WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team opened the 2020-21 season with a 2-0 win on the road against Butler at the Grand Park Sports Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Junior forward Mike Melaragni scored both goals for the Broncos, while sophomore Isaac Walker made four saves to earn his first clean sheet of the season. Butler outshot Western Michigan 10-7 overall, with each team landing four on goal.
 
"What a great win for the boys in Brown and Gold today," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "We showed toughness, skill and discipline. I'm very proud of the performance."
 
Melaragni got the Broncos on the board in the 17th minute, finishing off a pass by Daniel Nimick for his first goal of the season.
 
The captain netted his second goal of the season in the 36th minute to push the lead to 2-0. Sophomore forward Charlie Sharp and senior Pepe Martinez-Bertrand helped set up the goal for their first assists of the year.
 
Walker made two saves in each half but the key one came near the end of the first 45 minutes.
 
"Isaac made a save at the end of the first half that was a next-level type save that most college keepers simply do not have the range to," said Wiseman. "That allowed us to carry our momentum into the second half."
 
The Broncos limited the Bulldogs to just three total shots in the second half to secure the win and the clean sheet.
 
"Isaac, Pepe and Tony Rizzo have been through a lot these last four months," Wiseman added. "I'm so proud of them to show their true character today against Butler and help lead us to vitory."
 
"We have to get better and everyone on our team knows that. You only have one chance to go 1-0 on the season and they accomplished that. It has been soo long since we have played a game that counts. We will take time to enjoy this and grow as a team. We have missed these moments over the last 15 minutes but the boys had a lot of fun out there today and it makes us coaches extremely happy to see that."
 
Western Michigan returns to the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind., on Friday, Dec. 26 to take on DePaul at 3 p.m.