KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The No. 10/16-ranked Western Michigan men's soccer team dropped its second consecutive contest on Thursday night in a top-10 showdown against the No. 9/11 ranked Butler Bulldogs, falling 2-0 at the WMU Soccer Complex.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMUMensSoccer

"In the first half we were great," commented WMU head coach Chad Wiseman. "We had the better possession, created better chances and we disrupted their rhythm. We also did an outstanding job on their top players and we needed to reward ourselves with a goal but we just couldn't punch one in."

After the first 45 minutes, the Broncos held Butler to just two shots in the first half all while producing six corners compared to the Bulldogs' two. For the game, Western Michigan outshot Butler 12-8 and held a 10-5 advantage in corner kicks but in the end it was the five-minute burst from the Bulldogs that was the deciding factor.

The Butler goals appeared in the second half, roughly just five minutes apart, as junior forward Brandon Guhl, who was voted Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and was selected to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, tallied them both at the 64th and 69th minute.

"The second half we came out strong but had a bad foul in a dangerous area that Butler took advantage," added Wiseman. "We couldn't regroup after the first goal and lacked leadership in that moment so Butler struck again and flipped the game on us."

The shutout loss is the second time this season the Broncos were held scoreless while WMU drops to 1-1 in Kalamazoo. Five yellow cards were handed out on the evening with all of them coming in the second half to three Broncos and two Bulldogs.

The loss hands Western Michigan its first loss to Butler since Aug. 30, 2013 as the series is now even at 2-2, breaking the two-game Bronco winning streak.

"We had a good performance today but to beat the best teams in the country you have to have leadership and discipline for 90 minutes," noted Wiseman. "We are still working on that."

The Brown & Gold fall to 1-2 on the season and have their work cut out for them on Monday, Aug. 3 as they travel to No. 20-ranked University Illinois-Chicago with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. The Broncos continue their mini road stint travelling to Michigan on Friday, Sept. 7 before coming home to host Drake on Sunday, Sept. 9. Admission to all WMU home soccer matches is free.