DETROIT Mich. – The #9 Western Michigan University men's soccer team defeated Detroit Mercy 4-1 on the road. In the win, graduate student Greyson Mercer supplied the Broncos first goal, while junior Carson Hodgson scored the first hat-trick of his career. 

WMU entered the match 16-0 in their last 16 matches versus in-state opponents. The Broncos have not lost to an in-state opponent since Sept 7th, 2018.  It is the longest state of Michigan win streak in the history of college soccer on the men's side.

"It's some kind of run we're on vs state of Michigan opponents. It means a lot to the team, the program, and all of our supporters," said Wiseman.

After a 0-0 standstill in the first 45 minutes of play Tuesday, The Broncos struck first against their in-state rival in the second minute of the second half. At the 46:32 mark, Mercer opened the scoring after teammates Ronan Wilcox and Emiel Nieuwhof found the forward in the final third.

10 minutes later, Detroit Mercy tied the match up at one-all.  

"In the first half, Detroit was first to every ball, playing very physically and very direct. They created a few chances early that Colin made a couple of big saves to keep the game level." Explained Wiseman. "In the second half, we were really impressive: We turned Detroit over and scored some great goals off those turnovers." 
 

Over the next 20 minutes, Hodgson took over the game and scored in the 68th, 70th, and 78th minutes. 
 

"Carson with the hat trick!  That's a great sign for the team." Exclaimed Wiseman. "We continue to show we're really difficult to play against. We're all looking forward to playing at The Farm for Homecoming this Saturday. It should be a great environment."
 

Defensively, WMU limited the Titans to a total of six shots on goal throughout the entirety of the contest. 
 

Historical Notes 

From 1982 (WMU's first-ever 10-win season) to 2023, the WMU men's soccer team has achieved a total of 15, 10-win seasons.  Since 2013, men's soccer head coach Chad Wiseman has led WMU to seven of those double-digit winning seasons.

For the first time since 2017-2019, the Brown and Gold have completed three consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins. With today's victory, Wiseman became the first coach in program history to capture three straight 10-win seasons on two occasions. 

The Broncos garnered seven wins during the 2020 season (played in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) but were limited to 11 games. 

Blake Glass (1982-1997) is the only other coach in program history to achieve 10 wins in three consecutive seasons, in which he did so during the 1987, 1988, and 1989 seasons. 

Smith tied Jonathan Robinson, 2023 and Giuliano Teixeira, 2003 for the most assists by a member of the Brown and Gold in a single season.  

The Brown and Gold are now 17-0 against in-state opponents and have not lost to an in-state opponent since Sept 7th, 2018.  It is the longest win streak over opponents in the state of Michigan in the history of college soccer on the men's side. 

Up Next

The Brown and Gold will return to WMU Soccer Complex on Saturday, October 26, at noon versus Bradley University for their Homecoming match. Admission to the game is free.