COLUMBUS, OH – The Western Michigan Women's Soccer team won their third-straight MAC Championship, once again qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
Kaiya Stewart was wide open for the Broncos first goal while Taryn DeShane fought through traffic for the second goal.
FIRST HALF
The Broncos came out energetic, largely dominating possession throughout the first 10 minutes.
Throughout the first 25 minutes, the Brown and Gold saw a multitude of chances. Gracie Lynn and Tessa Fagerson had the first two shots of the game, both coming in the 6th minute. Then in the 8th minute, Kaiya Stewart fired a rocket of a shot that was stopped by a leaping save.
The possession switched to UMass for a bit in the 13th minute, and the Broncos successfully defended the chances from the Minutewomen.
In the 17th minute Camryn Huhn put a shot on goal that was later followed by a shot on goal from Simone Sharpless.
The chances kept coming for the Broncos, as they continued to push on offense throughout the rest of the half.
Eventually, the Brown and Gold broke through when Irelyn Sheldon squeaked by and found Kaiya Stewart wide open to put the Broncos up 1-0 in the 36th minute.
The teams entered the locker rooms with WMU up 1-0.
SECOND HALF
The second half started a bit slower for both teams as possession went back and forth for the first five minutes of the half.
UMass would eventually get a shot off in the 51st minute, where Reagan Sulaver made a clean save for her first of the game.
In the 60th minute, there was a VAR review to see if UMass would get a penalty kick. After review, it was ruled that there was no foul. Just a few seconds after play restarted the Broncos would earn a set piece right outside of the box, but no goal was scored.
The Broncos kept their foot on the gas pedal and in the 62nd minute Taryn DeShane accelerated the Brown and Gold to a 2-0 lead.
Then, in the 70th minute Reagan Sulaver would point blank stuff a shot attempt from the Minutewomen to keep the lead at two for WMU.
With just 20 minutes remaining, the Broncos would not let up, continuing to play strong defense.
As time expired, WMU Women's Soccer becomes 9x MAC Champions, winning their third straight by a final score of 2-0.
Reagan Sulaver is tournament MVP.
UP NEXT
The Broncos wait to see who they draw in the NCAA Women's Soccer tournament after earning their auto-bid.
