KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The numbers which No. 9 on Western Michigan University's women's soccer team has put up this year are nothing short of amazing.

Graduate student Jen Blitchok has:
•    15 goals this season, smashing the old WMU record of 12;
•    38 points this season, smashing the old WMU record of 27;
•    In two seasons (she transferred from Indiana before the 2023 season), she has 24 goals, which is third on WMU's all-time list, and fourth in points, 62.
•    Is 4 goals and 7 points shy of Mid-American Conference records.

As WMU (11-1-6 overall record) prepares to host the MAC postseason tournament semifinals and finals, starting Thursday, the team has some lofty numbers, too. The Broncos have scored 38 goals, second most in program history, have the most assists (47) in school history, the old record being 38, and have scored the most points (123) in school history.

Senior Abby Werthman has added eight goals and 23 points, both of which are just short of the previous WMU records.

But the Broncos only care about one number heading into the tournament…being first on Sunday when the tournament concludes. That didn't happen last season when WMU won its first of back-to-back regular-season titles. The Broncos have a Thursday rematch with Kent State, which upset WMU, 2-1 in a 2023 semifinal.

''That loss still stings a bit,'' Blitchok said. ''It's a big motivation and we're just really focused on that game and not anything else.

''Last year, it wasn't a fun day, especially looking at the two goals we conceded. But we had a lot of reflection, got together as a team and had open conversations about what needed to change and what needed to be left behind.''

Blitchok is the focus of everyone Western Michigan plays and she seems to thrive on that.

''My strength and physicality are a big part of my game,'' she said. ''I know I'm going to get hit from them and it can get pretty intense.''

Blitchock knows how to give it back, too. She has four yellow cards this season.

Scoring is her forte and she was asked by head coach Lewis Robinson at the start of the season to do a little more of that.

''We challenged her and she challenged herself to be more selfish in the right ways,'' Robinson said. ''To find moments where she can put the team on her back and get us over the line.''

Blitchok not only scores, but her eight assists show she can find an open teammate. Werthman and grad student Callie Cunningham each have three goals on those assists. Senior Jenna Blackburn and graduate student Maya Dean each scored one goal.

On the other side, 11 different teammates have assists on Blitchok's 15 goals, Werthman with five assists.

''This season has gone better than I thought it would,'' Blitchok said. ''But I try not to put numbers on anything.

''It's not just me, but the whole team giving me opportunities to score. I don't just get there by dribbling through.''

She has games against Miami and Ball State in which she had three-goal hat tricks.

"The Miami game was fun because it was my first hat trick and it was a great team win,'' Blitchok said. ''When the offense is on fire, it's fun for the team.''

But what about those six ties? One of them was to Iowa, which finished third in the Big Ten and another was against the Big Ten's Wisconsin.

''This year, whenever we tied, it felt like a bit of a loss even though it doesn't show on the record,'' Blitchok said. ''Even the ones against Iowa and Wisconsin, it felt like we could have done more on offense, been better on defense to create opportunities.''

Still, the only loss was 3-0 vs. Big East Conference foe Creighton, which finished fourth in its conference. Since that loss, WMU is unbeaten in 14 straight games.

''I think what the team learned was accountability of who we wanted to be,'' Robinson said. ''After that game, the team got together and set some clear standards of what we are, what's acceptable and not acceptable.

''Weirdly, you never plan for a loss, but you need that. That game turned the page for a lot of players. We saw a bigger spark from our leaders, and some who haven't been leaders stepped up. I don't know if we didn't have that game, we would be the same team.''

The Broncos are unbeaten in MAC regular season play for the past two seasons, having gone 8-0-3 in both.

''We never speak about the unbeaten streak,'' Robinson said. ''It's amazing, though, to have done it for two straight seasons and I'm super proud of these teams.''

In 2023, WMU won the MAC regular season title on the final game. This year, it won the crown on the next to last game.

''We treated our final MAC game like it was a quarterfinal tournament game,'' he said. ''We learned last year that come tournament time, it's a new season and the past means nothing.

''You have to prove yourself for 90 minutes.''

Another number to remember for WMU.

90 minutes.