Friday, November 10
Kalamazoo, MI
2:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
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Western Michigan
Photo by: Brian Persinger
Postseason Begins at No. 4 Western Mich.
November 09, 2017 09:52 AM | Men's Soccer
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face top-seeded and No. 4-ranked Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. ET.
Fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person can watch a live stream at WMUBroncos.com/Watch and follow live stats at WMU.Statbroadcast.com. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found on the men's soccer schedule page on WVUSports.com, while the official championship homepage is at GetSomeMACtion.com. Additional updates, news and notes from Kalamazoo, Michigan, will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"The mentality of our guys will be good," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "We lost an overtime game to them here on a golden goal, it was a top-15 matchup at the time, and our guys felt really good about the way we played. It was a deflection that ended up beating us against a really good Western Michigan team. We know what we're capable of, we've won some big games this year on the road. We're going to be looking forward to getting the chance on Friday to get at them again."
WMU hosts the four-team tournament at the WMU Soccer Complex that features second-seeded and No. 7-ranked Akron and third-seeded SIUE in addition to fourth-seeded WVU and Western Michigan, the No. 1 seed.
The Mountaineers (9-5-4, 1-2-2 MAC) enter the MAC Championship as the No. 4 seed. Making its fifth tournament appearance in six years, West Virginia faces Western Michigan in the postseason for the first time.
The season's first meeting between WVU and WMU saw a top-15 matchup go to overtime, before then-No. 8 Western Michigan topped then-No. 15 WVU, 1-0. The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 2-2-2.
The Broncos (15-2-1, 5-0-0 MAC) won their first MAC regular-season title in 2017 and look to win their second tournament title. WMU is ranked in the top 7 in all four major polls, coming in as high as No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
In the national statistical rankings, senior Jad Arslan's three game-winning goals ranks second in the MAC. Junior Jorge Quintanilla is fifth in the conference in both total assists (five) and assists per game (0.29).
As a team, West Virginia's nine shutouts and .500 shutout percentage rank 17th nationally and third in the conference. WVU's nine shutouts are tied for fifth-most in a single season in program history.
WVU'S CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
West Virginia is making its fifth MAC Championship appearance since joining the league in 2012. The Mountaineers are 0-4-0 in the MAC Championship after a 3-2 loss at top-seeded Akron in 2015. WVU did not qualify for the tournament last year.
2017 is the third time WVU has been the No. 4 seed, along with 2013 and 2015. West Virginia was the No. 3 seed in 2012 and the No. 2 seed in 2014.
Friday's contest at Western Michigan marks the first time WVU and WMU have faced off in the postseason. It is the third time that West Virginia has faced the host team in the semifinals.
WVU has won four conference tournament titles. The Mountaineers won the Southern Conference Championship every year they were in the conference, in 1965, '66 and '67. West Virginia also won the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1992.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan enters the postseason with a 15-2-1 record and a perfect 5-0 mark in MAC play. WMU is 9-1 at home and 4-1 against top-25 foes. The Broncos have not allowed a goal in six matches, since a 1-0 loss to No. 6 Michigan State on Oct. 4.
Chad Wiseman is in his fifth season as head coach of his alma-mater, where he was a four-year letterwinner. He is 52-28-14 and was named the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year.
Brandon Bye has a team-best 12 goals and 29 points. Jay McIntosh and Tommy Clark pace the team with eight assists, while McIntosh has added five goals. In goal, Drew Shepherd has started all but two games and has made 28 saves for a .737 save percentage with a 0.60 goals-against average. He also owns 11 of the team's 12 shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BRONCOS
The series between WVU and WMU is tied at 2-2-2, with all six meetings coming as MAC foes. After road and home ties in 2012 and 2013, respectively, WVU won in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2-1 in 2014 before a 1-0 home win in 2015. The Broncos have won the last two, 2-1, in 2016 at home and 1-0 in overtime earlier this year in Morgantown.
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. WMU
In a battle of top-15 teams, No. 15 West Virginia suffered a 1-0 loss to No. 8 Western Michigan in overtime at home on Oct. 20.
The Mountaineers played right with the eighth-ranked Broncos for more than 90 minutes before a foul was called on WVU just outside the box. On the ensuing free kick from 25 yards out, WMU scored the game winner in the 96th minute. Anthony Bowie took the free kick and made the short pass to Bye, who scored into the lower left corner of the net. The goal came off a deflection and was his 11th of the season.
West Virginia and Western Michigan both had five shots and two shots on goal in the contest. Freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made one save for WVU, while Shepherd had two stops for the visitors. The Mountaineers held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The winner of Friday's two MAC Championship semifinals will square off in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex. The WVU-WMU winner will play the winner of the Akron-SIUE contest.
LAST TIME OUT: OT WIN AT SIUE
A golden goal by sophomore Sebastian Garcia-Herreros propelled West Virginia to a 2-1 overtime victory at SIUE in the regular-season finale on Nov. 4, in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Mountaineers found the game-winner in the 98th minute.
Garcia-Herreros converted from five yards out near the far post at 97:46, scoring below the diving SIUE keeper. The play began with a ball from sophomore Albert Andres-Llop to junior Rushawn Larmond, which was deflected on the pass to Garcia-Herreros before he scored his second goal of the season.
West Virginia took a 1-0 lead at 24:37 on Larmond's penalty kick. The play began with a cross from the near corner into the box before a foul was called on SIUE on the goal line. The Cougars evened the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute.
Garcia-Herreros and Arslan led WVU with three shots, while Garcia-Herreros had two on net. Freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made two saves for the Mountaineers and the Cougars' Kyle Del Santo had three. WVU had nine shots to SIUE's 13, while West Virginia had a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person can watch a live stream at WMUBroncos.com/Watch and follow live stats at WMU.Statbroadcast.com. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found on the men's soccer schedule page on WVUSports.com, while the official championship homepage is at GetSomeMACtion.com. Additional updates, news and notes from Kalamazoo, Michigan, will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"The mentality of our guys will be good," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "We lost an overtime game to them here on a golden goal, it was a top-15 matchup at the time, and our guys felt really good about the way we played. It was a deflection that ended up beating us against a really good Western Michigan team. We know what we're capable of, we've won some big games this year on the road. We're going to be looking forward to getting the chance on Friday to get at them again."
WMU hosts the four-team tournament at the WMU Soccer Complex that features second-seeded and No. 7-ranked Akron and third-seeded SIUE in addition to fourth-seeded WVU and Western Michigan, the No. 1 seed.
The Mountaineers (9-5-4, 1-2-2 MAC) enter the MAC Championship as the No. 4 seed. Making its fifth tournament appearance in six years, West Virginia faces Western Michigan in the postseason for the first time.
The season's first meeting between WVU and WMU saw a top-15 matchup go to overtime, before then-No. 8 Western Michigan topped then-No. 15 WVU, 1-0. The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 2-2-2.
The Broncos (15-2-1, 5-0-0 MAC) won their first MAC regular-season title in 2017 and look to win their second tournament title. WMU is ranked in the top 7 in all four major polls, coming in as high as No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
In the national statistical rankings, senior Jad Arslan's three game-winning goals ranks second in the MAC. Junior Jorge Quintanilla is fifth in the conference in both total assists (five) and assists per game (0.29).
As a team, West Virginia's nine shutouts and .500 shutout percentage rank 17th nationally and third in the conference. WVU's nine shutouts are tied for fifth-most in a single season in program history.
WVU'S CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
West Virginia is making its fifth MAC Championship appearance since joining the league in 2012. The Mountaineers are 0-4-0 in the MAC Championship after a 3-2 loss at top-seeded Akron in 2015. WVU did not qualify for the tournament last year.
2017 is the third time WVU has been the No. 4 seed, along with 2013 and 2015. West Virginia was the No. 3 seed in 2012 and the No. 2 seed in 2014.
Friday's contest at Western Michigan marks the first time WVU and WMU have faced off in the postseason. It is the third time that West Virginia has faced the host team in the semifinals.
WVU has won four conference tournament titles. The Mountaineers won the Southern Conference Championship every year they were in the conference, in 1965, '66 and '67. West Virginia also won the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 1992.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan enters the postseason with a 15-2-1 record and a perfect 5-0 mark in MAC play. WMU is 9-1 at home and 4-1 against top-25 foes. The Broncos have not allowed a goal in six matches, since a 1-0 loss to No. 6 Michigan State on Oct. 4.
Chad Wiseman is in his fifth season as head coach of his alma-mater, where he was a four-year letterwinner. He is 52-28-14 and was named the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year.
Brandon Bye has a team-best 12 goals and 29 points. Jay McIntosh and Tommy Clark pace the team with eight assists, while McIntosh has added five goals. In goal, Drew Shepherd has started all but two games and has made 28 saves for a .737 save percentage with a 0.60 goals-against average. He also owns 11 of the team's 12 shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BRONCOS
The series between WVU and WMU is tied at 2-2-2, with all six meetings coming as MAC foes. After road and home ties in 2012 and 2013, respectively, WVU won in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2-1 in 2014 before a 1-0 home win in 2015. The Broncos have won the last two, 2-1, in 2016 at home and 1-0 in overtime earlier this year in Morgantown.
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. WMU
In a battle of top-15 teams, No. 15 West Virginia suffered a 1-0 loss to No. 8 Western Michigan in overtime at home on Oct. 20.
The Mountaineers played right with the eighth-ranked Broncos for more than 90 minutes before a foul was called on WVU just outside the box. On the ensuing free kick from 25 yards out, WMU scored the game winner in the 96th minute. Anthony Bowie took the free kick and made the short pass to Bye, who scored into the lower left corner of the net. The goal came off a deflection and was his 11th of the season.
West Virginia and Western Michigan both had five shots and two shots on goal in the contest. Freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made one save for WVU, while Shepherd had two stops for the visitors. The Mountaineers held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The winner of Friday's two MAC Championship semifinals will square off in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex. The WVU-WMU winner will play the winner of the Akron-SIUE contest.
LAST TIME OUT: OT WIN AT SIUE
A golden goal by sophomore Sebastian Garcia-Herreros propelled West Virginia to a 2-1 overtime victory at SIUE in the regular-season finale on Nov. 4, in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Mountaineers found the game-winner in the 98th minute.
Garcia-Herreros converted from five yards out near the far post at 97:46, scoring below the diving SIUE keeper. The play began with a ball from sophomore Albert Andres-Llop to junior Rushawn Larmond, which was deflected on the pass to Garcia-Herreros before he scored his second goal of the season.
West Virginia took a 1-0 lead at 24:37 on Larmond's penalty kick. The play began with a cross from the near corner into the box before a foul was called on SIUE on the goal line. The Cougars evened the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute.
Garcia-Herreros and Arslan led WVU with three shots, while Garcia-Herreros had two on net. Freshman keeper Steven Tekesky made two saves for the Mountaineers and the Cougars' Kyle Del Santo had three. WVU had nine shots to SIUE's 13, while West Virginia had a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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