CHICAGO- Western Michigan junior
Nick Wysong drilled a shot from eight yards out in the 62nd minute and the Bronco defense held on for the shutout as WMU defeated DePaul on the road Sunday, 1-0, in the final game of the Chicago Classic.
“To beat a team out of the Big East, a very tough soccer conference shows we're capable of big things in 2014,” said WMU head coach
Chad Wiseman. “I am very proud of the effort today. DePaul is a good team who is very organized and disciplined in their system. We put in a complete 90 minutes and deserved the win.”
Western Michigan placed second at the classic over the weekend, ahead of DePaul in third and Utah Valley in fourth. Loyola-Chicago won the tournament, defeating WMU 1-0 Friday night and Utah Valley 1-0 Sunday. Wysong and teammates
Zach Bock and
Cam Jensen were named to the all-tournament team.
“Wysong was the best player on the field the entire weekend. His commitment, quality and leadership was unmatched, he is settling into a Bronco uniform as expected.”
Bock and fellow freshman
Brandon Bye made their first career starts in the Brown & Gold. Bock played a full 90 minutes, while Bye played 86 and had the assist on Wysong's goal.
“Bock and Bye put in two big time performances today,” said Wiseman. “They were physical, aggressive and relentless the entire match. Both took a big step forward today and I am extremely happy for them.”
The game was fairly even statistically, with Western Michigan taking 12 shots and the Blue Demons attempting 11. WMU also held a slight 5-4 advantage on corner kicks. Bronco junior
Chase Rau made four saves in goal for his fifth career shutout.
The win was WMU's (1-2-1) first of the year. In four all-time meetings with DePaul, Western Michigan has never lost to the Blue Demons.
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo for a pair of home games next weekend, Sept. 12 & 14, which is also Alumni Weekend for the Bronco soccer programs. The men host Butler Friday at 5 p.m. and Eastern Illinois Sunday at 2:30 p.m., following a noon women's game vs. UIC. The men's soccer program will also be honoring the 1974 team on Sunday at the WMU Soccer Complex. The annual golf outing will be held Saturday at Thornapple Creek Golf Club.
“It should be an exciting week as we look to welcome over 200 alumni next weekend. With another Big East opponent on the horizon, we must We must continue to get better. I know our team the men will have that mentality.”
