KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team prepares for its final regular season game of the 2018 season on Saturday, Nov. 3, facing Akron University with Mid-American Conference playoff seedings on the line. The rematch of last year's MAC Tournament Championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoff at FirstEnergy Stadium in Akron, Ohio.

Last Time Out
Western Michigan (9-5-3, 1-1-2 MAC) earned its first MAC win of the year during senior day on Saturday, Oct. 27 at WMU Soccer Complex. The Broncos defeated the Huskies 2-1 with goals from Anthony Bowie and Cameron Sipple. Elijah Michaels made his fifth start of the season in net for the Brown & Gold and picked up his third win of the year. 

Series History
Saturday's match will mark the 41st all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Akron, with the Zips holding a 33-4-3 series advantage. Last season, the Broncos defeated then-ranked No. 8 Akron 1-0 in Kalamazoo. Tommy Clark scored his first goal as a Bronco on a free kick for the game-winner. The two teams then faced each other in the MAC Championship, with the Zips prevailing 3-1. 

Scouting Akron
The Zips (7-6-2, 1-2-1 MAC) most recently earned their first conference win of the season on Saturday, Oct. 27, winning 1-0 at SIUE. David Egbo scored the game-winner, his team-leading ninth of the season, which is tied for the lead in the MAC. Akron closed out its non-conference schedule wins over two opponents both ranked No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, defeating Michigan State 2-1 Oct. 9, followed by a 1-0 win over Creighton Oct. 16. As a team, the Zips are tied for the conference lead with six shutouts and rank second averaging 1.73 goals per game. 

Around the MAC
West Virginia secured the MAC regular season title with a 3-2 win over Bowling Green last Saturday, improving to 4-0-0 during conference play. Joey Piatczyc scored the game-winner versus BGSU en route to earning the MAC Player of the Week. With its first MAC win, WMU earned three points and currently share second place in the standings with BGSU, each with a 1-1-2 conference mark. SIUE and Akron follow with a win and two draws each, while NIU is 1-3 will three points. 

As the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament, West Virginia will host both semifinal matchups along with the championship. With a WMU win and a BGSU loss/tie on Saturday, the Broncos would earn the No. 2 seed for the MAC Tournament and play in the semifinals Friday, No. 9 versus the winner of the No. 3/6 matchup. With a WMU loss, the Broncos could potentially end up anywhere from third to sixth in the standings and would be slated for a quarterfinal match on Tuesday, Nov. 6. 

MAC Standings | MAC Tournament Page

Nov. 3 MAC Schedule
WMU at Akron
SIUE at BGSU
West Virginia at NIU

Bronco Notables

• The Broncos are 7-2-1 when playing at their home field and are 2-3-2 when playing away from WMU Soccer Complex. 
• WMU is ranked for the third consecutive week in the United Soccer Coaches North Region Poll, coming in at No. 10 for the second-straight week.
• WMU ranks first in the MAC with a 1.01 goals against average and 115 corner kicks - averaging 6.76 per game. 
• Cameron Sipple scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season versus NIU on a penalty kick, his second PK tally of the year. Sipple ranks seventh in the MAC with 13 points (5g-3a). 
• Anthony Bowie broke a 10-game scoreless drought versus NIU, recording his second goal of the year. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Lukas Von Lienen has started 12 games for WMU and ranks first in the MAC with a 0.92 goals against average. 
• Former Bronco Scott Duhl was inducted into the WMU Hall of Fame Class of 2018.