KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team officially opens the 2020-21 season on Wednesday against Butler. The game has been moved indoors Grand Park Spots Campus in Westfield, Ind.
THE SERIES
Butler leads the all-time series at 3-2-0. The teams have met in each of the last three seasons, with the Bulldogs taking the previous two. The last win for the Broncos was on Sept. 8, 2017 against a then No. 15-ranked Butler team.
POLL POSITION
The Broncos were picked to finish second in the annual Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll. WMU finished five points behind Akron and received two of the five first place votes, with the Zips getting three and Bowling Green getting one.
2021 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
- Akron – 33 (3)
- Western Michigan – 28 (2)
- Bowling Green – 21 (1)
- West Virginia – 18
- Northern Illinois – 14
- SIUE – 12
THE LONG BREAK
Wednesday's season-opener will be WMU's first (non-exhibition) soccer game in 461 days. The last time the Broncos were in action during the regular season was in the MAC Tournament Semifinals against West Virginia. WMU fell to WVU 3-2.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
Western Michigan opens the season with three captains to lead the team. Senior defender
Brendan Skinner, junior midfielder
Caden Jackman and junior forward
Mike Melaragni were tabbed by teammates and coaching staff to captain the team.
ON THE HORIZON
The Broncos are back in action next Friday and return back to the Grand Park Sports Campus to take on DePaul at 3 p.m. WMU does not have a scheduled home game until Sunday, March 14 against West Virginia at 1 p.m. Attendance restrictions due to COVID-19 are still to be determined.
