MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Michigan men's soccer team (4-3-1) lost its first game in five outings, being shut out on the road at Western Illinois Sunday, 3-0. The Leathernecks scored all three goals in the first half.

“We really came out flat in the first half and Western Illinois made us pay for it, punishing us with three goals,” said WMU head coach Chad Wiseman. “The second half was another story as we were all over them. Unfortunately, a lack of quality and a bit unlucky at times stopped us from scoring.

“It was a long road trip, heading up to get the win in Green Bay Friday and then coming down to Illinois to finish the weekend. Going 1-1 on the weekend isn't bad and games like this one will prepare us for a tough MAC season. I know the character of this team and they're not happy with their performance today. We will train hard this week and prepare for a home contest versus Northern Kentucky.”

Austin Gochneaur got the scoring going for Western Illinois (3-4-1) in the 13th minute, knocking in a header off of a Fernando Pacheco cross. Two minutes and 58 seconds later, Gochneaur fed an assist to Mario Alvarez who put the ball over the shoulder of Bronco goalkeeper Chase Rau. Alvarez struck again in the 35th minute for his second goal of the match, following a passing sequence through the WMU defense, to make it 3-0 Leathernecks.

After being held to just three shots in the first half, Western Michigan out-shot Western Illinois 15-3 and took six corner kicks in the second half. Leatherneck netminder Yves Dietrich was up to the task, making seven saves on the day, six in the second period of play.

Redshirt freshman Drew Shepherd replaced Rau in goal in the second half. Rau made two saves in the first 45 minutes and Shepherd made two in the scoreless second half.

Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo to host Northern Kentucky at home on Friday, Sept. 26 at 4 p.m.