KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- After starting the season with four of five games on the road, the Western Michigan University men's soccer team returns to its home pitch to take on the Butler Bulldogs.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan fell to the RV Bryant Bulldogs 5-1 on Wednesday. Sophomore midfielder Liam Biggers scored his second goal of the year in the Broncos loss at Bryant on Wednesday evening. Redshirt freshman defender Adam Matej Smolcic also recorded the first point of his WMU career by assisting on Biggers goal in the 76th minute. 

The Brown and Gold offense wasn't able to get around the Bulldogs stringent defense more than once, recording six shots through 90 minutes. Western Michigan's defense also had its hands full during the match, facing 22 shots from Bryant in the attacking third. 

DYNAMIC DUO
The Broncos offensive attack is currently being led by a pair of players through five matches this season. Junior forward Vitor Geromel and sophomore midfielder Liam Biggers have scored all of WMU's five goals to begin the 2026 season. 

Geromel leads the Brown and Gold overall with three goals and six points in 418 minutes of play. He also tops Western Michigan's most shots in five matches with eight total and five on goal. Biggers has recorded four shots in 256 minutes with half of his shots going into the back of the net. In the Valley, Geromel is one of only two players with three goals to lead the league, sharing the spot with Drake forward Evan Carlson. The two forwards also share the MVC lead for total points with six. 

ON TOP OF AVERAGING SAVES
Western Michigan is facing shots and making saves at a national pace coming into Soccer Fest on Monday. Through five matches across goalkeepers Alex Lindewirth and Alessandro Ouzinous, the Broncos are averaging five saves over 90 minutes. This puts WMU's keepers at the top of the MVC, keeping ahead of Evansville's goalkeeper squad by a full save a match. 

The Brown and Gold goal keeping pair is also ranked in the Top 25 nationally for saves per game. Western Michigan is 21st in the category as a team, while Lindewirth is ranked 28th among 150 individual keepers with 4.75 saves per game. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Butler comes into Friday's match with an identical record to the Broncos at 0-4-1 following a 2-0 loss to the Lindenwood Lions on Friday evening. This season, the Bulldogs have replaced 11 players from the 2025  roster with five transfers and four freshmen. Six of Butler's newcomers have started at least one of the Bulldogs' first five matches ahead of Monday's meeting with WMU.

Redshirt junior keeper Brooks Boersma was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday after making 13 saves at No. 14 Indiana, which placed him tied for fourth on Butler's all-time list for saves in a single match. Monday's game will be a bit of a homecoming for Boersma, a Haslett native who was a MHSAA D2 All-State selection and three-time All-Conference selection with the Vikings. On offense, redshirt sophomore forward Brendan Cunningham has generated the most shots (13) for the Bulldogs while sophomore midfielder Max Klein has Butler's lone goal of the season.