COLUMBUS, Ohio – The #9 Western Michigan University men's soccer team improved its unbeaten streak to 29 games Wednesday evening after a 1-1 tie against TopDrawerSoccer's #25 University of Dayton. In the tie, sophomore defender Braxton Arpachinda scored his second career goal for The Brown and Gold. 

"I thought both teams left everything in the field tonight," said WMU men's soccer head coach Chad Wiseman. "Two conference champions from last year were going at each other.  Dayton is a very talented team, coming off a win at Indiana. They are in great form right now." 

Midway through the first half, Arpachinda would score in the 28th minute to propel the Brown and Gold ahead 1-0 over Dayton. Arpachinda's goal would continue his phenomenal performance in the final third of the field, as the defender has either scored or assisted in three of his past five games for the Brown and Gold. 

"Our goal was well taken, great position and strength by Greyson to lay the ball off and Braxton fired it into the back of the net," said Wiseman. During the goal from the sophomore, graduate student Greyson Mercer tallied his fourth assist of the season and leaped into a tie for the second-most assists created on the season for WMU. Additionally, graduate student midfielder Owen Smith was credited with an assist during Arpachinda's goal. Today, Smith increased his season total to a team-high seventh assist on the year. Smith's seventh assist allowed him to jump back into a tie for first place in the NCAA in assists created on the season. 

To close the first half of play, Dayton responded with a goal to knot up the game at 1-1. 

"Defensively, it was hard to stay switched on some of Dayton's attacking players; they have experienced players who are very strong on the ball.  It was a tall challenge and I thought the boys in the back did their job," explained Wiseman. 

In the second half of the contest, The Brown and Gold faced 11 shots from Dayton's offense, but their defense refused to break, as the Flyers were denied a chance of a second goal. 

"The game was wide open in the second half, we created four or five point-blank opportunities. Dayton's goalkeeper came up big with some huge saves." 

For the men's soccer team, WMU matched Dayton's 11 shots in the second half and created four corner-kick opportunities. 

Historical Notes: 

The men's soccer team has opened their first eight games of the regular season unbeaten for the first time since 2017. The 2017 squad (WMU's first ever team to reach the Sweet 16), started their first 10 games of their campaign with nine wins and one tie. With WMU's tie Wednesday, the men's soccer team extended its overall (and program best) unbeaten streak to a 29th game without a loss.   

Up Next: 

The Brown and Gold will return to WMU Soccer Complex on Sunday, September 22, for Alumni Day against Evansville. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 PM.