to enclose Cochrane Field, a stadium to celebrate the great game of soccer.”

Cochrane Stadium, dedicated Oct. 11, 1980, in honor of BGSU’s first men’s varsity soccer coach, has been the home of the Falcon men since 1966 and has also been the site of the United States Youth Soccer Association’s Olympic Development Program Region II camps for several decades.

The Falcons definitely have an ideal situation for their players to improve their skills with the use of two full-size fields and a small-sided training practice area. The soccer programs also utilize the Field House and its 90-yard indoor turf room and 200-meter track wing for winter conditioning.

The Sebo Athletic Center, located in the north end zone of Doyt L. Perry Stadium, provides all BGSU student-athletes, including the soccer teams, a place to reach their potential. The building features an expanded sports medicine and rehabilitation facility as well as a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning area for student-athletes in all 18 varsity sports. Additionally, the BGSU men’s soccer team’s locker room, which was recently renovated, gives the program yet another stateof-the-art facility. The locker room is located on the East side of Perry Stadium.

On April 18, 2021, Achille Robin (4) converted a penalty kick in overtime, giving the Falcons a 2-1 win over Northern Illinois and clinching the MAC regular-season championship and a return to the NCAA Championships. It was the second title-clinching win in under 24 hours at Cochrane, as the BGSU women had won the MAC Championship match the night before.