KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team will look to remain undefeated in Mid-American Conference play on Sunday afternoon when the team travels to Bowling Green to square off with the Falcons. The game is set for 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan opened Mid-American Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Northern Illinois on Sept. 21. WMU received two goals from
Jen Blitchok and another from
Emily Pagett, while keeper
Lauren Boafo posted her fourth clean sheet of the season.
WHO WINS THE MAC?
Mid-American Conference play has started with six teams currently 1-0 in league play.
WMU has lofty expectations after making the MAC Tournament a season ago and earning four wins in non-conference play this season. The Broncos were picked second in the preseason coaches poll, received three first-place votes and got one vote to win the MAC Tournament.
Reigning champion Buffalo led the poll with 112 points, while WMU (104 points), Ball State (100 points), Bowling Green (98 points) and Miami (86 points) rounded out the top five.
BLAZIN' BRONCOS
The Broncos have proven to be a force on offense so far this season, as they lead the MAC in the a variety of offensive categories.
Through eight games this year, WMU leads the MAC in shots, goals, assists and points. The Broncos have totaled 127 shots and average just under 16 per game.
Goal wise, Western Michigan is tied with Toledo at 14 this season. However, the Brown and Gold have five more assists and points than the next highest team.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Western Michigan has the upper hand in the overall series, leading 17-11-2. The gap closes on the road, as WMU narrowly leads the series 6-5-1 at BGSU. Over the last 10, the series has been pretty even with the Broncos having a 5-4-1 record.
The Falcons opened conference play with a shutout victory at Toledo on Thursday. BGSU went 2-4 in non-conference action.
Ellie Pool and Brynn Gardner lead the team in goals with each having two this season. Four other Falcons have notched one goal as well.
In net, Lili Berg and Madison Vukas have each played in all seven games. Vukas has started four contests compared to three for Berg.
Vukas has been the better keeper statistically, as she boasts a 3-1-0 record, 1.43 goals against average and a .773 save percentage. Berg has a 2.29 goals against average and .704 save percentage.
