RICHMOND, Ky. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team moved to 2-0 on the season after defeating Eastern Kentucky, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the EKU Soccer Field. The Broncos received goals from Drew Martin and Jen Blitchok to secure the victory. 

"Today was another really tough challenge against a very organized and dangerous EKU team," head coach Lewis Robinson said. "I thought our ladies played really well for large periods of the game and created a lot of good chances. We should have been more clinical in the second half to put the game away instead of keeping it close at the end, but the girls really stood up big in the final minutes to get over the line for the win. Overall, some fantastic early lessons for us in this opening part of our season, and it always feels great to take two wins home!"

FIRST HALF
Neither team could find much of an edge in the early portion of the game, with the teams combining for just three shots in the opening 20 minutes. However, the game began to open up, and the Broncos began to apply more pressure on the offensive end. Just over 30 minutes into the first half, Stephanie Currie blasted a shot on net, which was saved by EKU goaltender Marah Krick. 

Still, the Brown and Gold kept up the offensive intensity, and Reagan Wisser was fouled just outside the box. Martin stepped up and buried a shot inside the right post to give the Broncos a 1-0 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening 45 minutes. As the half ticked down, each team would record one more shot, but Western Michigan would carry a one-goal lead into halftime. 

SECOND HALF
Trailing by a goal, EKU came out aggressive in the second half, collecting the first four shots of the second 45 minutes. Then, WMU's offense came to life, as Bria Telemaque, Blitchok, Abby Werthman and Madison Cotta fired shots at the net to bring the shots even for the half. 

With under 10 minutes to play in the game, WMU looked to pad its lead by pressuring Krick. Blackburn and Werthman both put shots on net that were each saved. However, moments later, Brielle Gomez, made a centering pass to Heidi Thomasma who slid a touch pass to Emily Pagett. Pagett then found a cutting Blitchok, who beat her defender and buried a shot into the back of the net giving the Broncos a 2-0 lead with under five minutes to play. 

Down the stretch, the Colonels would make things interesting, with Ruby Dunlevy netting EKU's first goal of the season. With just two minutes left to play, WMU's defense would tighten up and not allow another shot on goal, securing the 2-1 victory. 

The game was pretty close statistically outside of total shots, The Broncos outshot EKU 16-7. However, shots on goal were tight, with WMU holding a 6-4 advantage. Each team was able to take three corner kicks. 

UP NEXT
The Broncos will return to Kalamazoo to host Butler on Aug. 27. This marks the first home game of the season for WMU, and tickets can be purchased here. The game is set for 1 PM and will be streamed live at wmubroncos.com.