DETROIT -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer team is back in its home state this week for a Tuesday night non-conference match with Detroit Mercy.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan  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 28th 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.

KEEP THE FIRSTS COMING
Despite Friday's match being a low scoring affair, multiple members of the Brown and Gold's roster recorded collegiate firsts against the Falcons. Midfielder Josh Nicholson had his first goal, game-winning goal, and collegiate points with his score against Bowling Green. In the same play, sophomore midfielder Liam Biggers recorded his first collegiate assist after playing in 23 matches for Western Michigan.

Multiple players along with Biggers have recorded either their first ever collegiate assist or their first assist as a Bronco in 2026. In WMU's 5-1 loss to then RV Bryant, redshirt sophomore defender Adam Matej Smolcic had his first collegiate assist on Bigger's second goal of the season. In that same road trip, junior midfielder Kyle Pierson had his first assist with the Brown and Gold, having only assisted on a goal at his previous stop.

TOP 3 VALLEY LEADERS
Three Western Michigan players can say the are either the leader or one of the top three players in a statistical category in the Missouri Valley Conference. Bronco goalkeeper Alex Lindewirth leads the Valley in both saves per game (4.75) and total saves (38). Lindewirth's strong play in net has also led to him making the Top 20 nationally in both categories at 17th for total saves and 20th for saves per game.

Going into Tuesday, forward Vitor Geromel has scored the second most goals among MVC players. Geromel leads WMU with four goals scored in nine matches in his first year on the roster. Then junior forward Sahel Yessen has been the main helper for the Brown and Gold. Yessen is third in the Valley for total assists with three as he added another on Friday night at Bowling Green. 

SIBLING CONNECTION
Tuesday night's game will be a family affair on both sides of the pitch. Western Michigan midfielder Kyle Pierson will suit up against his twin brother Drew for the second time in their careers.  The two played their first collegiate match against each other last season when Kyle was a member of the Michigan men's soccer program.

Neither brother recorded a shot on the match last season in the Wolverines 4-0 drubbing of the Titans. Kyle entered the match as a reserve in the 39th minute and was on the pitch for 27 minutes. While Drew was a starting defender for Detroit Mercy in the match, being the only player outside the net that recorded a full 90 minute performance. The Pierson family's connection to the Titans stretches back to 2019 when Kyle and Drew's older brother Ryan played for the program for four seasons.

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy comes into Tuesday's match with an identical overall record to the Broncos. Both teams are 2-6-1 on the season while WMU is perfect in conference play at 1-0 while the Titans are just below .500 at 1-2. Detroit Mercy earned its first conference win this past weekend in its homecoming match against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons with a 2-1 victory that ended a four-game losing streak. The Titans only other win this season was the 2026 opener at St. Thomas where UDM shutout the Tommies 2-0.  

Two players have combined for over 60% of Detroit Mercy's scoring this season in sophomore forward Thero Mitchell III and junior midfielder Johnny Strickler. Mitchell leads the Titans in overall points with three goals and three assists in nine games to begin 2026. While Strickler is the team's best scorer with four goals through nine games powered by two braces against St. Thomas and Mercyhurst. UDM has had two goalkeepers split time in net, graduate student Quinn Tews and junior Colin Monroe, with Monroe getting the bulk of time at six matches and 533 minutes. The junior has a 2-4 record for the Titans with a 2.53 GAA and a 0.464 save percentage.