NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The #4 Western Michigan men's soccer team continued its historic unbeaten streak after a 1-1 tie to open Missouri Valley Conference play at Belmont University on Sunday. In the draw, redshirt junior Roni Sylejmani netted the game-tying goal from assisting team captain, graduate student Landon Fisher in the 65th minute of the contest. 

"I believe we have to look at this match two different ways.  To start, we were not ready to compete, we didn't show our quality on the ball," said WMU men's soccer head coach Chad Wiseman. "We lacked maturity to overcome difficult moments and ultimately conceded in the final five minutes."

With a standstill for nearly the entire first half, Belmont took a 1-0 lead over the Brown and Gold heading into the locker room after scoring in the 43rd minute. 

"Belmont was simply winning the physical battles," said WMU men's soccer head coach Chad Wiseman. In the first half, the physical discrepancy was displayed as Belmont outshot the Brown and Gold five to four.

"In the second half we had a great response: We looked a bit more like ourselves by controlling the tempo and moving the ball." said Wiseman. 

The Broncos made a clear switch at the half and made adjustments on both sides of the field. Offensively, WMU tallied four shots, while defensively, The Brown and Gold shut down the Bruins and gave up zero shots in the final 45 minutes.  

During the 55th minute of the second half, Belmont was awarded a red card, which allowed the Brown and Gold to play a man up for the remainder of the contest. WMU would take advantage of the man-up situation on the field with Sylejmani's game-tying score 10 minutes later in the half. "Belmont found themselves bunkered in and defending for the entire half.  We were able to reward ourselves with a goal, what a strike from Roni, a fantastic goal." noted Wiseman. 

"I thought when they went down a man, the game-winner was out there for us. We struggled on some decisions when to penetrate the box and Belmont was defending very hard. They had a lot of spirit for the game today and it carried them into a positive result."

With Sylejmani's goal, Fisher continued his career-best streak with a fourth consecutive game tallying an assist. Additionally, with his assist to Sylejmani, Fisher notably tied his season-high in assists (4) created with only seven games played thus far into the 2024 campaign. 

"Winning college games is tough, on the road in the conference is even tougher.  The target on our backs in 'The Valley' is as big as it gets, we are going to get everyone's best shot." concluded Wiseman.

Historical Notes: 

The Brown and Gold have continued to find time and time again a variety of ways to continue their incredible unbeaten streak. With their 1-1 draw at Belmont Sunday afternoon, WMU has increased their tally to 28 consecutive games without a loss.  

Up Next: 

The men's soccer team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the University of Dayton on Wednesday, September 18. The game originally scheduled for 7:00 PM in Dayton, Ohio, will now be played at Historic Crew Stadium (One Black and Gold Blvd.) in Columbus, Ohio. The game will also  kickoff one hour earlier at 6:00 PM. Admission is free and parking is $10 per vehicle. Fans are advised to enter through the East Entrance of the stadium.