KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer team plays its first home match of 2026 on Thursday night against the #23 Wisconsin Badgers. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan was a minute and a half away from another draw, but a late penalty kick handed the Broncos their first loss of the season to the Dayton Flyers. WMU played from behind for most of Sunday night's 2-1 loss at Dayton after a goal in the first two minutes of the match. The Brown and Gold were able to find an equalizer in the second half as forward Vitor Geromel had his second goal in as many games in the 76th minute. Western Michigan looked to be into control of the game with three shots in the final nine minutes, but a yellow card in the 89th after a VAR challenge gave the Flyers their winning penalty kick opportunity.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Junior transfer Vitor Geormel has hit the ground running for the Broncos in his debut for the Brown and Gold. Geromel, a forward who transferred in January from Clemson, scored in both of WMU's matches during the opening week of play on the road. 

During his debut in a Western Michigan uniform Geromel scored in the 24th minute on a long shot from just above the penalty arc at Kentucky. He then followed up his first career goal with an equalizing goal at Dayton on Sunday in the 77th minute. Geromel becomes the first Bronco to score back-to-back in his first two games with the program in over 20 years and the first player scoring two goals within his first week since Greyson Mercer in 2024 scored a brace in his first match at WMU.

UNDER THE LIGHTS AT HOME
After opening the 2026 season on the road, the Brown and Gold return home to play their first-ever night match at WMU Soccer Complex. On Thursday night, Western Michigan will have its first kick-off occurring after 5 p.m. following the completion of the stadium lighting project at The Farm this summer. The Broncos are set to host six matches under the lights this season including Thursday against Wisconsin. 

WELCOMING TOP 25 COMPETITION
The Brown and Gold play their first home game of 2026 against a ranked opponent in #23 Wisconsin. This is the third straight season that Western Michigan is playing a ranked team on its home field in the first two weeks of play. The Broncos have regularly played Top 25 talent to begin a new season. Over the past four seasons WMU has played a Top 25 ranked team within the first three matches of the season, including back-to-back ranked opponents in 2024. In those four seasons, the Brown and Gold have an even record of 2-2 ahead of Thursday's match. 

SCOUTING THE BADGERS
Wisconsin entered the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll this week at #23 after back-to-back wins to open the 2026 season. The Badgers scored five goals against both Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Oakland last week for identical 5-0 results on their home pitch of the McClimon Track/Soccer Complex. With big scoring outings to begin the year, Wisconsin is currently first in the nation at goal differential (10) and total goals (10). Longwood of the Big South Conference is the only other team to score 10 goals so far this season.

The Badgers have been led on the pitch by senior transfer Luke van Heukelum, who scored in his first match with UW last week. He also added three assists in the team's match against Oakland for a team-leading five points. Also joining van Heukelum with five points through two matches is senior forward Markie Hrvojevic. Hervojevic scored a goal in each match last week and added an assist against Oakland for his five points. In the net, sophomore keeper Judewellin Michel posted back-to-back shutouts while facing 11 shots against Saint Mary's and Oakland.