KALAMAZOO Mich. –  The 11th-ranked Western Michigan University men's soccer team extended its record-breaking unbeaten streak to a 31st game without a loss after tying the RV Missouri State Bears 1-1 Saturday afternoon. In the tie, redshirt junior Roni Sylejmani scored his fourth goal of the 2024 campaign and extended his season high in the goal-scoring department. 

"We have a strong identity at this point in the season, we need to work to expand that identity in the coming weeks, I'm confident we will," said WMU men's soccer coach Chad Wiseman. "The game got a little edgy as it went on, that's to be expected in a strong conference match-up.  We continue to be very difficult to play against.  Our 31-game unbeaten streak would back that up.  MVC is very talented this year, there are so many talented programs, and we are just getting started." 

Sylejmani wasted little time putting the Broncos on the scoreboard Saturday and propelled the Broncos to an early 1-0 lead over Missouri State in the first five minutes of the match at WMU Soccer Complex. Sylejmani's teammates Noah James and Asher Barnes assisted the forward during the early goal. 

"We had a fantastic start to the match and did all the right things to set the tone for the day. By doing so, we found our goal," said Wiseman.  

"Asher was able to beat his defender down the line and everyone knows Missouri State struggles with aerial balls in the box. A nice flick from Noah allowed Roni to finish it off."
 
WMU entered halftime with a 1-0 lead after limiting the Bears to eight total shots in the first 45 minutes of the contest.

Defensively, the Brown and Gold were able to disrupt the Missouri State's attack and forced 13 of their 20 shots off target during the entirety of the contest. However, the Bears tied the game at 1-1 during the 79th minute of play. 

"In three conference matchups, that's their first point against the Broncos, they feel pretty good about themselves leaving Kalamazoo with a point. In the second half I think the game changed, we started getting a little too direct and some of the personal changes we made didn't work out." concluded Wiseman.

Historical Notes:

In the overall series between the two schools, the Broncos and Bears share a 2-2-1 record dating back to 1991. In their first year as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023, the Brown and Gold swept the Bears beginning with a 2-1 win on the road behind second-half goals from WMU alumni Tom Cooklin and Charlie Sharp on Sunday, October 22. The men's soccer team would later defeat the Bears 2-1 on Saturday, November 11, in the MVC Tournament Final, snapping MSU's streak of three consecutive years of claiming the MVC Tournament title. 

After Barnes was credited with the second assist during Sylejmani's first half goal, at least 12 Broncos have assisted a teammate in every season since 2016.  

The Brown and Gold have extended their record-breaking unbeaten streak to a 31st game without a loss, dating back to August 24, 2023. 

Up Next:

The men's soccer team will host University of Olivet at WMU Soccer Complex on Tuesday, October 1, at 5:00 PM.