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Men's Soccer

Fighting Leathernecks Look to Extend Nation's Longest Active Shutout Streak

Western travels to Eastern Illinois on Saturday (Oct. 18) before traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to play Drake on Tuesday (Oct. 21).

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois men's soccer is set for a Summit League faceoff on Saturday, October 18 at Eastern Illinois before traveling to Des Moines, Iowa for a Tuesday nonconference match against Drake. A win on Saturday combined with an Oral Roberts loss or tie against IUPUI gurantees the Leathernecks a berth in The Summit League Conference Tournament. The Purple and Gold also look to extend its five-game shutout win streak, which is the longest active scoreless run in NCAA Division I.

MATCH LOGISTICS

WHO: Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois
WHEN: Saturday, October 18 at 3 p.m. (CT)
WHERE: Charleston, Illinois (Field TBD)
LIVE STATS: HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUMensSoccer

WHO: Western Illinois at Drake
WHEN: Tuesday, October 21 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Cownie Soccer Complex, Des Moines, Iowa
LIVE STATS: HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUMensSoccer
GAME NOTES:

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Eastern Illinois enters Saturday's match with a Summit League record of 0-2-1 and an overall record of 2-8-1... In their last action, the Panthers fell to Bradley 3-0 in Peoria, Illinois in a match that was postponed a day due to rain... EIU is led by first-year head coach Mark Hansen who has spent the last six years as an assistant on EIU's staff before being hired as head coach in May, 2014... Senior midfielder Jake Brillhart leads Eastern's scoring attack with three goals and three assists for a total of nine points this season... In goal, Ben Feltes and Mike Novotny have split the minutes with Novotny taking the majority... In nine games, Novotny allowed 14 goals and made 27 saves... The Panthers have not won a game since September 8 when they beat Culver-Stockton 5-1, but have only been out shot 51-49 in shots on goal over the season.   

A LOOK AT DRAKE: Before hosting the Leathernecks on Tuesday (Oct. 21), the Bulldogs are slated to travel to Edwardsville, Illinois for a Saturday (Oct. 18) matchup with SIU-E... Drake enters the weekend with a record of 3-7-2 (1-1-0) after defeating regionally ranked Loyola 2-1 in double overtime on Saturday, October 11... 17th-year head coach, Sean Holmes entered 2014 with a record at Drake of 136-137-35 and a career record of 214-163-37... The Bulldog offense is led by sophomore midfielder James Wypych who has 3 goals and 2 assists in 2014... Darrin MacLeod has played all but five minutes in net, allowing 19 goals, making 61 saves and turning in 2 shutouts... MacLeoud is currently ranked 12th nationally in saves while Drake is ranked 22nd nationally as team in saves per game (5.25).

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's game is the 51st meeting between WIU and EIU in program history... The Leathernecks trail in the series 15-30-5... In the teams last meeting on October 5 of 2013, the Purple and Gold defeated the Panthers 3-1 in its first Summit League win in 2014... Tuesday's game against Drake is the 24th faceoff against the Bulldogs in Western's history... In the last meeting, Western hosted the Bulldogs in a match that Drake won 1-0, dropping the Leathernecks to 7-16-1 in the all-time series.

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois (7-4-1, 2-0) enters the weekend riding a season high five-game win streak after defeating Omaha, 1-0, on Saturday (Oct. 11)... The Leatherneck win was highlighted by an Austin Gochneaur goal in the 9th minute off of a Charlie Bales,  Maclean Johnson assist... The conference win moved WIU into sole possesion of first place in The Summit League along with the best overall record (7-4-1) following a midweek Denver loss to nationally ranked South Florida. The Leatherneck's Monday nonconference game against NCAA Division III, Loras College, was canceled due to rain.

NATION'S LONGEST: Following Saturday's win, Western Illinois currently holds the longest active shutout streak in all of NCAA Division I... Hofstra (N.Y.) was tied for the streak at five before dropping an overtime match against Delaware... Five consecutive clean sheets is a Leatherneck record. 

AT-LARGE TERRITORY: In the most recent NCAA RPI rankings released the Purple and Gold earned an RPI of 46 which places the team on the fringe of a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament... Western leads The Summit League which is ranked 18th in the country with Denver trailing at 61.

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY: In 2014 the Purple and Gold have been outshot by their opponents 170-129... Despite the discrepancy in attempts, Western has outscored their foes 16-9 with a shot percentage of .124 compared to .053 from the opposition.

A GAME OF TWO HALVES: The Leathernecks are 7-1-1 in 2014 when scoring first and 6-1-1 when leading at halftime... Western's only loss when scoring first came against regionally ranked Valparaiso on Sept. 19... WIU has not lost since Sept. 19... The Purple and Gold have outscored their foes 10-1 in the first 45 minutes in 2014... In the second half this season, opponents have outshot Western 103-56 but only tied in scoring 6-6... Western Illinois has not lost a match by more than one goal all season and has held opponents to an average of .75 goals per game.   

IT'S THE GOALIE: Goalkeeper Yves Dietrich has recorded 58 saves in 2014 which ranks 17th in the country as of October 15... The senior notched his fifth consecutive shutout and sixth overall in 2014 against Omaha on October 11... The shutout gives Dietrich 13 in his career and moves him into sole possession of fourth on Western's all-time list... The senior currently leads or is tied for first amongst Summit League goalkeepers in games played, games started, minutes played, and shutouts (5)... Dietrich currently holds seven top 10 rankings in Western's record book. 

BALES AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Since starting the season with only four shots in three games, Leatherneck defender Charlie Bales has exploded for 14 shots, four goals and one assist over the last four games including his first career multi-goal game against Northern Kentucky, scoring two goals on two penalty kicks... Bales' five goals rank him 76th in the nation and his three gamewinners tie him for 17th in the country as of October 15... Bales currently holds five top 10 rankings on Western's career lists... The senior captain is also in the nation's top 30 for the men's soccer Senior CLASS Award which honors accomplishments on and off the field for one NCAA Division I senior. 
 



 
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Players Mentioned

Maclean Johnson

#12 Maclean Johnson

MF
5' 10"
Junior
Macomb
Yves Dietrich

#1 Yves Dietrich

GK
6' 1"
Senior
UW-Whitewater
Austin Gochneaur

#4 Austin Gochneaur

F
6' 3"
Junior
Ankeny
Charlie Bales

#2 Charlie Bales

D
5' 8"
Senior
Xavier

Players Mentioned

Maclean Johnson

#12 Maclean Johnson

5' 10"
Junior
Macomb
MF
Yves Dietrich

#1 Yves Dietrich

6' 1"
Senior
UW-Whitewater
GK
Austin Gochneaur

#4 Austin Gochneaur

6' 3"
Junior
Ankeny
F
Charlie Bales

#2 Charlie Bales

5' 8"
Senior
Xavier
D