DES MOINES, Iowa – The #11 Western Michigan University men's soccer team tied Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake University 1-1 Saturday afternoon. In the tie, senior midfielder Owen Smith scored his third goal of the season to propel the Brown and Gold to a 33rd consecutive game without a loss.  

"I thought on the day it was a disappointing performance for the guys.  We didn't bring the energy needed to win on the road. Today we didn't bring the quality, nor display the leadership needed to win on the road." said WMU men's soccer head coach Chad Wiseman on the Brown and Gold's tie at Drake. 

Within the opening 13 minutes of the first half, Drake capitalized in the Bronco's first third of the field and took a one-goal lead over the Brown and Gold. 

"We didn't offer much today in our attack." Explained Wiseman, "At this point in the season, if you want to compete for conference championships, for NCAA tournament berths, you can't have performances like the one we just had."
In the first 45 minutes of play, the Bulldogs outshot the Broncos 5-2.  

Down 1-0 entering the second half, the Broncos flipped the script by putting noticeable pressure on Drake. The Broncos won the corner battle with four corner kicks compared to Drake's one and tied the shot output at 3-3.  Within the opening three minutes of the second half, WMU midfielder Smith ripped a shot into the back of Drake's net to even the match at 1-1. 

"Owen took his chance well but besides that chance, Drake's goalkeeper didn't have to deal with much at all," noted Wiseman.  

With his goal this afternoon, Smith has contributed five points over the team's last two games. The midfielder paces the men's soccer team with a total of 16 points on the season.  To close out the final 45 minutes, the Broncos displayed a greater defensive presence and allowed only three shots to cut Drake's shot attempts nearly in half. 

Historical Notes 

With the Brown and Gold's 33rd game without suffering a defeat, the men's soccer team has not dropped a contest in over 400 days. The last time the Broncos were defeated was Thursday, August 24, at #12 University of Vermont. 

Today, team captain Landon Fisher tied Owen Crosby, (1993-96) for the fourth most games played in a Bronco uniform with his 75th appearance this afternoon.

Up Next

The men's soccer team will continue its road slate at MVC foe Northern Illinois University on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM ET.