KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team will look to get back on track when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Thursday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. The two teams will hit the field at 4 PM.
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan dropped its first MAC game of the season and first conference game in more than two years last Thursday at Northern Illinois.
Despite outshooting the Huskies, 12-5, NIU was able to walk away with a 1-0 victory in DeKalb, Ill.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Broncos have been unbeatable in Kalamazoo over the last couple of years, entering Thursday's match with a 16-0-1 home record over the last two seasons.
WMU's last regular season home loss came back on Sept. 3, 2023 against Wisconsin. The last time the Brown and Gold lost to a MAC foe at home during the regular season was Oct. 16, 2022 against Eastern Michigan.
Western Michigan is currently riding a 23-match regular season home unbeaten streak.
HELPING HAND
The Broncos are one of the best offenses in the MAC, and the team's unselfishness plays a key role in that. WMU leads the MAC with 27 assists this season, which is five more than the next best team.
Drew Martin leads the way with six assists, while
Madi Canada has chipped in four.
Abby Smothers,
Avery Peters and
Abigail Baldridge have each added three.
Those five players are among the top 10 in the conference in assists. Martin leads the league, Canada is tied for third and Smothers, Peters and Baldridge are tied for eighth.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan is 4-6-4 overall and 2-2-4 in MAC play, including a 0-1-4 record of the last five matches. The Eagles have three goals in that stretch.
WMU leads the all-time series, 17-15-4, including an 8-6-2 record in Kalamazoo. The Broncos are 5-4-1 against the Eagles over the last 10 meetings.
Olivia Sipsock has been the go-to option on offense, entering Thursday's matchup with nine points on four goals and one assist. Kaylee Synk has chipped in two goals.
In net, Ella Holland has started every game. She holds a 4-6-4 record, 1.00 goals against average and .844 save percentage. She has four shutouts and has made 76 total saves.
