KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan men's soccer team (5-0-1) finishes its road trip with in-state opponent Oakland on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m which can be seen on ESPN3. The Broncos then return to the WMU Soccer Complex on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. to host Dayton.
 
WMU WEEKEND ROAD TRIP
The Broncos faced off against No. 15 Butler last Friday. Butler took the lead early on but WMU scored three goals in seven minutes to take a commanding 3-1 advantage. Goals came from redshirt junior midfielder Jake Rufe, senior midfielder Brandon Bye and sophomore midfielder Anthony Bowie. WMU's last win against a top-25 opponent was on Oct. 26, 2014 when the Broncos upset No. 19 Akron on the road, 1-0. The Broncos faced Drake to finish the weekend. WMU took control early with a goal from junior defender Ben Thornton in the 13^th minute. Bye got on the board in the 60^th minute to give the Broncos a 2-0 cushion. Drake scored late but the Broncos were able to hold on and secure another victory.
 
BRONCOS CRACK TOP-25
College Soccer News and United Soccer Coaches released their updated rankings and have ranked Western Michigan men's soccer team No. 18 (CSN Poll) and No. 24. (USC Poll) respectively. This is the first time since Sept. 15, 2015 that WMU has been ranked inside the top-25. WMU has tied its highest ranking ever as a program at No. 18.
 
BYE GAINS NATIONAL ATTENTION
Midfielder Brandon Bye was named National Player of the Week by College Soccer News, Mid-American Conference Player of the Week and was selected to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week. Bye had seven points coming off of three goals and an assist in three games for the Broncos during the week. Bye now has 12 points on the year with four goals and four assists.
 
SCOUTING OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies have started 1-4-0 in the 2017 season. The lone win coming in their first game of the season against VCU. Head coach Eric Pogue is a WMU Alumni, Pogue started in goal for the Broncos from 1996-2000. Pogue was named team captain for his final three seasons and earned Second Team All-MAC honors his final season. Nebojsa Popovic is leading Oakland in points with five coming off of two goals and an assist. Oakland has rotated Wes Mink and Liam McQueenie in goal. Mink has two saves on the season with a .333 save percentage while McQueenie has 12 saves with a .632 save percentage. The Golden Grizzlies are taking more corner kicks than their opponents (22-21). The last time WMU faced Oakland was on Aug. 23, 2014 in which the Broncos won 1-0.  
 
SCOUTING DAYTON
The Flyers have gotten off to a 2-2-2 start for their 2017 campaign. Before facing the Broncos Sunday, the Flyers play Wednesday on the road against Northern Kentucky. Thor Helgason is leading the Flyers with six points off of three goals. Nearly half of the goals for Dayton have been assisted by Alvaro Navarro. In goal for Dayton is Federico Barrios who has made 26 saves with a .813 save percentage. Dayton is outshooting its opponents 100-57, but only .390 of those shots have landed on goal. The Fylers are averaging 16.7 shots a game and 5.83 corner kicks a game. WMU defeated Dayton 2-0 in the second game of last season.  
 
NEXT FOR THE BRONCOS
 WMU will host Michigan at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 as a part of Kingdom Youth Day. The Broncos will travel to University of Maryland Baltimore County on Saturday, Sept. 23 for a matchup starting at 7 p.m.