KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University men's soccer team returned home with a bang, picking up its first win of the season over the Butler Bulldogs 1-0.
The Broncos broke through on the score sheet on Monday afternoon for their first win of 2026. It was a mostly even match in the attacking thirds between WMU and Butler as both teams recorded 11 shots through 90 minutes. But it was the Brown and Gold that prevailed during their annual Soccer Fest match with the lone goal of the day. Junior forward
Vitor Geromel added his fourth tally in six games for the Western Michigan goal in the 81st minute. Redshirt senior
Alex Lindewirth earned his first shutout of the season, making five saves in 89 minutes for his fifth career clean sheet.
"We're really happy for the boys as they found a way to win today and secured the shutout," says Head Coach
Chad Wiseman following the match. "We want to give a big thank you to our marketing team and our grounds team for putting on a great Bronco Soccer Fest! The community always comes out to support this event, and they stayed for the match, which really helped us to today's victory!"
The Broncos set the tone for the match early on Monday, controlling possession through the first 15 minutes. After getting the first corner kick in the 10th minute, sophomore midfielder
Liam Biggers recorded the game's first shot, forcing a save from the Bulldogs goalkeeper. Momentum then went Butler's way as the Bulldogs had the next three chances through a 10-minute stretch. Things began to get chippy after the 17th minute, with six yellow cards issued over the next 23 minutes. One of the cards resulted in a Butler penalty kick opportunity where Lindewirth made the diving save to keep it a scoreless match. The continued heavy defensive play culminated in the issuing of a red card for a serious foul to Bulldog forward Hayden Neale right before the half break.
Playing with an extra man for the final 45 minutes, WMU took advantage with its best offensive half of the season. The Brown and Gold recorded eight total shots in the second half as they quickly moved into their attacking third. Within the first five minutes, Western Michigan had a corner kick and a near miss from junior forward
Sahel Yessen that went just over the crossbar. While the next five minutes were mostly controlled by Butler, the Broncos turned up the heat right after. WMU peppered Bulldog keeper Brooks Boersman with three shots in only nine minutes.
The Brown and Gold finally broke through on their sixth shot of the half in the 81st minute. After junior midfielder
Kyle Pierson missed just wide a minute and a half earlier, he created a scoring opportunity for Geromel with a short drive up the middle of the field. After getting the ball off a Western goal kick, Pierson passed the ball over to Geromel right above the penalty arc. The forward brought the ball up into the 18 and took a shot just inside the box that breezed past Boersman into the bottom left corner of the net. Lindewirth fended off one more shot opportunity from Butler shortly after the goal with a roller to the left side of the net. The Broncos closed out the final seven minutes of the match with two blocked shot attempts and a yellow card on both sides for the 1-0 win.
WMU remains home for its next two matches, starting with an afternoon kick against Seattle U on Sunday. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Brown and Gold and the Redhawks since Seattle U joined the Division I ranks in 2008. Kickoff on Sunday, September 13, is set for 1 p.m. from the WMU Soccer Complex.Â
