KALAMAZOO, Mich.-- The Western Michigan men's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to five overall and 14 over in-state opponents after taking down Detroit Mercy 5-0 Wednesday evening. The Brown and Gold continued its dynamic play, after seeing goals from Dylan Sing, Nick Stone, Charlie Sharp, and Connor Burkett in the victory.
"That's 14 straight victories versus in-state opponents, that's a phenomenal streak!" Exclaimed head coach Chad Wiseman after the Broncos win over Detroit Mercy. During the first 45 minutes of play, redshirt junior Jonathan Robinson posted a career-high two assists after finding Sing and Stone for the Broncos two first-half goals. Additionally, Praise Maduekwe was credited with his first career assist as a Bronco during Stone's 41st-minute goal. "It was a good day at the WMU soccer complex for the Broncos!" said Wiseman, "We had some guys get their first career Bronco goals today, Connor Burkett and Nick Stone, congratulations to those two guys".
This evening two Broncos, Ronan Wilcox and Ben Derby, saw their first appearances for the Brown and Gold. "It's nice to see a lot of people getting involved. We have a lot of people playing well and going forward it's really nice to see that", explained Sing. "We have been really focused on the offensive side of things: We have scored 10 goals in the last two games. I am really happy to get on the stat sheet twice with two goals".
Western Michigan took a commanding 2-0 lead into halftime, but never took the foot off the gas: In the 55th and 66th minutes of the contest Sharp scored two goals from assisting teammates Carson Hodgson, Sing, and Burkett, to pave the way for a four-goal lead. "I think our ball movement makes us unpredictable, not knowing who's going to play the final pass, and how we get to scoring the goal: I think that is what makes us really good right now. We are becoming more and more unpredictable and that's giving teams a lot of trouble in the defensive end because we can score in so many different ways", noted Sing.
Later in the contest, Burkett found the back of the net during the 80th minute from assisting teammates Roni Sylejmani and Sing to put an exclamation on the victory. "I was happy with how we played and the result. We always want to come out at home and get three points", concluded Wiseman. Sing also expressed his excitement for his teammates saying, "It's also really nice to see different people scoring. Charlie got two today and Nick Stone, that's his first goal as a Bronco, and Conner Burkett, that's his first goal as well".
Historical Notes
Sharp passed Randy Wojtala (1976-79) for the second most goals scored in program history with his two score outing this evening. The senior from Brighton, Michigan, is now at seven goals for the season and has totaled 30 during his Bronco tenure. Sharp will need five more goals to pass Dan Edwards (1991-94) as the all-time leading scorer for the men's soccer program.
Today coach Wiseman became the second coach in program history to record 110 victories for the Western Michigan men's soccer team. Wiseman now sits 15 wins from tying Blake Glass (1983-1997) for a share of the most wins as a head coach for the Brown and Gold.
Up Next
The Brown and Gold will host Bowling Green for their final game of their homestand on Saturday, September 16, at 4:00 PM. Live stream and Live Stats information is available under the men's soccer schedule.
