KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team takes a respite from Mid-American Conference play, traveling to Spring Arbor on Wednesday for a non-conference game against the Cougars at 4 p.m.
 
WMU suffered a 2-1 loss in its MAC opener last Sunday at SIU-Edwardsville, the team's first loss of the seasons. SIUE scored two early goals and bunkered in for the final 70 minutes. The Broncos cut the lead to 2-1 in the 72nd minute on free kick by Daniel Nimick. The Broncos pressed, outshooting the Cougars 13-6, but were unable to find the equalizer.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Spring Arbor was recently ranked 11th in the nation in the most recent NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Poll.  SAU played a partial schedule in the fall and comes into Wednesday with a 7-2-2 record. However, this will be the first game this spring for the Cougars, who have had three games canceled so far since they started back in up February.
 
Senior Midfielder Russell Cole has 10 of the team's 18 goals on the season and no other Cougar has more than three. Zoltan Suranyi is second on the team in points with nine on three goals and three assists. Junior goalkeeper Christopher Banfi has four shutouts on the season and has made 41 total saves.
 
FINALLY
On Sunday the Broncos return to the WMU Soccer Complex for the first time in 736 days. WMU welcomes West Virginia for its MAC home-opener at 1 p.m. The game can be seen live on WMUBroncos.com/watch.