SANDY, Ut. -- On Sunday afternoon the Western Michigan men's soccer team picked up their first win of 2023 on the road with a 3-1 victory over Kyle Beckerman and the Utah Valley Wolverines. Carson Hodgson scored his first two career goals, while Charlie Sharp added one himself, to lead the Broncos to the afternoon win.
Game Notes
"I would like to thank Utah Valley and coach Beckerman for welcoming the Broncos out here and giving us an opportunity to play at a beautiful top class facility in America First Field. What an experience for our student athletes", said head coach Chad Wiseman.
The Brown and Gold were able to capitalize early in Sunday's contest: During the eighth minute of the first half, Western Michigan seized the opportunity to score on a corner kick after Jaylen Shannon's shot was blocked, hurtling the ball out of play. During the corner kick for WMU, freshman Hodgson stepped up and scored the first goal of his Bronco career. After receiving the ball from assisting teammates Jonathan Robinson and Shannon, Hodgson knocked one into the bottom right corner of the net, propelling Western to a pivotal 1-0 lead over the Wolverines. "We thought we could find some success on set pieces going into the match and we did just that. Congratulations to Carson on scoring his first collegiate goal", credited Wiseman.
During WMU's goal, Robinson tacked on his sixth career assist for the Broncos, while Shannon recorded his fifth career assist for the brown and gold. "Utah was very accountable on the ball today, they moved it well and had us pinned in for long stretches, that being said, we did a great job defensively not to give them good looks at goal", explained Wisemnan. "All and all I believe we got better today, we learned a few things about ourselves as we continue to grow and create our team identity".
The Broncos took a 1-0 lead into halftime; however, during the opening five minutes of the second half, Utah Valley responded to the Broncos first half goal and countered, tying the game at one all. Minutes later, Sharp would put his team back in front by netting the 24th goal of his career.
After a standstill for the majority of the second half, Hodgson netted his second goal of the contest with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to put a stamp on WMU's victory. During the goal, Hodgson's teammates Will Perkins and Sharp were credited with an assist each.
"It's the response we in Bronco Nation expect to see coming off the Vermont match. Not many programs would create a 10 day, three game opening away trip, in three different states, multiple time zones, altitude changes and against quality teams. We did and we understand the challenges that come with that. It was a really hard fought match today, congratulations to the guys on securing their first victory of the season", concluded Wiseman.
Historical Notes
Sunday's contest between the Wolverines and the Broncos marked the first ever matchup between the two programs.
On Sunday afternoon, Sharp inserted himself into a three player tie with Tom Oatly (2004-07) and Mosen Khani (1979-82) for the third most goals in program history with 24.
Sharp needs five more goals to be tied with Randy Wojtala (1976-79) for second in program history with 29 goals. The current career leading goal scorer for WMU is Dan Edwards (1991-94), who scored 34 goals during his time with the Broncos. Additionally, Sharp is tied for 22nd in goals scored by active NCAA Division I men's soccer players.
After the brown and gold's win, head coach Wiseman sits three victories away from becoming the second coach in program history to eclipse 110 career victories. Wiseman, now with 107 victories, is currently 18 wins away from sharing the all-time wins record (125 wins) with Blake Glass (1983-1997).
Up Next
The Brown and Gold will conclude their three game road trip against Air Force on Thursday, August 31, at 7:00 PM in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Live stats information is available under the men's soccer schedule.
