KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan men's soccer team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face Michigan State in the NCAA Third Round on Saturday, Nov. 25. Kickoff at DeMartin Stadium is 6 p.m. The game will be carried on Big Ten Network Plus.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Both Western Michigan (17-3-1) and Michigan State (12-3-3) earned first round byes in this year's NCAA Tournament as one of 16 top overall seeds nationally. The Broncos were given the No. 10 seed while MSU landed the No. 7 seed. Western Michigan defeated UAlbany 2-0 in the second round this past Sunday to advance while Michigan State defeated Virginia Tech, 3-0. The WMU-MSU winner will go on to face the winner of No. 2 Indiana and New Hampshire in the quarterfinals on Dec. 1 & 2.

BRONCO SEASON NOTABLES
• This is WMU's second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2003. The Broncos' victory over UAlbany was their first ever NCAA win
• Western Michigan won its first ever regular-season Mid-American Conference championship and finished as MAC Tournament runner-up
• WMU was ranked 10 consecutive weeks in the United Soccer Coaches poll, spending six in the top 10, and reached as high as No. 4
• 17-3-1 record - most wins in school history, previous record was 12
• 14 shutouts is a school record, previous record was 12
• WMU went undefeated in MAC play, 5-0-0, the Broncos did not allow a goal during MAC regular season, outscoring opponents 9-0
• Senior Brandon Bye was named MAC Player of the Year, head coach Chad Wiseman was named MAC Coach of the Year and a total of eight players were named All-MAC, including a school record five to the First Team. Bye was WMU's first ever MAC Player of the Year recipient
• Seniors Brandon Bye, Zach Bock and Drew Shepherd were named CoSIDA Academic All-District
• Five players have combined to earn 10 National Team of the Week honors

LEADING THE ATTACK
Senior MF Brandon Bye has 12 points and seven assists for 31 points and set a school record with 89 shots. He ranks fourth in the nation in shots per game (4.45) and shots on goals per game (2.15) and sixth in game-winning goals with five. Senior F Jay McIntosh is second on the team with 21 points off off six goals and a team-high nine assists. Juniors Ben Thornton and Kosti Moni each have five goals. Junior Tommy Clark has eight assists. As a team, Western Michigan has scored 37 goals and allowed just 14. The Broncos have totaled 44 assists and rank 13th in the nation in assists per game.

IN GOAL FOR THE BRONCOS
Redshirt senior Drew Shepherd set school goalkeeper records this year for career shutouts (29), single-season shutouts (13) and single-season wins (16). Shepherd is 12-2-1 this season in goal. His 13 shutouts ranks second most in the nation while his .662 goals against average ranks 16th. Redshirt junior Elijah Michaels has served as the backup, playing in two games and posting a 1-1 record, including a shutout over Akron.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State is ranked No. 12 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll. Overall, MSU has reached the NCAA Tournament 19 times with a 20-11-8 record. This is the Spartans' seventh NCAA appearance under head coach Damon Rensing. MSU has posted a 7-5-2 record in NCAA Tournament games under his guidance. The Spartans advanced to the Elite Eight in both 2013 and 2014.

The Spartans are led by a trio of first-team All-Big Ten honorees in redshirt-junior goalkeeper Jimmy Hague, senior defender Jimmy Fiscus and senior midfielder Ken Krolicki. Hague was also the first-ever Spartan to earn Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year honors. The Spartan defense has been stingy this season, allowing only 11 goals with 11 clean sheets. Two-time All-Big Ten selection junior forward Ryan Sierakowski leads the team in scoring with eight goals and three assists for 19 points.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan has defeated Michigan State just twice in school history, 1-0 in 1980 in Kalamazoo and 2-0 in East Lansing in 1993. The Broncos fell to the Spartans, 1-0, this season in Kalamazoo on Oct. 4. WMU was ranked No. 12 at the time, Michigan State was ranked No. 6. Michigan State broke the scoreless tie in the 51st minute as Ryan Sierakowski put a ball past WMU keeper Elijah Michaels after a run by Connor Corrigon.