KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The No. 3 seeded Western Michigan men's soccer team is set face No. 2 seed Bowling Green State University on Friday, Nov. 9 in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals in Morgantown, W. Va. on the campus of West Virginia University. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium with the match being broadcasted on ESPN3.

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. In the quarterfinals, WMU defeated No. 6 seed Northern Illinois to advance to the semifinals, while No. 4 seed Akron defeated No. 5 seed SIUE to advance to the other semifinal and face West Virginia. The winners will advance to the MAC Championship, set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11. 

Tickets
Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800 WVU GAME. Tickets are $5 each and $3 for groups of 10 or more when purchased in advance at WVUGAME.com. At the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium ticket window, tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until kickoff of Friday's first match. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid lines at the gate on game day. Tickets for students are free with a valid student I.D. One ticket will be good for both of Friday's semifinal matches.

Parking
With the men's basketball team playing at 9 p.m. Friday night, parking will be extremely limited in the parking lots around the WVU Coliseum Complex on Friday. Fans who arrive to park for the men's soccer MAC semifinals in the Natatorium/Band lot before 6 p.m. can park free of charge. Fans who arrive after 6 p.m. to park in the Natatorium/Band lot will be charged $10 for parking to attend either the soccer match or the basketball game.

Clear Bag Policy
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.

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WMU MAC Championship History
Dating back to 1994, Western Michigan is 10-21-5 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 5-9-2 all-time in quarterfinal matchups. 

Last Time Out
Western Michigan (10-5-3, 1-1-2 MAC) won 3-1 over NIU on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at WMU Soccer Complex, advancing to the MAC Semifinals for the sixth consecutive season. After conceding an early goal, the Broncos tallied three unanswered goals, all in the first half, to seal the victory. Cameron Sipple, Caden Jackman, and Tommy Clark scored the Bronco goals, with Jackman's game-winner coming off a Sipple free kick at the 29th minute. 

Series History
Friday's match will mark the 46th all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Bowling Green, with the Falcons holding a 27-14-4 series advantage. The two teams recently faced on Oct. 20 in Bowling Green, Ohio, playing to a 1-1 draw in double overtime. Down a goal late in the match, Cameron Sipple scored at the 88th minute to knot the score at 1-1. 

The Broncos and Falcons have also faced each other four times in the MAC Tournament. WMU has won three of the four matchups, including the 5-0 win in the 2003 Championship. The last affair came during the 2010 season, in which WMU defeated BGSU 1-0 in the semifinals, eventually falling 4-1 to Akron in the Championship. 

Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons (6-6-4) finished second in the 2018 MAC Standings with a 2-1-2 conference mark. Bowling Green closed out its regular season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 3 with a 2-0 win over SIU Edwardsville to claim the No. 2 seed in the MAC with eight conference points, securing a first round bye to the MAC Semifinals. BGSU is led by seniors Tate Robertson and Ebenezer Ackon. Robertson leads the team in scoring with 19 points (4g-11a) while leading the MAC in assists, and Ackon leads the team with five goals. Goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia has started all 16 games in net for the Falcons and has notched four shutouts while recording a 1.35 goals against average. 

Thornton and Sipple Named All-MAC
The Mid-American Conference announced the 2018 Men's Soccer postseason awards Thursday, Nov. 8, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Western Michigan's Ben Thornton was selected to the All-MAC First Team, while Cameron Sipple earned Second Team All-MAC honors. 

Bowie Named CoSIDA Academic All-District 
The 2018 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Soccer Teams were released Thursday, Nov. 8 with Anthony Bowiefrom the Western Michigan men's soccer team selected to the 12-member District 5 Team, which features student-athletes of institutions from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District Men's Soccer Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.

Bronco Notables

• WMU is set for its sixth-straight appearance in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament
• Cameron Sipple scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season versus NIU on Tuesday, converting his third penalty kick goal of the year. He is 3-for-3 on PK attempts. 
• Sipple is riding a three-game point streak after a career-high three points (1g-1a) versus NIU. He has scored in three-straight games, totaling seven points. 
• Caden Jackman scored his second goal of the season versus NIU. The Bronco freshman class this season has contributed seven goals with three from Zack Shane and two each from Mike Melaragni and Jackman. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Lukas Von Lienen has started 13 games for WMU and leads MAC with a 0.93 goals against average.