BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Western Michigan University men's soccer team snapped a two game losing skid to start Missouri Valley Conference play in a 1-0 win at Bowling Green.
The Broncos scored their first goal in 217 minutes to earn three points against the Bowling Green Falcons on Friday night. Freshman midfielder Josh Nicholson scored his first collegiate goal in the 28
th minute of the match for WMU's game winner. Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Alex Lindewirth continued his strong play in the net, making six saves in route to his second clean sheet of 2026.
"The boys left Kalamazoo today hunting for three points and they got all three," said Head Coach
Chad Wiseman following the victory. "That was a gritty performance from the boys and we as a staff are very proud of the fight they showed tonight."
The Brown and Gold dominated the first 45 minutes of play at Cochrane Stadium in the first match of conference action. Western Michigan outshot the Falcons 11 to seven while also having the advantage in set pieces with seven corner kick opportunities. The Broncos took advantage of their last corner of the half to score the lone goal of the match.
Yessen took the corner kick on the right side for WMU in the 28
th minute, resulting in his team-leading third assist of the year. The kick sailed to the front of the goal box where Biggers got a head on the ball to put it inside the box. Nicholson was then able to get the finish with a light touch on the top of his right foot to get the ball into the middle of the net past Bowling Green's keeper.
The Brown and Gold continued to threaten over the remaining 17 minutes of the half with two additional shots. Western Michigan continued its offensive attack into the early minutes of the second half. On a free kick near the top of the penalty box, junior midfielder
Jordan Klein got a nice touch that forced the Falcons goalkeeper to punch the ball back into play.
Only nine minutes later, the Broncos had their last shot on goal of the match. As junior forward
Vitor Geromel was chased into the corner, a cross up to midfielder
Kyle Pierson went across the goal box and rolled into the keeper's hands. It was a different match for WMU in the final 30 minutes as Bowling Green tried in vain to mount a comeback.
The Brown and Gold defense had to fend off seven shots and five corner kicks following Pierson's shot. While only having to make one save in the first half, Lindewirth added five more to his total in the second. Three of the five saves the redshirt senior made in the final 36 minutes came within only a two minute span. But the Western Michigan defense along with Lindewirth were able to keep the Falcons from finding the tiebreaker to clinch the 1-0 victory.
"Winning league games on the road is really tough in this conference," says Wiseman. "I also want to congratulate Josh on his first college goal to help win the game."
The Broncos currently lead the MVC along with the UIC Flames as they return to non-conference play with three points. WMU has one more match on the road, a midweek showdown with the Detroit Mercy Titans. Of note in the match, Pierson will play the second game of his career against his twin brother Drew. Kickoff from Detroit against the Titans is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29.
