Men's Soccer | January 19, 2018
PHILADELPHIA- Western Michigan senior goalkeeper
Drew Shepherd was drafted as the No. 46 overall pick by Toronto FC in the 2018 Major League Soccer (MLS) Draft. Shepherd became the second Bronco drafted on Friday, following teammate
Brandon Bye who went as the No. 8 overall pick to the New England Revolution.
Prior to this season, Western Michigan had only had one other soccer player drafted in school history. Goalkeeper Eric Pogue was selected 53rd overall by New England in 2001.
Shepherd had a 16-3-1 record in goal this season, earning Second Team All-American, Academic All-American and First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors. Responsible for 13 of the team's 14 shutouts, he ranked third in Division I for shutouts in 2017. His .727 goals-against average ranked 22nd and was 25th for goalkeeper minutes played (1857:03). Shepherd set a new WMU record for goalkeeper single-season wins (16), single-season shutouts (13), consecutive shutouts in a season (6) and career shutouts (29).
A four-year starter, Shepherd's career 0.75 goals-against average will also go down as best in school history. He finished with the second most career goalkeeper wins at WMU, totaling a career record of 34-12-10.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2015, Shepherd was the NCAA Division I statistical champion for goals-against average, allowing just four goals in 1101:24 minutes played for a .329 GAA. He also finished second among Division I keepers for save percentage (.879). He became WMU's first goalkeeper to be named First Team All-MAC.
Western Michigan won its first ever MAC regular season championship in 2017 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after defeating UAlbany in the second round. The Broncos (17-4-1 overall record) finished the season ranked No. 9 in the country and were ranked in the top 25 for 11 consecutive weeks. WMU peaked at a No. 4 ranking.
Born in Denver, Colorado (DOB: 12/25/94), Shepherd played his prep career at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the son of Andy and Amy Shepherd. Shepherd maintains a 3.38 GPA in aviation flight science and has a commercial pilot's license with an instrument rating.
