ITHACA, N.Y. – The Western Michigan men's soccer team wasn't able to find the back of the net in a 3-0 match to the 23
rd ranked Cornell Big Red.
The Bronco offense was able to take multiple shots on Saturday, bouncing back from a two-shot performance on Tuesday evening. But Western Michigan wasn't quite able to find the back of the net despite the 13-shot game at Berman Stadium. Forward
Jonathan Stout led the WMU offense with three shots and putting two on goal, while goalkeeper
Timi Adams was credited with the loss, starting the game in net to allow two goals and make two saves.
"Cornell is a talented team and they know exactly who they are," said Head Coach
Chad Wiseman after the match. "They're a very disciplined team that plays very hard and challenge for everything." The Big Red's hard play showed up early in Saturday's match as they challenged Adams early with five shots in the first 20 minutes.
The Broncos were also able to get in a couple shots in the same time frame from Stout and midfielder Brenden Stevanovic. But it was Cornell who found the back of the net in the first half with goals in the 29
th and 40
th minutes. Following the second goal of the match, WMU spent the rest of the half on offense. The Brown and Gold racked up four shots in under four minutes, but two were blocked and the best chance from Stout was saved up high by Cornell's keeper.
Western Michigan had the first offensive attack of the second half but did not spend long in the opposing end. The Big Red quickly pushed the ball back into a defensive position for the Broncos, netting their third goal of the match against WMU's new goalkeeper in net,
Alex Lindewirth. Cornell kept the momentum on their side as Western Michigan had to fend off five more shots.
The Broncos returned to offense in the final 16 minutes of the match. WMU added five more shots to the team stat line, with two attempts landing on net. Defender
Mathieu Beuvain and Stout both put shots towards the center of the net, but Big Red keeper Ryan Friedberg made both saves to keep Western Michigan scoreless in the 3-0 loss.
"We have had a tough stretch of games against quality opponents. The mistakes we continue to make get punished against the best teams. And that showed itself yet again today."
The Broncos will have a full week off from match action. WMU returns home to The Farm on Monday, Sept. 22 with a match against Division III Adrian College. Kick-off from the WMU Soccer Complex in just over a week is set for 5 p.m.
