DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer team is back on the road after a four-game homestand heading out to the Hawkeye state to face the Drake Bulldogs.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan returned to the win column with a 6-0 victory over the Holy Cross Saints. Junior forward Vitor Geromel had the Broncos' first four-goal performance in four years in Tuesday's win against Holy Cross. 

WMU's two other goals came from forward Sahel Yessen, who was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week only hours before, and redshirt freshman defender Anthony Piacentini. Five of the Brown and Gold's six goals occurred in only a 16 minute span after leading by only one score for over 60 minutes. With an even six goals and six assists, Western Michigan recorded a total of 18 points through 90 minutes of action.

ENTERING THE RECORD BOOKS
In the Broncos dominate 6-0 win over Holy Cross (Ind.), junior forward Vitor Geromel accomplished an offensive feat even more elusive than a hat trick in WMU history. Geromel scored a haul of goals (four goals total) in his eighth match playing all 90 minutes. Four goals in a single match is the Brown and Gold's program record that was originally set back in 1977 by Hall of Famer Randy Wojtala. 

Since Wojtala's program best performance almost 50 years ago, only four other players prior to Geromel have ever had a haul in a match. The most recent four-goal performance came from Charlie Sharp just over four years ago in a home match against Chicago State on October 2, 2022. 

CLIMBING THE PROGRAM LADDER
Along with entering the Western Michigan record book for most goals in a match, Vitor Geromel is making his way up the list for most goals in a season by an individual. Geromel is now in double figures for goals scored with 10 on the season, and with four matches left before postseason action. The junior transfer enters some esteemed company with 10 goals on the season, including forwards Abdul Al-Wazzan and Jim Berry and midfielders Ryan Goldman and Dustin Snyder. 

Geromel still has a ways to go if he wants to take the program record from Charlie Sharp. Sharp had a 19 goal season in 2023 with his first 10 scored in 13 matches. He was also able to benefit from a deep postseason run for the Broncos as the 2023 team made the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. 

TAKING OVER THE MVC STATS
Following WMU's six-goal performance on Tuesday night, the Brown and Gold now have an individual leading the Missouri Valley in 10 different statistical categories. Vitor Geromel currently leads the conference in five different offensive stats including game-winning goals (2), goals per game (0.71), points per game (1.57), total goals (10), total points (22).

Sahel Yessen is one of six players in the Valley who have scored a penalty kick this season. And redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth holds four of the MVC goalie stats, minutes played (1,078:54), save percentage (0.775), saves per game (5.17), and total saves (62). Nationally both Geromel and Lindewirth are ranked in the Top 10 in at least one category. Geromel is 5th in total goals and 7th in total points. While Lindewirth is ninth in saves per game. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake is well rested coming into Saturday night's match after a week away from play. The Bulldogs are just under .500 on the season overall at 4-5-3, but have not yet earned a point in Valley play. Drake has lost three straight games to conference foes including Evansville, Belmont, and Bowling Green. Through those three matches, the Bulldogs are averaging only 0.66 goals on 14 shots after having an average of 1.0 goals in non-conference action. 

On the pitch, graduate forward Evan Carlson leads the team with four goals and eight points in 12 matches played. Only one other Drake player has multiple goals on the season as senior midfielder Dalton Visconti has a pair in eight matches. In net the Bulldogs rely on the consistent presence of junior Tomas Butkovic who has appeared in all 12 matches this season. Butkovic has earned every decision in net for Drake with a 0.92 GAA on 28 saves for a save percentage of 0.718.