CHICAGO, Ill. – Dylan Sing and the Western Michigan men's soccer team defeated #20 University of Illinois at Chicago Flames 1-0 Saturday evening. Sing's goal was the difference in the contest and improved the Brown and Gold's season best win streak to a ninth straight game without a loss.
The Brown and Gold grabbed their second Missouri Valley Conference victory this evening. With the win, WMU and #9 Missouri State are the last two teams to remain undefeated in conference play.
As a team, Western Michigan was outshot by UIC 14-9. However, the most important shot of the match occurred in the 55th minute when Sing put the Broncos up for good.
"This was a great team victory on the road vs a top 25 team that has been playing extremely well to start the season", noted head coach Chad Wiseman. Tanner Hodgson, who assisted Sing on the game winning goal, recorded his first assist of the season and fifth of his career Saturday evening.
On the defensive end, goalkeeper Ethan Brandt notched his second consecutive shutout and his fifth of the season. Western's defensive back line led by junior captain Jonathan Robinson has performed exceptionally during the month of September. During the seven games this month, the Brown and Gold have allowed an average of 0.85 goals per match. "To shut out UIC on their home field is saying something. I am very impressed with the discipline and cohesiveness we showed on that side of the ball", said Wiseman.
Additionally Coach Wiseman praised the team's reserves and their readiness for when their names were called, "We got some big time performances from players that hadn't played that much at this point in the season. Vianney and Tanner gave us great minutes today and we needed that", explained Wiseman.
Historical Notes
After losing to #12 ranked University of Vermont on August 24, Western Michigan has now registered nine straight games without a loss. The Brown and Gold are one game away from matching last year's best unbeaten streak of 10 games, in which they recorded nine wins and one tie from Thursday, September 1, 2022 - Sunday, October 9, 2022. The program record for the most games without a loss is 11, which has been set twice: first in the 1983-84 season and last matched during the 2017 campaign.
This evening, Sing's goal extended his personal (and program) record to a sixth consecutive game with a goal scored. "Dylan Sing, what can you say...first he broke Brandon Bye's consecutive goal streak, now he has added to that record. He took his chance so well today. He is on fire", credited Wiseman.
Up Next
Western Michigan will conclude its road trip at University of Evansville on Saturday, October 7, at 4 PM. Live Stats and livestream information will be available under the men's soccer schedule.
