Game 15
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois
Friday, October 25 l 8 p.m.
DeKalb, Ill. | NIU Soccer Complex
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Game 16
Western Michigan at Detroit Mercy
Tuesday, October 29 l 7 p.m.
Detroit, Mich. | Titan Field
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team will travel to Northern Illinois this Friday for a Mid-American Conference contest. The Broncos will then head to Detroit Mercy for their final regular season non-conference match on Tuesday evening. 

Northern Illinois Series History
This marks the 33rd meeting between these two programs, with NIU leading the all-time series 17-13-2. The Broncos have had the Huskies number in recent years, going 7-0-1 against them dating back to 2012, including a 3-1 victory in the MAC quarterfinals last year. 

Scouting the Huskies
Northern Illinois is coming off a 4-2 conference victory at West Virginia on Friday, which improved its overall record to 6-7-1 on the season. The Huskies were picked to finish sixth in the 2019 MAC preseason coaches' poll in August. 

Reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Nick Markanich leads NIU in scoring, having recorded six goals and 13 points on the year. Junior midfielder Alex Welch scored twice against the Mountaineers to earn MAC Player of the Week accolades on Tuesday morning. 

Detroit Mercy Series History
The Titans lead the all-time series 16-10-4 over the Broncos, but Western Michigan won the last match-up by a final score of 2-1 on 9/26/2018 in Kalamazoo. These two teams last met in Detroit during the 2015 campaign, which ended in a scoreless draw.

Scouting the Titans
Detroit Mercy has lost its last two matches, falling to Western Illinois and Wright State, which dropped its overall record to 4-9-1. The Titans were picked ninth in the Horizon League preseason poll, which is where they finished in 2018.

Redshirt sophomore Kyle Bandyk and junior forward Mohamad Miri have notched two goals each on the year, with Bandyk collecting a team-best six points. Sophomore goalkeeper Devin Mendez has made all 14 starts for UDM in net, recording 53 saves in 1283 minutes played. 

In-State Dominance
WMU is now 3-0 against in-state opponents following its 2-1 win at Michigan, and have defeated the Wolverines and Michigan State in the same season for the first time in program history. The Broncos, who are currently on a six game unbeaten streak, rose three more spots to #4 in the latest United Soccer Coaches North Region rankings, which were released on Monday. Western Michigan also received votes in the College Soccer News top 30 national poll for the first time in 2019.

Freshmen Leading the Way
Charlie Sharp has earned points in five consecutive games, including two game winning goals, to now lead his team in scoring with 14 points on the year. The freshman from Brighton, Mich., earned National Team of the Week honors from both Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News for his efforts. Midfielder Brennan Creek leads the Broncos in assists this season with six. Creek was ranked #72 on the Top Drawer Soccer Freshmen Mid-season Top 100 list that came out this week. 

Next Up
Western Michigan will welcome Bowling Green to Kalamazoo for an afternoon MAC contest on Saturday, November 2. 

#WeWillReign