ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team set a new eight-game school record, improving its overall record to 7-1-0 with a 1-0 victory at the University of Michigan Wednesday night. The 7-1-0 start is one win better than the 2003 MAC Tournament Championship team that began their season with a 6-2-0 record.

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MAN OF THE MATCH
Senior midfielder Diego Lopez tallied the game's only goal in the 53rd minute for his third goal as a Bronco. Lopez played his first three seasons at Western Illinois before transferring to Western Michigan for his final season.

NOTABLE
Western Michigan has won three of the last four games (3-1) against the Wolverines, dating back to 2011. All four of those games have been played in Ann Arbor.

Western Michigan recorded its sixth shutout in eight games. Redshirt junior Drew Shepherd played the full 90 minutes in goal and turned away a season-high six shots. Shepherd now has 17 saves on the year, an .810 save percentage and a 0.50 goals-against average.

QUOTING WISEMAN
"I am so very happy for the guys," said WMU head coach Chad Wiseman. "We deserved the win tonight and the men did just that. Michigan came out flying to start the match, they created three good chances early on and we relied on Drew to make some very big saves.

We were confident going into the game that we could find a goal. The first 20 minutes of the second half we could have scored three maybe four, we were all over them. Diego had a great finish. Alex Ruddock played beyond his years tonight. As a redshirt freshman he stood tall playing against one of the most dangerous attacking players in the country in their midfielder Francis Atuahene. I am very proud of his effort.

We have a lot of respect for Michigan's program. They have very good players all over the field. Our guys right now are having a lot of fun. As a coach its great to see all their hard work paying off."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Western Michigan had two shots and three corner kicks in the opening period, while Michigan fired off four shots and four corner kicks. The score was deadlocked at halftime, 0-0.

Shepherd was called upon to make three saves in each half and was required to make his first stop just a minute into the match. Four minutes later, he stepped up again, deflecting a shot over the crossbar.

Play picked up in the second half, with each team pressuring on the attack. WMU defended 10 second-half shots and seven Michigan corners, while taking six shots and just one corner in the final 45 minutes.

Lopez's game winner came in the 53rd minute, as he took a feed from junior midfielder Brandon Bye and took a quick touch 10 yards out. Lopez turned and fired low, sizzling the ball past Michigan keeper Evan Louro.

Bye's assist was his team-leading fifth of the year and gives him 15 points on the season. Bye has recorded a point in all but two of WMU's contests in 2016.

Shepherd rose to the occasion again in the second half. Michigan had a late opportunity with a dangerous through ball in the 83rd minute, but the big WMU keeper was there to clear the threat away.

NEXT UP
The Broncos return to Kalamazoo for three straight home matches, beginning with Detroit this Saturday, Sept. 24 at noon. WMU takes on Drake, Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m., and Bradley on Saturday, Oct. 1 at noon. All games at the WMU Soccer Complex are free admission.