KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team will play its first home game of the season on Thursday afternoon against Creighton. The game is set for 4 PM at the WMU Soccer Complex.
HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan has been unbeatable in home openers over the last five years, holding a 4-0-1 record in those matches. WMU has been just as good over the last 10 seasons, producing a 7-1-2 mark in home openers.
The Broncos have dominated opponents in that five-year stretch, winning their home openers by a combined score of 15-3. Cincinnati (2022) is the last team to score a goal on Western Michigan in a home opener.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
For the second consecutive season, Western Michigan opens the year as the preseason favorite in the MAC. The league's preseason coaches poll was released on Aug. 12, with the Brown and Gold leading the way with 135 points and eight first-place votes.
WMU has won back-to-back conference regular season championships and hasn't lost a game in conference play over the last two seasons. In that time frame, the Broncos are 16-0-6.
Buffalo (128 points, 4 FPV), Ohio (123), UMass (114, 1 FPV) and Bowling Green (93) rounded out the top five of the poll. The Broncos beat Buffalo in last year's MAC Tournament championship game.
SUPER SULAVER
The Broncos entered the 2025 season with questions in net, but freshman
Reagan Sulaver has displayed strong promise in her first two starts against No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 7 Iowa.
In her debut, the Batavia, Ill. native made four stops, including a sprawling save on a penalty kick. She followed that up with nine saves against Iowa.
Sulaver took over for
Lauren Boafo, who started nearly every match for the Brown and Gold over the last two seasons. She was the MAC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2023.
SCOUTING THE BLUEJAYS
Creighton is off to a 1-2 start, dropping matches to Oklahoma and Iowa State. The Blue Jays' lone triumph came against Kansas City.
WMU trails the all-time series, 0-2-1. However, this will be the first meeting between the two programs in Kalamazoo. The Blue Jays beat the Broncos 3-0 in Omaha last season.
Brynn Gardner, Ariana Mondiri and Ella Luna each have one goal this season, while Jalen Chaney and Savanna Solomon each have one assist.
In net, Alyssa Zalac has played all three games. She has allowed six goals while making 11 saves. She holds a 2.00 goals against average and .647 save percentage heading into Thursday's matchup.
