KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team is set to host Akron on Friday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. The Broncos and Zips will hit the field at 4 PM.
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan collected a 1-1 draw at Eastern Michigan this past Sunday. The tie helped WMU stay atop the Mid-American Conference standings.
Jenna Blackburn scored the lone goal of the game for WMU, finding the back of the net in the 82nd minute.
Jen Blitchok picked up the assist for her program best 29th point of the season.
LEADING THE WAY
The Broncos have been one of the best offensive teams in the MAC throughout conference play, and that reflects in the stat sheet.
Through seven conference games,
Jen Blitchok,
Abby Werthman,
Jenna Blackburn and
Callie Cunningham are among the leaders in the MAC.
Points wise, Blitchok leads the league with 14. Werthman is second with eight, while Cunningham is fifth with six and Blackburn is seventh with five.
In terms of goals, Blitchok also leads with five tallies. Cunningham is second in the league with three. Assists wise, WMU has the top two as well. Blitchok leads the way with four helpers, while Blackburn has dished out three assists.
19 AND COUNTING
Western Michigan has been dominant in the MAC over the last couple of years. The Broncos are unbeaten in their last 19 conference regular season games.
During that stretch, WMU's record is 13-0-6. In that run came the Broncos' first MAC regular season championship in program history.
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
The Zips haven't won a game in conference play so far this season. However, they have not dropped a game since Oct. 6, earning a pair of draws against Miami and Northern Illinois in their last two matches.
WMU leads the all-time series, 19-1-3, and has won seven straight matches against Akron. Akron's lone win of the series came back in 2003. WMU is 12-0-1 against the Zips in Kalamazoo.
Ella Hadley is the team's leader in points with five on two goals and one assist. Allie McMillen, Morgan Pentz and Katie Stafford have each chipped in four points this season. Stafford is the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week.
In net, Penelope Cuirinier has started 13 games, boasting a 2-4-1 record, 0.83 goals against average and .822 save percentage.
