KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team were defeated in overtime by non-conference opponent Illinois Chicago at the WMU Soccer Complex, with both teams combining for a total of seven goals and 30 shots.

"I thought it was a great college soccer match with two teams being aggressive and not sitting back," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "It just stings a little being on the wrong end of the result. We had some mistakes with our goalkeeping and center back play and we got punished for it."

The Flames struck first early on in the first half, with Eduardo Garcia putting his team up 1-0 in the 14^th minute.

"There first goal was very good," Wiseman remarked. "It's what they do best with quick combinations and runs off the ball."

Ten minutes later, sophomore forward Eric Conerty scored his second goal of the 2019 campaign to tie the contest at 1-1.

"Conerty had an absolute blast from distance, which is something we seem him do a lot in training," Wiseman stated.

In the 34^th minute, the Broncos took their first lead of the match, thanks to a goal from freshman Max Keenan. It was the first goal of his collegiate career, with sophomore forward Mike Melaragni and Conerty earning the assists.

"Congrats to Max on his first collegiate goal," Wiseman said. "He had a great run to get in behind the defense and a very nice finish."

The Flames retook the lead at 3-2 with goals right before the end of the first half and two minutes into the second half.

"It is disappointing that we didn't show the leadership needed to finish and start a half," remarked Wiseman. "We have that leadership, but we just didn't show it today in a couple of key moments."

Freshman midfielder Charlie Sharp responded quickly for the Broncos, tying the contest at 3-3 in the 49^th minute off a beautiful finish inside the box. Another freshman midfielder, Brennan Creek, picked up his fourth assist of the year on the goal.

The Broncos had an opportunity to take the lead late in the second half on a play by senior defender Paul Liagre and graduate defender Sam Biek.

"With three minutes remaining I thought we had the game winner," said Wiseman. "Paul made a great run down the right flank and delivered a fantastic ball on the head of Sam inside the six-yard box, but he headed it just wide of the open net."

The only shot attempt in the overtime period resulted in the conclusion of the game, with Eduardo Garcia scoring his second goal of the evening following a corner kick opportunity for the Flames.

"Our fight was fantastic today," concluded Wiseman. "Our schedule is set up to play top programs and sometimes the fight we show just isn't enough, which I think we have learned in these last couple overtime losses. We will regroup and prepare ourselves for a good Xavier team."

Western Michigan will now head to Cincinnati, Ohio for a non-conference match with Xavier on Tuesday night.