INDIANAPOLIS -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer hits the road for three-straight games starting this week in the Circle City.

SOCCER FEST SUCCESS / LAST TIME OUT
For the second straight season and the fifth time in the past six years, Western Michigan men's soccer picked up a win during its annual Soccer Fest match. The Broncos earned their first win of the 2025 season on Labor Day with a second half 2-1 win over last season's America East Champions, New Hampshire.

Both of WMU's goals in the match came in the final 45 minutes after the Wildcats took a first half lead. In a 10 minute stretch of the second half, Western Michigan scored both of its goals while also adding 12 of its 20 shots throughout the match. It was redshirt senior forward Roni Sylejmani who found the game-winning goal in the 74th minute.

SHOTS ON SHOTS
The Broncos had their best offensive game of the season in their win over New Hampshire. WMU had its second straight match with double-digit shots, and its best offensive outing against a Division I opponent since September of 2024. Western Michigan added 20 shots against the Wildcats, with 16 of those coming during the second half.

While the Broncos had a 24 shot game last season against Olivet in October, WMU's only 20+ shot game facing a Division I opponent was against Villanova on September 2, 2024, which was also a Soccer Fest game at The Farm. 

MOVING UP THE TARGET
WMU continues to be a national leader through the first two weeks of the season in shot accuracy. After adding 16 shots on goal last week, the Broncos are ranked 16th among Division I programs for shot accuracy. Western Michigan currently puts 54.8% of its shot attempts on goal to be third in the Missouri Valley.

The Broncos aren't far behind Valley leaders Drake, whose accuracy currently sits at 58.8%. Overall, the MVC has four teams in the Top 55 in the statistical category, while the three leading teams are all in the Top 20. On its roster, Sylejmani leads WMU in shot accuracy at 71.4% with five SOG to also be 16th in the nation.

LONG TIME ON THE ROAD
Western Michigan begins a three week stretch away from Kalamazoo on Friday night. The Broncos will play three straight away games, including the second-longest trip of the season at Cornell on September 13. The middle match of the road swing for WMU will be a tough test, against #11 Akron on the Zips home turf. But Western Michigan begins its longest road stretch of the season on Friday night at Butler.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Butler currently sits at the same record as the Broncos at 1-3-0. The Bulldogs lone win on the season so far came against fellow Missouri Valley Conference squad, Bowling Green. Butler was able to shutout the Falcons on Aug. 27 with a solid offensive attack, forcing eight saves from Bowling Green goalkeeper Enzo Gil. The Bulldogs also benefited from the Falcons being down a player when the lone goal of the match was scored as two Bowling Green players were assessed red cards through 90 minutes.

Butler most recently dropped a match to crosstown rivals IU Indy on Labor Day 1-0. The Bulldogs have only scored one goal through four games this season from freshman forward Aiden Benitez, who is also leads the team in shots on goal with five on net out of 10 attempts. The other offensive leader for Butler has been freshman midfielder Bernardo Raposo, who has taken 11 shots but hasn't had one land on goal. In net the Bulldogs rely on graduate transfer Auie Briscoe, who has started all four games with eight saves and a save percentage of 66.7%.