KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan women's soccer team is set to open its 2018 Mid-American Conference schedule, hosting two matches versus conference foes at WMU Soccer Complex. The Broncos will host Akron on Friday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. prior to hosting Buffalo on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.

Last time out
The Broncos wrapped up non-conference play on Friday, Sept. 14, rallying to defeat Indiana State 3-2 in Terre Haute, Ind. for their sixth victory of the season. Down 1-0 after giving up a penalty in the first half, the Broncos flipped the game on its head in the second half on back-to-back-to-back goals by Morgan Otteson, Paige Dobbs, and Alyssa Burke to jump to a 3-1 lead. Otteson's goal came in the 62nd minute when she finished off a cross from Hannah Kahn, banking it off the right post and in for her second career goal. 

Series History
Friday's match will mark the 18th all-time meeting between the Western Michigan and Akron women's soccer programs, with the Broncos holding a 13-1-3 advantage in the series, including a 8-0-1 record in Kalamazoo. Last season, the Broncos prevailed 2-0 over the Zips in Akron, Ohio. Victoria McCartney and Ashleigh Garcia both scored their first career goals. 

Sunday's match will mark the 26th all-time meeting between the Western Michigan and Buffalo women's soccer programs, with the Bulls holding a 10-9-6 advantage in the series. A season ago, the Broncos fell 2-0 to the Bulls in Buffalo, N.Y.

Scouting Akron
The Zips closed out non-conference action last Friday, snapping a two-game losing skid with a 3-1 win over Robert Morris, improving their record to 3-4-1 overall on the season. Sydney Worthy and Ashley Amato lead the Akron attack with three goals each. Freshman goalkeeper Eric McKinney has played the majority of time in goal for the Zips, starting in six of eight games and owns a .761 save percentage. 

Scouting Buffalo 
After opening the season with a 3-1 loss at St. John's, the Bulls have won six straight, most recently winning 3-1 over St. Bonaventure last Friday. Senior forward Carissima Cutrona has led the Buffalo offense and is the leading scorer in the MAC with 17 points off five goals and seven assists. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Kelly, the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, has started each game in net and leads the conference with a .868 save percentage. 

Bronco Notables

• The 6-2 start to the 2018 season matches the same mark the 2016 Broncos put forth before entering the MAC schedule. 
• Sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Sargent is tied for the lead in the MAC with four shutouts. 
• Bailey Korhorn is tied for the lead in the MAC with three game-winning goals. 
• Hannah Kahn leads WMU with nine points (3g-3a), while Korhorn leads the Broncos with four goals and Grace Labadie leads the team with five assists.