ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team defeated Michigan at the U-M Soccer Stadium by a final score of 2-1 on Thursday evening. The Broncos (9-4 overall) have now won four of their last six matches against the Wolverines, including a 4-2-1 record under head coach Chad Wiseman. This also marks the first time that WMU has beaten both Michigan and Michigan State in the same season. 

"Good win on the road for our guys tonight," Wiseman said. "Michigan had a little more of the ball and we expected that coming into the match. We created the better of the scoring chances though, and it's fair to say that we left a couple of goals out there, but we found two goals and that proved to be enough."

The Broncos got on the scoreboard early in the first half, with senior captain Giuseppe Vitale striking a ball past the Wolverine goalkeeper less than two minutes into play. It was Vitale's second goal of the season and first since 9/08 against Green Bay. 

Western Michigan has not allowed a first half goal against in five consecutive matches. 

Michigan wasted no time in the second half, scoring an equalizing goal in the 47th minute, but the Broncos quickly responded 40 seconds later to retake the lead. Freshman midfielder Charlie Sharp finished a pass from Brennan Creek for his team best sixth goal of the year. Sharp, the reigning MAC Player of the Week, has now scored in three straight contests for the Broncos. Creek is now tied with Max Keenan for the team lead in assists with five each. 

"Impressive game winning goal from Sharp and Creek," remarked Wiseman. "It's great to see young guys stepping up and taking their moment."

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Isaac Walker has been outstanding for the Broncos in his last five starts and recorded two saves in the win. 

The Broncos had four shots on goal to Michigan's three, and earned six corner kicks in the second half. 

Western Michigan has now matched its best winning streak from the 2018 season with five consecutive victories. The Broncos have also collected six road wins in 2019, which is more than any program in the current RPI top 30.

Western Michigan will host Akron this Sunday in MAC action, with the kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m at the WMU Soccer Complex. 

"We will take a couple hours on the bus ride home to enjoy this and then all of our attention will be on Akron," Wiseman stated. "We haven't played a home game in some time, so I expect our supporters to be out in full force to witness a great college soccer match."

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