KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team received the No. 3 seed for the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament and hosts No. 6 seed Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in a MAC Quarterfinal match. Admission will be free at WMU Soccer Complex. 

MAC Men's Soccer Championship
Regular season champion West Virginia earned the No. 1 seed and will host this year's conference semifinal and final matches from Morgantown, W. Va. The winner of WMU/NIU will advance to face No. 2 seed Bowling Green on Friday, Nov. 9. No. 4 seed Akron hosts SIUE on Tuesday, Nov. 6 with the winner advancing to face WVU on Friday, Nov. 9. The championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE | BRACKET

WMU MAC Championship History
Dating back to 1994, Western Michigan is 9-21-5 all-time at the Mid-American Conference championships, while advancing three times in penalty kicks. The 2017 Broncos hosted the MAC Tournament and advanced to the conference championship contest for the first time since 2013. WMU defeated West Virginia 1-0 in the semifinals prior to falling 3-1 in the championship versus Akron. The Broncos won their first ever MAC Championship in 2003 with a 5-0 win over Bowling Green. WMU is alo 4-9-2 all-time in quarterfinal matchups. 

Last Time Out
Western Michigan (9-5-3, 1-1-2 MAC) most recently had its season finale at Akron University canceled due to a power outage. 

The Broncos earned their first MAC win of the year during senior day on Saturday, Oct. 27 at WMU Soccer Complex. WMU defeated NIU 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
Tuesday's match will mark the 32nd all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Northern Illinois, with the Huskies holding a 17-12-2 series advantage. The two teams recently met on Saturday, Oct. 27 with the Broncos prevailing 2-1. 

Scouting NIU
The Huskies (8-8-1, 1-4-0 MAC) closed out their regular season with a 4-3 overtime loss against West Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 3 to finish sixth in the conference standings. 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. The Huskies rank first in the MAC with 115 shots on goal, averaging 6.76 per game while ranking second with 27 goals on the season. Freshman forward Nick Markanich leads the Huskie attack with eight goals, which is tied for third in the MAC. Senior midfielder Kevin Rodriguez ranks second in the MAC with nine assists.

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 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 (10/27) on a penalty kick, his second PK tally of the year. Sipple ranks tied for eighth in the MAC with 13 points (5g-3a). 
• Anthony Bowie broke a 10-game scoreless drought versus NIU (10/27), recording his second goal of the year. 
• The Broncos' team leader in assists, Paul Liagre finished the regular season tied for fifth in the MAC with six helpers. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Lukas Von Lienen has started 12 games for WMU and ranks first in the MAC with a 0.92 goals against average.