KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer team is set for an exciting rematch of the 2025 MVC Tournament Championship game on Sunday night.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan  had its best offensive performance in a 4-0 win over the St. Thomas Tommies. The Broncos recorded their first hat trick in two years on Tuesday night in a massive non-conference win against St. Thomas. In the Tommie's first return to the WMU Soccer Complex since 2022, the Brown and Gold scored four times on five shots on net over 66 minutes of action.

Junior forward Sahel Yessen had both his first goal of the season and his first career hat trick, marking the first triple score for Western Michigan since Carson Hodgeson's hat trick against Detroit Mercy in 2024. Leading scorer Vitor Geromel had the Broncos second goal in the first half while three different players earned an assist.

IN RARE COMPANY
On Tuesday night junior forward Sahel Yessen accomplished something very few players have done in WMU history this millennium. Yessen became only the eighth member of the Brown and Gold to record a hat trick dating back to the 2001 season. He also became just the third player to score a hat trick in the 2020's after Western Michigan didn't have a single one the decade prior.

Prior to Yessen's three goals on Tuesday night, the Broncos last hat trick came during the 2024 season. At Detroit Mercy junior midfielder Carson Hodgson recorded his first career hat trick on October 22nd. Hodgson's triple scoring performance against the Titans marked the third straight season with a hat trick for WMU. In the two seasons prior, the program leader in goals, forward Charlie Sharp, recorded a hat trick against Dayton (10/10/23) and against Chicago State (10/2/22).

SEASON'S BEST
The Brown and Gold set a handful of season high's in their outing against the Tommies. Along with it being the best scoring match of Western Michigan's season so far, it also had the most assists and points for the Broncos through 90 minutes in 2026. WMU recorded 12 points on Tuesday night with eight coming from goals and the final four coming from assists. This was the first match of the season where the Brown and Gold had more than two assists on its scores despite having another opportunity for a four assist game earlier in the year. 

The last time Western Michigan recorded 12 or more points in a match against a Division I opponent was two years ago during the 2024 season. The Broncos had four matches with 12 or more points recorded in 2024 starting with 17 points against Villanova on September 2nd at for the team's annual Bronco Fest match. 

CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
Sunday night's match has some emotional history behind it for both sides. Last season WMU eliminated Evansville in the MVC Tournament Championship on the Purple Aces home pitch in a 1-0 victory. While in the 2024 MVC Tournament, Evansville was the one to eliminate the Brown and Gold in the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 double overtime win. Since joining the Valley in the 2023 season, Western Michigan and UE are even in the series at 2-2-1 with the lone time occurring in Evansville. 

SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES
Evansville comes into Sunday's match having played two less games than the Broncos with a 2-6-2 overall record. The Purple Aces have played some tough competition in non-conference action, facing four opponents ranked in the Top 25, including their most recent match against No. 18 Xavier. UE's two lone wins of the year came at Lindenwood and in its first conference match of the season hosting Drake. Evansville's two results going into this weekend are with Kentucky and Southern Indiana. 

Only three Purple Aces have scored multiple goals this season as the team overall only averages one goal a game. Of those three players, junior wing Alejandro Fernandez has the most scores with three in eight matches. He also leads the team in points with an assist at Georgetown for seven points this year. In net Evansville has used only one goalkeeper all year, graduate student Hugo Amo. In 10 matches, Amo has averaged 1.70 goals allowed and 3.2 saves with a save percentage of 0.653.