KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team celebrated its seniors with a pivotal 2-1 win over the Drake Bulldogs.
With a place in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on the line Friday afternoon, the Broncos picked up a crucial three points to make the postseason. Senior forward
Jonathan Stout ultimately gave WMU the victory with his first game-winning goal of 2025 and fifth of the season. Graduate midfielder
Juan Romero also recorded his first goal with the Brown and Gold to initially give Western Michigan the lead.
The first 45 minutes of the match were a defensive battle between the two teams. The Bronco defense was able to limit the Bulldogs to only two shots through the half, including the first shot of the match at the 11-minute mark. After Drake registered the first shot, WMU quickly added three of its own, forcing a save from the Bulldogs goalkeeper. Neither team found the back of the net in the half, but the Brown and Gold had the best chance on a shot at the top of the penalty arc in the 33rd minute from Stout that just missed the goal to the left.
It wasn't long into the second half when the first goal of the match was scored by Western Michigan. Despite Drake allowing the least number of goals in the Valley, Romero found his way around the Bulldogs on a header in the 52
nd minute. On a corner kick from
Gabe Villagomez, a header from
Christian Shannon in front of the goal box found its way to Romero who got it just past Drake's keeper.
The Broncos didn't keep the lead for long as the Bulldogs found their equalizer in the 62
nd minute on their first shot of the half. But WMU wasn't deterred by the goal, returning to its attacking third a minute later. The Brown and Gold's persistence paid off as Stout put them back in front in the 74
th minute. Unassisted, Stout sailed in a shot from above the penalty area into the bottom right corner of the net for a 2-1 lead.
Western Michigan kept Drake at bay for the final 16 minutes of the match. While the Bulldogs were able to get two shots off with under 10 minutes to go, Bronco keeper
Alex Lindewirth made a jumping save to keep the ball out of the goal area. And a clean shot on a corner kick from Drake moments later went wide left for the final attack of the game.
WMU finishes the regular season on the road on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The Brown and Gold will take on the UIC Flames for their final match of 2025 to determine their postseason seeding. Western Michigan can finish anywhere from first to fifth in the MVC to end the regular season. The Broncos final regular season match is set to kick off at 7:00 p.m. EST.
