Western Michigan University Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer came roaring back from a one goal deficit to beat the Evansville Purple Aces 3-1 in the MVC Tournament semifinals.

Three different Broncos scored in the final 31 minutes of Wednesday night's match in southern Indiana for three straight wins. After sitting out WMU's quarterfinals match due to a red card the game prior, forward Sahel Yessen contributed on all three goals to lead the Brown and Gold offense. Yessen scored the equalizer for Western Michigan before assisting on goals from forward Vitor Geromel and forward Joseph Min.

Geromel added his third game winning goal and 11th of the season along with an assist while Min scored his first goal in a Bronco uniform. Midfielder Neo Heyral added a secondary assist on the final goal of the night for his third of the year. On the defensive side of the pitch, redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth made three saves on four shots on goal while facing a total of 21 shots in 90 minutes.

"I thought it was a fantastic playoff game!" said Head Coach Chad Wiseman following the semifinals. "We have now seen Evansville in three straight postseasons and it really feels like a rivalry has been created. We went down early in the second half but there was no quit in the boys."

It was a defensive first half at Arad McCutchan Stadium as the teams combined for a total of eight shots and only one on goal. The lone shot on goal came from WMU as Geromel got a good look on Evansville goalkeeper Hugo Amo with three minutes left in the first. The Brown and Gold defense kept the Aces from getting any close shots while blocking two.

The pace of the match picked up immediately in the second half as Evansville spent some extended time in Western Michigan's defensive third. It took only nine minutes into the half for the Aces to break through and get past Lindewirth on a quick touch from the goal box.

The Broncos were able to respond quickly, equalizing the match five minutes later as Yessen hit a strike from the 12 after Geromel laced a cross into the box past two Evansville defenders. Yessen then returned the favor on WMU's next offensive push, sending a long cross from the right side of the box that Geromel tapped in past Amo to the bottom left corner of the net. 

"Offensively we really made some big plays as Vitor and Sahel both had a goal and an assist," said Wiseman. "I don't think Evansville had an answer for Sahel tonight. He was pretty electric in transition for us."

Yessen continued to prove his jump on transition in the 76th minute. Heyral brought the ball up on the left side of the pitch and got the ball on Yessen's foot in the box. He quickly moved into range of the net drawing two defenders with him. Yessen then passed back to Min who got a shot off almost right on the penalty spot that hit the tip of Amo's gloves, sailing into the top right corner of the net. The Brown and Gold defense held strong for the final 14 minutes as they fended off five more shots with two blocks and a save, advancing to their second straight MVC Championship match.

"We have earned the chance to play for another championship on Saturday," said Wiseman. "We're really looking forward to playing Bowling Green again this weekend, as we are playing our best soccer at the right time of the year."  

Western Michigan will face the top-seeded Bowling Green Falcons in the championship on Saturday night. The Broncos are the only loss in over six and a half weeks for the Falcons, who come into the championship match on a nine game win streak. Saturday will be only the second time in program history that WMU has met Bowling Green in the championship match. The last meeting was all the way back in 2003 when Western Michigan won its first MAC Tournament title in program history. Kickoff from Cochrane Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 14.