KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team will host Buffalo on Sunday afternoon in the MAC Championship match. The Broncos and Bulls will hit the field at 2 PM at the WMU Soccer Complex.
SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
Western Michigan and Buffalo are the top two seeds in the MAC Tournament, thanks to strong offense and tactical defense.
The Broncos have 42 goals this season, which is the top total in the MAC. On the flip side, Buffalo has allowed just nine goals this season, which is the fewest in the conference.
WMU has allowed the second fewest goals in the league this season, while Buffalo is sixth in total goals.
Still, the matchup to watch will be the league's Offensive Player of the Year in
Jen Blitchok going head-to-head with the Goalie of the Year (Lexie Thompson) on Sunday afternoon.
BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
The Mid-American Conference announced its annual specialty awards and All-MAC Teams on Tuesday afternoon. The Broncos were well represented.
Jen Blitchok ran away with the Offensive Player of the Year award and earned First Team All-MAC honors for the second consecutive season. Coach
Lewis Robinson and his staff were named the Coaching Staff of the Year after earning back-to-back undefeated seasons in conference play.
Joining Blitchok on the All-MAC First Team were
Madi Canada and
Heidi Thomasma.
Abby Werthman was the lone Bronco on the All-MAC Second Team.
That quartet of players spearheaded another strong 2024 season, as they have combined for 74 points on 26 goals and 22 assists. Defensively, WMU has allowed just 14 goals this season.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
If history means anything, then Western Michigan will be tough to beat on Sunday afternoon. The Broncos have three MAC Tournament Championships in program history.
Overall, WMU is 3-3 in MAC Tournament Championship matches. The last title for WMU was back in 2015. Two of WMU's three championships have come in Kalamazoo.
NCAA TOURNAMENT BOUND?
Western Michigan hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2015, but the Broncos are knocking on the door of their fourth tournament appearance in program history.
Entering Sunday's match, WMU is sitting at No. 24 in the RPI rankings. RPI is a metric used for selection to the NCAA Tournament. A win on Sunday would give the Brown and Gold an automatic qualifying bid.
The field of 64 will be determined on Monday at 4 PM. NCAA.com will announce the field of teams and hosts for the first round of games. WMU is 2-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
