KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team (8-2-1) will look for its first victory over Big Ten foe and No. 21 ranked Michigan State since 1993 as the Broncos travel to East Lansing, Mich., to battle to Spartans (7-2-0) on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMUMensSoccer

QUICK LOOK AT WMU
The Broncos are coming off a 1-1 tie, their first tie of the season, at home against Bradley on Saturday, Oct. 1. Junior Brandon Bye scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 74th minute to help the Broncos fight back from a 1-0 deficit against the Braves. WMU is 4-1-0 when playing on the road, including a 1-0 win over Michigan on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

SUCCESS UNDER WISEMAN
In his fourth year, head coach Chad Wiseman has recorded an overall career record of 36-22-9. A win on Wednesday would give Wiseman the most wins in a four-year period to start a coaching career at Western Michigan. Blake Glass began his career with a 36-27-3 (1982-85) overall record.

ANTHONY BOWIE NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Anthony Bowie was named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Week after helping the Broncos to another undefeated week. Bowie recorded a point in both WMU matches and three total last week, tallying a goal and an assist. Bowie's first career goal was the game-winner in the 109th minute of the 2-1 double overtime victory over Drake. With just 1:43 on the clock, Bowie ran down the right side of the field and played a chip over the top on a bounce, rocketing a shot past the keeper from just inside the box with a defender on his side. On Saturday, Bowie helped the Broncos climb back from a 1-0 deficit, notching his first career assist on Brandon Bye's game-tying goal in the 75th minute.

SHUTTING DOWN THE OPPONENT
The Broncos have recorded six shutouts in 11 games this year and 18 in the last 30 games dating back to the beginning of 2015. Western Michigan set a school record with 12 clean sheets in 2015. The Broncos have totaled 29 shutouts under head coach Chad Wiseman.

BALANCED ATTACK
Four Broncos have recorded more than one goal this year and 11 different Broncos have found the back of the net in 2016. Junior Brandon Bye leads the team with 19 points off seven goals and five assists. Senior midfielder Diego Lopez and junior forward Jay McIntosh have collected three goals apiece for the Broncos. Four other players have dished out three assists for Western Michigan including Tommy Clark, Nathan Hoover, Edu Jimenez and Connor McNulty.

WHERE WE RANK
The Broncos are ranked in the Great Lakes Region top 10 for the sixth-straight week. WMU has outscored its opponents this season 22-8. The Bronco offense is tied for 19th nationally in scoring offense averaging 2.00 goals per game while tied for 10th scoring 22 goals. With 23 assists on the year, Western Michigan is ranked is tied for sixth nationally.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
MSU, currently ranked No. 21 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, enters Wednesday's contest at 7-2-0 overall and 6-1-0 in their last seven games, including back-to-back 1-0 wins over Bowling Green and Ohio State. They also own a perfect home record at 4-0-0. The Spartans have shutout their opponent in five of their seven wins this season, including each of the last four.

The Spartans are outscoring their opponents 12-6 this season, while sophomore Ryan Sierakowski leads the team with nine points on four goals and one assist, including four game-winners. Junior Ken Krolicki and freshman Giuseppe Barone are tied for second on the team with five points each.

SERIES HISTORY
MSU leads the all-time series 2-29-8 and have won the previous 10 meetings. The most recent meeting came on Oct. 15, 2014, where the No. 16 ranked Spartans came away with a 4-0 win in East Lansing. The Broncos haven't beaten the Spartans since Oct. 10, 1993 in a 2-0 shutout victory, but tied MSU in 2004 in a 2-2 double overtime final.

NEXT UP
The Broncos host Northern Illinois for Homecoming as well as the team's Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday, Oct. 8 with kickoff slated for noon. Admission to all home soccer events are free of charge.