DAYTON, Ohio – The Western Michigan men's soccer team (5-1-2) continues its longest road stretch of the season against Wright State (2-3-3) Tuesday at 5:00 PM at Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex in Dayton, Ohio.
Tuesday's match against the Raiders will mark the second of four straight road contests for the Brown and Gold. Tomorrow, Western Michigan will face a balanced Wright State: Through the team's first eight matches, the Raiders have had three players tally both a goal and an assist, while six others have scored a single goal, and one other has added an assist. The Raiders are led by senior Reece Albaugh, freshman Felix Ezekwuka, and redshirt senior Jacob Adams, who have combined for four goals and four assists through eight games played. Wright State carries a 2-3-3 record into Tuesday's matchup and despite their losing record, the Raiders have played strong at home by securing a home record of 2-0-1 with wins over Milwaukee (1-0) and Bowling Green (3-0). During their three home matches the Raiders have conceded an average of one goal a game on their home turf compared to allowing 2.4 goals per game on the road.
WMU will be looking to improve its unbeaten streak to eight games Tuesday. With either a win or a tie, the Broncos will find themselves three games away from surpassing last year's season-high of 10 straight games without a loss. The Brown and Gold's current unbeaten streak record is 11, which was set in the 1983-84 and 2017 seasons.
In the goal department, Charlie Sharp and Dylan Sing continue to make waves this season: The two have combined for 12 goals in eight games during 2023 and are on pace to both enter the top three and potentially top two places in the all-time scoring list for WMU when all is said and done. Currently, Sharp is at 30 goals scored in his career with the Brown and Gold, which is four away from tying Dan Edwards (1991-94) for the most goals scored in program history. For Sing, after scoring five goals in his past four matches, he has jumped into a tie for seventh all time in goals scored (22) with Brandon Bye (2014-17). In the short term, Sing will need one goal to move into a tie with Craig VanRenterghem (1986-89) for sixth, and two goals to tie Tom Oatley (2004-07) and Mosen Khani (1979-82) for fourth in all-time goals scored for WMU.
Although the Broncos are 5-7 all-time against the Raiders, Western Michigan has turned the tide in the series by winning four out of the last five matchups. Most recently, the Brown and Gold defeated Wright State 2-0 on Senior Day last season at WMU Soccer Complex on October 22, 2022. Alumni Daniel Nimick (HFX Wanderers) and Mike Melaragni scored the two goals for the Broncos in the victory.
Live stats are available under the men's soccer schedule and the match will be broadcasted on ESPN+. For all things WMU men's soccer, make sure to follow the team's socials on Instagram @wmu_menssoccer, Twitter @wmumenssoccer, and Facebook @wmumenssoccer.
