KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team is set for its final regular season home match of the season on Saturday, Oct. 27, hosting Northern Illinois University at WMU Soccer Complex. The 2018 Bronco senior class will be honored prior to a 1 p.m. kickoff. 

Senior Day
Seven Bronco seniors will be honored while playing their final regular season match at WMU Soccer Complex. Tommy Clark, Connor McNulty, Elijah Michaels, Kosti Moni, Jake Rufe, Cameron Sipple, and Ben Thornton will be recognized for their contribution to the program. 

Last Time Out
Western Michigan (8-5-3, 0-1-2 MAC) played to overtime for the third consecutive match, tying Bowling Green 1-1 after two overtimes in Bowling Green, Ohio. Down 1-0 late in the match, Cameron Sipple tallied the equalizer with just over a minute remaining, his fourth goal of the season. 

Series History
Saturday's match will mark the 31st all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, with the Huskies holding a 17-11-2 series advantage. The Broncos are unbeaten in five-straight matchups versus NIU, including a 5-0 victory last season in DeKalb, Ill. 

Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies (8-6-1, 1-2-0 MAC) dropped their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 23, falling 1-0 at Loyola Chicago. NIU opened its conference slate with back-to-back overtime losses against SIUE and Bowling Green prior to prevailing 2-1 over Akron to earn three points in the MAC standings, where they sit in fourth place. In September, the Huskies had a five-game winning streak in which they outscored their opponents 10-3 before having the streak snapped during a loss to No. 13 Portland. Freshman forward Nick Markanich leads the Huskie attack with eight goals, which is tied for second in the MAC. Senior midfielder Kevin Rodriguez is tied for the MAC lead with eight assists. Redshirt Junior goalkeeper Konrad Dziedzic has started all but one goal for NIU and has recorded five shutouts (T-2nd/MAC). 

Around the MAC
West Virginia, receiving votes in all three media polls, sits atop the standings with six points and is unbeaten in the MAC with wins over WMU, Akron, and SIUE. BGSU, SIUE, and NIU follow with one win each, while WMU and Akron are searching for its first conference wins. 

MAC Standings

Oct. 26 MAC Schedule
Bowling Green at West Virginia

Oct. 27 MAC Schedule
NIU at WMU
Akron at SIUE

Bronco Notables

• The Broncos are 6-2-1 when playing at their home field and are 2-3-2 when playing away from WMU Soccer Complex. 
• WMU is ranked for the second consecutive week in the United Soccer Coaches North Region Poll, coming in at No. 10 in the week nine poll. 
• WMU recorded its first overtime victory of the season versus Xavier Oct. 16, winning 2-1. The last WMU overtime win came during a 1-0 OT win at then-ranked No. 15 West Virginia University Oct. 20, 2017. 
• Tommy Clark was selected as a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award Sept. 19.
• WMU ranks first in the MAC with 108 corner kicks, averaging 6.75 per game.
• Cameron Sipple claimed the WMU scoring lead after scoring his fourth goal of the season at BGSU. Sipple ranks tied for seventh in the MAC with 11 points (4g-3a). 
• Sipple, Ben Thornton, and Kosti Moni all share the goal-scoring lead with four tallies each. 
• Paul Liagre, a junior college transfer, scored his first goal as a Bronco at SIUE Oct. 13. Liagre leads the team with six assists, which ranks fourth in the MAC.
• Freshman goalkeeper Lukas Von Lienen has started 12 games for WMU and ranks first in the MAC with a 0.96 goals against average. 
• Former Bronco Scott Duhl was inducted into the WMU Hall of Fame Class of 2018.