KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The #11 Western Michigan men's soccer team defeated The University of Olivet 7-0 Tuesday. During the match, Broncos Connor Burkett, Amin Fernouchi, Greyson Mercer, Noah James, and Gabe Villagomez scored for the Brown and Gold.

During the first half of play, Burkett brought the Broncos to an electric start, with a goal seven seconds after the first whistle sounded to signal the start of play. 

At intermission, the Broncos led by two after Fernouchi closed out the half with his first goal as a member of The Brown and Gold.

Five and a half minutes into the second half, the graduate student forward Mercer scored his fifth goal of the season behind assisting teammates Carson Hodgson and James. 
Nearly half a minute later, James would take over the game and score two consecutive goals in six minutes of game time to capture his second multi-goal scoring game of the year. 

To conclude the seven-goal match for the Brown and Gold, the freshman Villagomez scored in the 75th and 77th minutes. His two scores would solidify Villagomez's first two goals at the collegiate level.  

Historical Notes: 

Burkett has claimed the program record for the fastest goal in WMU men's soccer history with a score in a contest's first seven seconds.

The men's soccer team scored at least seven goals in a single contest for the first time since the 2022 season. The Brown and Gold's seven-goal outburst tied for the program's fifth-largest scoring output in a single game and most since the 2022 season. On October 2, 2022, The Brown and Gold piled on seven goals (all in the first half) against Chicago State University. 
Due to the abundance of scoring, WMU tallied seven assists and matched the fifth most assists created in a single game in program history. 

Hodgson has collected 18 career assists and is tied with Jonathan Robinson (2022-23) and Tom Oatley (2004-07) for the seventh-largest career assist output in program history.  

Today, graduate student midfielder Owen Smith reached 10 assists on the season and is tied for the fourth most assists created in WMU single-season history. For the third consecutive year, at least one Bronco has tallied 10 assists or more. 

The Brown and Gold have extended their record-breaking unbeaten streak to a 32nd game without a loss. The last time the Broncos received a blemish to their record was on Thursday, August 24, at #12 University of Vermont. 


Up Next:

The Brown and Gold will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face Missouri Valley foe Drake on Saturday, October 5. Kickoff is slated at 3:00 PM ET and the match will be available on ESPN+.